“Thanks. I also pipe horror music to the outside.”

“I fear for the psyches of small children coming to your house.”

“You’ll have to be here on Halloween. A bunch of people come over. We dress up and scare the shit out of kids.”

She cocked a brow. “Someday you’re going to make your own kids so proud.”

He gave her a look, then a grin. “Thanks.”

It was at that moment she realized their child would have been twelve years old now. She waited for the anguish, but it passed quickly. She was grateful for that, because she was tired of dwelling on it. It was time to put it in the past.

He brushed his knuckles across her cheek. “What are you thinking about?”

She exhaled, refusing to bring it up. They’d rehashed it enough. “I’m thinking you need some headstones in this yard to fully creepify the look.”

He turned around, put his hands on his hips, and stared out over the front lawn. “You know what? You’re right. I’ll get some next week.”

She could already imagine the effect this yard was going to have on the kids. They’d be so scared. Then again, she remembered seeking out just this type of house when she and her friends had gone trick-or-treating when she was a kid. The scarier, the better.

Carter was going to be a huge hit.

He put his arm around her. “How about you come inside with me and we get something to drink?”

“Sure.”

They picked up the remnants of the decorations and put them away in the garage, then she followed him inside the house.

She’d been here twice already, though the first time had been when she’d dumped him inside the front door, so that didn’t really count. The second time she’d been nervous and had taken only a cursory glance—enough to note it was a nice house—but that had been about it.

Now, though, she was more relaxed, and she took the time to note his leather sofas, the dark wood floors, the recently renovated kitchen. The house wasn’t new, but the kitchen was. All new appliances, quartz counters, with a newly tiled back-splash as well. She liked the looks of his kitchen, with its roomy island and plenty of space to work.

“Did you renovate the kitchen yourself?”

He handed her a beer. “I did. More or less. My dad helped some, and I had some friends over to help out when I could wrangle them on weekends, but mostly I did it on my own.”

She pulled a seat up to the island. “You did a great job.”

He took a long swallow of beer, then smiled at her. “Thanks. The place was a fixer-upper when I bought it, which meant I got it for a bargain. It also meant a lot of work, so I’ve been . . . working on it here and there for the past couple of years.”

She swiveled around on her barstool, giving his place the once-over now that she knew he’d been renovating. “Tell me what you’ve done. What was it like when you moved in?”

He pushed off the counter, and took her by the hand. “Grab your beer. I’ll give you the grand tour. I warn you, though. I’m not finished yet, so you’re going to see old house mixed with new house.”

Her lips curved as she lifted her gaze to his. “That’s what makes it fun. I like a work in progress. If it’s all ‘after,’ I don’t get to see how much work you’ve done.”

He laughed. “Okay then.” He took her into the living room, which was large, filled with two leather sofas, a modern, sleek fireplace and a really good-sized flat-screen TV. He’d fashioned a quirky-looking coffee table out of some kind of metal, and there was a side table on one end of one of the sofas.

“This room used to be small. There was a dining room on the side, also closed off. And the kitchen had a wall separating it from the living room. I took that out to open the whole thing up.”

“I can see how this works now. It’s much more open. And you added those French doors. My guess is there used to be a slider instead.”

“Yeah. With the most God awful ugly curtains you can imagine.”

“Oh, I can imagine. Remember, I move a lot so I’ve lived in places with what you could call ‘unique’ décor.”

“Is that right?’

“Yes.” She gave the room a critical look. “This is great entertainment space now. It’s roomy, and with the island in the kitchen and extra seating there, you can fit in a lot of people.”

“That was the idea.” He led her down the hall. “The guest bathroom is off to the left. I haven’t started on it yet.”

Which meant she had to check it out. She opened the door to find blanched oak cabinetry, gold fixtures, a shower/tub combination. All very nineties-type décor. It was clean, though, so she gave him props for that.

She turned to Carter. “It’s workable, but boring and dated.”

“Yeah. It’s the next project on the list. The last rooms to get renovated will be the other three bedrooms. I wanted to do the kitchen and living room first, and I finished the master bedroom just a month or so ago.”

As soon as he opened the door to his bedroom, her eyes widened.

Now this was a retreat. Wide windows which surely let in a ton of light, making her wish it was daylight so she could see how the sun would spill into the oversized room. He had a king-sized bed and two nightstands, and there was still plenty of space for the two oversized stuffed chairs and table next to the windows. He’d continued the hardwood in this room, but put a comfortable-looking rug in between the bed and the sitting area. She walked in, admiring the furniture and the peaceful earth tone color of the paint in the room. Quietly, she made her way into the bathroom, but there, she gasped.