I Flipping Love You (Shacking Up #3)(87)

We’re two days away from finishing this renovation. It’s nine o’clock in the morning on a Thursday, and we have an inspector coming to check the electrical and plumbing upgrades before the flip officially goes on the market on Saturday.

While we wait for the coffee to brew, Pierce decides we should pass the time by making out. It escalates quickly—until I end up on the island with him between my legs, looking to get inside me. As if I’m going to say no to a little morning lovin’.

I’m three well-angled thrusts away from coming when the door slams open and Marley’s voice echoes down the hallway.

My eyes go wide and I whisper, “Oh no, I’m so close.”

“Stay where you are!” Pierce shouts. He’s already holding onto the back of my neck to keep me in place.

“Oh, for fuck’s sake. I’ll be outside,” Marley yells, and the door slams shut again.

I’m too far gone to care or be embarrassed. Pierce crushes his mouth to mine as I come. Less than two minutes later, my clothes are back in place, and Pierce is disposing of the spent condom.

I open the front door to find Marley sitting on the steps, fiddling with her phone.

“Why didn’t you call to let me know you were coming by?”

“Because it’s my house too. Why can’t you two screw in a bedroom like normal people?”

“Good point.”

“Ya think?” She stalks past me, clearly annoyed. “I have news.”

“What kind of news?”

She crosses over to the coffee and fills two cups. When Pierce comes around the corner, looking relaxed and smug, she rolls her eyes and grabs another cup, filling that one too. “The kind of news we’ve been waiting a long time for.”

“What’s going on? Is everything okay?”

“I actually need a few minutes alone with my sister. Do you mind if I take her for a walk?”

Pierce frowns. “Sure. As long as everything’s okay.”

“It’s fine. Just family stuff.” Marley smiles tightly.

For most people, family stuff isn’t a huge deal, but for us, in the past it meant very bad things. My stomach clenches and I half expect Marley to tell me she’s heard from our parents despite having changed our phone numbers more than three years ago.

I take the coffee Pierce has doctored for me. He kisses my temple. “Take your phone. Let me know if you need anything.”

I nod and follow Marley outside. We head down the front walk to the beach and sit in the sand. “What’s going on? Is this about Mom and Dad? You’re making me nervous.”

“It’s not about Mom and Dad.”

I exhale a sigh of relief, and the tension in my shoulders eases a bit, but not much. She looks so serious.

“I got word this morning that the Mission Mansion is going up for sale.”

“What? Are you sure? When?” I glance over my shoul der, back at the beach house where I’ve left Pierce. I hate the sudden suspicion and the conflict over this news and what it could mean for us, for him, for his brother, for the Mills family.

“The email came a couple hours ago. I know the representing agent.”

“What’s it going for?” I sip my coffee in lieu of chewing on my nails. It’s perfect, the right amount of sweet and the right amount of cream. Pierce is definitely a detail-oriented man. He pays attention. It means there’s logically no way to keep this from him, not that I want to anyway. Things have been so good these past weeks; I don’t want anything to change that.

“I don’t have anything concrete, but the agent is saying somewhere around five million I think. It needs a lot of work.”

Even with good credit and a solid return on our flip, it’s doubtful the bank would approve us for a mortgage that size. “It’s too much, isn’t it?”

She lifts a shoulder. “There’s an agent viewing tomorrow afternoon. I know how much you love that place, and you have all these good memories tied up in it, but it’s really rundown, Rian. The only maintenance has been on the landscaping over the past decade.”

“I know.” And I do. Maybe it’s not completely rational to want it back, but it’s the one piece of my grandmother I can’t seem to let go.

“I managed to secure a spot so we can go, just to see, at the very least.” She sips her coffee, maybe waiting for my reaction.

I squash the pointless hope blooming in my chest. “There’s not really a point in talking to the bank about financing, is there?”

Marley doesn’t tell me no, even though we both know my question is rooted in nothing but nostalgia and a dream that’s never going to come true. “I think we should look at it first, see what we’re up against.”

“Okay.” At least one of us is pragmatic. “Do we have anyone who would be in the market to buy it?” God, just saying it aloud makes my stomach twist.

“I’m going through our list of contacts this afternoon. If nothing else, the commission would be enough to finance another flip.”

I swallow back my sadness. Seeing the Mission Mansion empty all summer has been difficult, but seeing it full of life again might be even harder. “What day is the open house?”

“The agent is saying Sunday.” She picks up a tiny shell and flips it between her fingers. “But that could always change, depending on the seller. There’s a lot of interest in the property, Ri, so even if we went in as buyers, and I’m not sure that’s logical or feasible at this point, there’s no guarantee we’ll get it. And if we did, I don’t know that the upkeep will be affordable.”