As he looked around, he imagined what the place could be like. Granite countertops. Stainless-steel appliances. Bust out the wall to the right and throw up an addition to make a family room. Rip out all the carpets. Paint. Wallpaper. Face-lift the shit out of the baths.

Young family would be happy here.

“Come with me,” he said, holding out his hand.

Marie-Terese put her palm in his. “Where to?”

“Outside.”

He took her through the garage and into the backyard—which was hardly a showpiece. The lawn was about as attractive as an old man’s beard, and the oak in the back looked like the skeletal remains of a once gracious tree—but at least the temperature wasn’t as cold as it had been.

Wrapping his arms around her, he hugged her close and gently closed her eyes with the tips of his fingers. “I want you to imagine we’re on a beach.”

“A beach.” Her lips lifted.

“Florida. Mexico. South of France. California. Anywhere you like.”

She put her head on his chest. “Okay.”

“The color of the sky’s changing to peach and gold and the sea is calm and blue.” Vin focused on the setting sun as he spoke to her, trying to picture it going behind the horizon of the ocean instead of the asphalt roof of the ranch house next door.

Vin started to move, shifting his weight from side to side, and she followed his cue, swaying in his arms.

“The air is soft and warm.” He put his chin on the top of her head. “And the waves are doing that thing on the sand, up and back, up and back. Palm trees are all around.”

He rubbed her shoulders, hoping that she saw what he was describing, hoping she was lifted out of where they really were: the crappy-ass backyard of a shitty little house in chilly Caldwell, New York.

Closest shoreline they had was rocky and on a river.

He closed his own eyes and just felt the woman he held, and what do you know: she was what transformed his landscape, not his words. For him, she was the reason he was warm.

“You’re a wonderful dancer,” she said into his chest.

“Am I?” When she nodded, he felt it on his pec. “Well, that’s because I have a good partner.”

They moved together until light began to bleed out of the sky and the temperature dropped too far. As Vin stopped, Marie-Terese lifted her head and looked up at him.

When he put his hand on her face and just stared at her, she whispered, “Yes.”