I kept moving my hand toward my bag, my fingers itching to pull out my tape recorder again, but I was worried that if I did, the happy, relaxed look on Gabe’s face would disappear.

Instead, I just tried to remember as much as I could, hoping that I could use this in my piece.

“You’re not in love,” he said.

“What?”

He gestured. “With the house,” he said. “I can tell.”

The puppy was playing in the grass outside, her tail twitching as she flopped from side to side.

“What don’t you like about it?” he asked.

“It doesn’t matter,” I said. “I’m not the one buying the house.”

Why did Gabe care what I thought about a multimillion-dollar mansion that he might or might not buy? It’s not like I’d be coming over to hang out at his pool on the weekends. I almost snarkily suggested that he call Jacinda and ask her, but I held my tongue.

“I’d still like to hear your thoughts,” Gabe said. “Would you buy this house?”

I laughed. “There’s no universe where I’d be in a position to buy a house like this. It’s huge!”

Gabe nodded. “It is pretty large.”

“Are your mom and sister going to move to L.A.?” I asked.

This time, he was the one who laughed. “I can get my family here for premieres and awards, but that’s about it. There’s no way either of them would consider moving to L.A. They love Montana too much to leave. Besides, they have the Cozy.”

I nodded. I thought about telling him that I had ordered a few books from them online, which I’d received with a handwritten note thanking me for my business and a recommendation for another book based on the ones I’d just bought. The suggestion had been spot-on and I ended up ordering it from them as well.

Mentioning it to Gabe, though, felt a little teacher’s pet-y.

“Do you visit them a lot?” I asked.

Gabe nodded, still looking around. “I bought a house for my mom and then helped my sister and brother-in-law with the down payment on theirs. I usually stay at an apartment above the store when I visit.” He put his hands on his hips. “My manager said that it’s a waste of money to keep renting a house here—that I should just buy something.”

“You’d have plenty of space for your family when they come to visit,” I said.

“I told them I wanted a pool and guest rooms, but now that I’m seeing it, I don’t know if I need this much space.” He looked thoughtful. “I like my current place a lot.”

“It is really nice,” I agreed. “Seems like it suits you.”