CHAPTER SIXTY-ONE

The following afternoon, the five of us–including Bea–stand in the living room of our potential house.

It’s the first time all three guys have seen each other since the shooting, and Jarel wraps his right arm around Matt. “Thank you for saving my life, Matt.”

“Me too,” Angelo says, joining the hug.

Matt pats them both on the back. “It was nothing.”

“Keeping me from getting shot in the face is not nothing,” Jarel says.

I wince.

Angelo pulls away first, but Jarel pats Matt on the back three times before releasing him. “Thank you, man.”

Angelo clears his throat and gestures. “Explore away. Be careful on the various steps, and ask any questions. I’ve done more research on the house, and the inspector just finished this morning.

Everyone disperses, and Angelo and I take Bea to see the studio apartment above the garage.

“Obviously, you could come into the main house whenever you wanted,” I say, but this would allow you to have your own space.”

“You wouldn’t have to be on the mortgage,” Angelo says. “I mean, eventually, you’d probably move in with someone else, right?”

“Not that there’s a rush,” I add quickly.

“So I’d basically pay rent… One-fifth?” she asks.

“Maybe, but could be less,” Angelo says. “We’ll figure it out.”

The guys spend nearly half an hour surveying the house. When Angelo and I venture into the kitchen, he winks at me.

I chuckle. “Stop it,” I whisper, elbowing him.

He laughs and drapes his arm over my shoulders.

Jarel comes in from the basement, and Matt joins us from upstairs.

“It’s great,” Jarel says. “Val, you like it?”

“I love it.”

“How much?” Matt asks.

“Was two-eight,” Angelo says. “It’s down to one-nine. We might be able to convince them to drop to one-eight.”

“One-nine?” Matt asks with raised eyebrows. “As in 100,000 short of two million?”

Angelo nods. “The inspector didn’t find any serious issues, but we’d probably need to put in another ten grand to replace steps and make minor renovations before we could actually move in.”

Matt points at himself, me, then Bea. “Even with twenty percent down, there’s no way the three of us can afford this.”

“I’ve been thinking about that,” Angelo says, “and I talked it over with Jarel. Between the two of us, we can afford the down payment. I’m almost done renovating my place to flip it, so I’ll be listing it in the next couple of months. Jarel’s going to keep his condo for now, and he can use it for collateral.”

“What?” I ask. “You’re keeping the condo?”

“Yeah, of course.” He cocks his head like he can read my thoughts, sense my insecurities. “Let’s talk later.”

“I’m just making up numbers,” Angelo continues, “so no one get offended and lose their shit, but let’s say that combined, we make 500,000 per year, and of that, let’s say that I make 150, and Bea makes fifty. In that case, I would pay thirty percent of the mortgage, and Bea would pay ten. We’ll base it on income instead of an even split. That’s more fair.”

“But it makes us more reliant on you and Jarel,” Matt points out.

“That was going to happen regardless,” Jarel says. “We’re not going to find a house this large for the same rate that you all are paying for your apartments.”

“This is a big house,” Matt says, looking around. “Do we really need all this space?”

“We will as our family grows,” I say.

He rubs the back of his neck. “I need a minute.”

He walks into the living room, and I follow him. “Matt, we talked about this.”

“I know, and I do love this house, but that is a lot of financial pressure, Val. I’m an elementary school teacher. I’ll likely never make what Angelo makes, let alone Jarel. I’m not used to relying on others.”

“We’re in this together, Matt. All of us. We’ll figure out the details, but remember that we’re a team.”

He runs his fingers over the brick fireplace. “This is your dream home?”

“It is.”

“And you want a big family?”

“I do.”

“And you’re cool with a thirty-year mortgage?”

“I am.”

He kisses my cheek. “Okay, honey, I’m in.”

I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss him hard. “Thank you, Matt. Thank you.”

“I’ll go tell the guys.”

As soon as Matt's in the kitchen, Jarel joins me in the living room. He wraps his right arm around me, and we stare into the empty fireplace. “Tell me,” he says.

“What?”

“Why you’re upset that I’m keeping the condo.”

“I’m not upset, just surprised.”

“Val?” he coaxes.

“Why are you keeping it, Jarel?”

“No,” he says. “You first.”

“You know why.”

“Tell me.”

I wrap my arm around him, and he squeezes my shoulder.

“Tell me,” he says more gently.

“Keeping the condo makes it look like you don’t really want to commit. Keeping it makes it easier for you to leave.”

