“Get massages”—he smiled at me—“and work on my place. I bought a duplex while I was deployed. Remember when you took me to the parking lot to get my keys? They were supposed to be left there, sitting on my tire, but they weren’t. Turner, the soldier we saw at the commissary, tracked the keys down and brought them to me.” He casually mentioned her like I hadn’t visualized a thousand scenarios involving the two of them since I’d met her.

“Anyway, I bought this run-down duplex and I’m fixing up the empty side now, and slowly working on my side so I can rent it out and eventually move into another one and repeat the cycle. Maybe spread out toward Atlanta when I can. Real estate is one investment that hardly ever decreases in value.”

“I bought my house for the same reason,” I told him. He broke a piece of orange off and popped it into his mouth. I could smell the sweetness from where I sat. My mouth watered.

“Well, the remodeling part. I don’t think I’ll ever own more than this.” I waved around the kitchen. “But I’m totally fine growing old and dying here because it’s mine.” I touched my chest. “I couldn’t stand living with my dad and Estelle anymore, so I found this little house and I’ve been slowly, I mean, s-l-o-w-l-y, fixing it up.” I dragged out the word for emphasis.

He laughed, inching closer to me. “I noticed.”

“Don’t you think I’m doing a good job?” I asked. “Didn’t you see the shower tiles?” Kael was flipping houses—he was semiprofessional at this point—and I bet he cringed at the number of unfinished projects scattered around my house.

“Yes, you are. You’re doing it on top of working and you live alone. Well, sort of alone.”

“‘Sort of’ is right. I do as much as I can, when I can.” I knew I procrastinated when it came to hard projects. I went through phases alternating between doing a ton and doing absolutely nothing for a few weeks at a time.

“What room do you feel the most at home in?” he asked, looking around the kitchen.

“Are we back to our game?”

He nodded.

I put some thought into my answer. “I’d have to say my room. I love my living room for hanging out with Elodie and sprawling across my couch on a weekend without having to wear a bra or socks.” What the hell, Karina! I felt my cheeks turning red, but continued. “And I love my kitchen for being open and cute. It’s easy to cook in, doesn’t get too hot. My bathroom will hopefully be a favorite after I finish it. But for now, my bedroom, specifically my bed, is my spot. Me and my phone and I’m set.”