“Thanks for meeting us here, Indira,” Leo said, shaking her hand, as pleasant as always.

“My pleasure,” she said. “Glad to see you’re back in town for good, Leo.” Her gaze darted back and forth between the two of them. “Oh hi, Tessa. Are you two looking together?”

“No,” Tessa said adamantly.

“Yes,” Leo said at the same time.

“What a cute couple,” Indira said, unfortunately taking the situation the wrong way. “So I think I know what’s going on here. You’re on the down low because of your families’ feud, right? I totally get it. And you can trust me. I won’t say a word.”

Before Tessa could set her straight, Indira pushed the door open and stepped back, giving her spiel. “Okay, kids, this is a seventies ranch that needs some updating. It’s not as old as the homes in the Blossom District, but it’s bigger than a lot of those, so I thought it might be worth a look. And of course it’s farther out from town, but there’s more yard. You can definitely put your own stamp on it.”

“That’s code for needs a lot of work,” Tessa whispered.

“How do you know that?” Leo asked.

“Experience,” she hedged. Did years of binge-watching House Hunters count as experience?

They shuffled through several large rooms. “Why does it smell like mayonnaise?” Tessa asked as they entered the kitchen. She tried not to gag. That was enough for her to cross it completely off the list. But Leo whipped out his tape measure and began measuring the lurid, navy blue–stained cabinets. The kitchen was dark and ancient, with tile countertops with dirt in the grout lines. She gave him a thumbs-down sign behind Indira’s back.

Tessa looked around at the dirty purple wall-to-wall carpeting, the flimsy materials, the avocado green and orange tile in the kitchen. “Everything in this house has to be redone—the bathrooms, the floors, the landscaping.”

“It’s mid-century modern,” he said.

“More like mid-century nightmare,” Tessa mumbled under her breath.

He didn’t say a thing, but she could swear his mouth twitched.

The next house was a sprawling split-level built in the sixties. “An older couple lived here for forty years,” Indira said. “It’s tidy but outdated.”

“And it’s the best price,” Leo added.

“There’s no charm, no character,” Tessa said, looking at the pink-and-mauve duck print in the kitchen. “No moldings, no alcoves, no nooks, no garden.”

“Ducks are charming,” Leo said, pointing up at the wallpaper.

“Ducks are cute,” Tessa agreed. “Just not on the kitchen walls.”

“Wallpaper can be removed,” he said in his know-it-all voice.

“From every room?” she countered.

“I have to say, Leo,” Indira said, “that Tessa may be right on this one. This would be a major undertaking. You might not have the time to devote to this if you’re busy with your family’s business.”