He leans down to place his lips against my ear. “I’m not going anywhere, baby.”

I look at him, and he kisses me with one of his hard, intense kisses.

“Then why are you keeping it?”

“Because it’s an asset, a good investment, and…” He turns me toward him and strokes my cheek. “And because I thought it might be a nice place to get away on the weekends. I thought the kids might like something different when they need a break from everything at home.”

“You want a relaxing place for our kids.” I don’t know why I expected anything less from Jarel.

He nods. “A sanctuary.”

I run my hand down his side, settling at his hip. “I’m sorry I doubted you.”

He places his hand under my shirt, and gently strokes my stomach. “You’re going to have to trust me, baby.”

“I do.”

“Most of the time.”

I hesitate. “Trust is hard for me. You know that.”

He kisses me again and slowly slides his hand to my ass. “We’ll have to work on that.”

“Don’t start something you can’t finish,” I whisper.

He chuckles and returns his hand to my stomach. “You know what Angelo told me? The previous owners’ son took trumpet lessons, and they renovated his bedroom to make it soundproof.”

I stand back and search his eyes.

He winks. “That’ll be my room.”

Excitement rushes through me. “Maybe worry about healing first,” I say, gently touching his sling. “Then we can talk about how soundproof those walls really are.”

***

The four of us complete an online loan application, then go to the bank for an in-person conversation.

When we arrive, a teller informs us that we’ll meet with Senior Loan Officer Thomas White in Conference Room B.

“Dammit,” I say under my breath as we head toward the stairs.

“What?” Matt asks.

“White hates me. Maybe I should take my name off the application. Let you three do it alone.”

“That’s crazy,” Angelo says. “It’s your dream house.”

“Why does he hate you?” Jarel asks.

“My father–”

Angelo groans.

“My father and White were acquaintances for a bit, and when he died, he still owed White and the bank a lot of money. They took most of it out of his estate, but even that didn’t cover it all.”

“You think White will hold that against you?” Matt asks.

“Against us,” I say. “Yes, I do.”

Angelo and Jarel exchange a look. “Between the four of us, we have plenty of money,” Jarel says. “It’ll be fine, Val. You’re not your father’s daughter.”

He’s got that right.

We climb the steps, me trudging at the end of the line, and we make our way to the conference room.

“Please, have a seat,” White says. He points at the guys. “Based on your driver’s licenses… Angelo, Jarel, Matt?” he guesses.

The guys nod.

I sit next to Matt, as far away from White as possible.

He looks at me. “And Valentina Rivera. You’re Diego Rivera’s daughter?”

I don’t know why he phrases it like a question. He already knows the answer. “Yes.”

He turns to Matt. “The four of you are wanting to take out a loan to purchase a six-bedroom house?”

“Yes,” Matt says.

“And the income you all listed is accurate, and Jarel will be putting up his condo as extra collateral?”

“Yes,” Jarel says.

White nods. “Okay then. I think I can push this loan through with a thirty-five percent down payment.”

I knew it.

“Thirty-five percent?!” Angelo repeats. “We were expecting twenty.”

“Well, many times, we do offer loans with a twenty percent down payment–”

“Or less, statistically,” Jarel interrupts.

“But in this case, the bank has assessed that the loan is too risky without thirty-five percent.”

“And why is that?” Jarel asks evenly.

“With Miss Rivera on the loan, the risk increases. Her income and credit score are not as high as those of Jarel and Angelo.”

“But she’s not buying it by herself,” Matt says.

“If Miss Rivera were to excuse herself from the mortgage,” White says, “the bank could go as low as eighteen percent for the down payment.”

“This is bullshit,” Angelo says.

Jarel touches his arm. “Just to be clear, Valentina’s involvement is the only reason you’re expecting a down payment nearly double what you would require otherwise?”

“That’s correct.”

Jarel nods, then smiles when a woman slightly older than us waves at him.

She’s gorgeous.

Model gorgeous.

Her skin is slightly lighter than Jarel’s skin, and her smile shows straight, white teeth. Taller and more fit than me, she’s wearing the hell out of a black pantsuit and salmon blouse. Her long box braids are partly covered by a bright headscarf, and her sleek glasses compliment her angular features.

Jarel pushes back his chair, and when she steps into the room, he wraps his right arm around her. “Mindy.”

Matt touches my hand. I assume he’s worried that I’m jealous, and maybe I am, but I’m more mesmerized than threatened.

