‘Are we really doing this?’ I whispered to my husband excitedly. He squeezed my arm with a grin, and we both turned as a car pulled into the unpaved driveway.
‘What do you think?’ the real estate agent called out to us, his teeth blindingly white even from this distance. ‘Pretty special location, no?’
‘It’s gorgeous,’ I said, looking away from his mouth and blinking away the dark spots in my vision.
‘We’re very pleased with it,’ my husband confirmed from behind his, in hindsight, quite sensible sunglasses. ‘Now we just have to find someone who’ll build the thing.’
‘Pffft,’ the agent replied, a sound I’d never actually heard come out of a human mouth before. ‘New home builders around the Mornington Peninsula are easy to come by.’
‘Good ones, though?’ I frowned. ‘I want our house to be perfect.’
‘Listen, sweetheart,’ he cackled. ‘I can get you the best in the biz.’
My hand instinctively drifted towards the pepper spray I kept in my purse, but my husband grasped it instead, lacing his fingers through mine and maintaining a grin at the real estate agent.
‘Don’t we have some papers to sign?’ he asked through a mildly-clenched jaw.
‘We sure do!’ the agent stepped back over to his car, pulling his briefcase from the front seat.
‘Ugh, I hate this guy,’ I whispered up to my husband. He responded with a reassuring squeeze of my hand.
‘Just think of the house,’ he whispered back. ‘We’ll get the best of the best.’
‘I want one of those luxury architects,’ I said. ‘The people who design those houses you see on the news.’
‘You think I haven’t already planned where our car elevator is going to go?’ he joked, elbowing me in the ribs. I laughed, right as the agent walked back over.
‘Hope the joke wasn’t about me,’ he guffawed, holding the contract up.
‘Just give me the stupid pen,’ I glared at him.