Still, the embrace is definitely tighter and longer than the standard three-second, casual hug.

“It’s been too long, Jarel. We’ve missed you.”

“Me too,” he says.

“Are you coming back?”

“I don’t know. I’m working on some other stuff now.”

She nods against him, and they finally release each other. “What happened to your arm?”

“I got shot.”

“Oh my god!” she screeches, then points at him. “You were in the restaurant during the shooting a couple of days ago.”

He smiles wryly. “That’s me. Actually, that’s all of us, I guess.”

White looks confused. Maybe he doesn’t watch the news.

“Are you okay?”

“It’ll heal,” he says.

“I guess you’ve had worse, huh?”

He nods but doesn’t offer any additional comment.

When he mentioned he’d been through worse, I didn’t ask any follow-up questions. Now I’m wondering what Mindy knows that I don’t.

“What are you doing here?” she asks, wrapping her hand around the crook of his right elbow.

“Trying to apply for a loan to buy a house.”

“Tired of the condo?”

“Actually, I’m buying it with my significant other, Valentina,” he says, pointing at me and then the guys, “along with Matt and Angelo.”

“Significant other?” she asks.

He nods.

She hugs him again, just as tightly as before. “That’s great, Jarel. Wow. That’s great. No wonder we haven’t seen you.”

White clears his throat, but no one pays attention.

“How’s it going on your end?” Jarel asks her, returning the hug.

“Slowly,” she says, pulling away. “Got a plant and a dog. That’s as far as I’ve made it.”

“We all heal in our own time,” he says gently.

She nods. “The loan process is going okay?” she asks, looking from Jarel to White.

“Not really,” Jarel says. “If Valentina is on the loan, Mr. White is insisting that we put down thirty-five percent.”

“Thirty-five?! Who is she? Bernie Madoff?”

I chuckle.

“Almost,” White says. “She’s Diego Rivera’s daughter.”

Mindy raises her eyebrows at me. “Well, that probably sucked, huh?”

I can’t help but laugh. “It really did.”

Mindy rolls her eyes at White. “You really wanna pull some ‘sins of the father’ bullshit? Give me a break, Tom.” She walks over and picks up our file. “You’re putting up the condo?” she asks Jarel.

“Yeah.”

She smiles at me. “He must really love you.”

“It’s mutual,” I say.

“Good.” She snaps her fingers at White. “Get out. Out, out, out. Jarel, have a seat.” She flips through the pages. “Sorry. Catch me up. What’s the relation with Matt and Angelo?”

“We’re buying the house together,” Jarel says. “Living together.”

“Roommates for economic reasons?” she asks him.

“Polyamory,” Jarel answers.

Her mouth drops, and she closes the file. “Really?”

“Really,” Jarel says. When she leans back in her chair, he says, “It’s good, Mindy. One love. One house. Great plans for the future. It’s all good.”

She takes a deep breath and opens the file again. “How much were you all wanting to put down?”

“Twenty percent.”

She nods. “Sounds good. Give me a few minutes. I’ll draw up the final paperwork, and you all can sign it today.” She stands, but touches Jarel’s arm. “You’re okay… with this? You’re okay?”

“I’m okay.”

She nods. “Everyone, help yourself to water or coffee, and I’ll be back shortly.”

When she leaves, Angelo says, “Well, that took a turn.”

“How do you know her?” Matt asks.

Jarel stands up and gestures for me to follow him. “Her wife died the same month as my partner. We met in a grief support group and became really close.”

He and I huddle in the corner. “You’re okay?” he asks, his voice lowered.

“Afraid I’d be jealous?”

“Just checking in.”

“I’m fine.” I bite my lip and smile.

He chortles. “What?”

“Can I say something really inappropriate?”

“Go for it.”

“She’s fucking gorgeous.”

“She is definitely conventionally attractive. No doubt.”

“It’s more than that. She’s hot.”

He grins, clicks his tongue, and leans in. “Should I be looking for a threesome partner for us?” he whispers.

I laugh into his shoulder. “Maybe.”

“Really? You’d be down for that?”

“If she looked like Mindy.”

“Challenge accepted,” he says with a laugh. “Not Mindy because there’s too much history there, but… I’ll keep you posted.”

“Please do.”

When Mindy returns, we all sign the papers, and I realize that we actually are buying a house.

Moving in together.

Taking the first step to bigger things.

But will it be different when we’re actually living together?