Read Online Road to Reality by Natalie Ann - Free Book Online Page A

she added, looking down at the rich chocolate hardwood running the length of the entire first floor. 
    “Yes, everything is so new I can match the floors in the addition rather than having to rip out brand new flooring. The same floors run the entire length of the upstairs.”  Zoe was currently squirming to get down, so he gently put her feet on the floor, his gaze following her as she walked over to the large couch and climbed up. Her little form was almost swallowed by its sheer size. 
    Once Beth saw that Zoe was settled, she turned to Mac. “So, what do you need my help for? It looks pretty perfect to me,” she asked, not wanting to insult him on the bland color choices since he said that he liked the style.
    “It’s a little boring,” he said, almost reading her thoughts. “I don’t like flashy, but the white is blah to me. I wasn’t lying when I said I liked what you did with the colors in your house. I thought maybe you could give me some suggestions because I really want to get rid of all these white walls, but replacing it with a tan color isn’t much better, and that is what I keep gravitating toward.”
    “Oh, OK, I can help with that. You have color samples, right?” She remembered he had them in his hand the day he saw her buying Zoe’s fan. “Can I ask what you’re doing with the addition? That might help with the color choices or suggestions.”
    “Is she OK there?” Mac asked first, after looking at Zoe happily gazing around the room while she sat on the couch.
    “Sure. Let me get her a doll. That will keep her entertained for hours.”
    After Zoe had her favorite doll in her hand, they heard a faint little giggle and what sounded like, “Dr. Mac’s house.” 
    He was already laying the house plans on the island, then added, “You can see her from here.”
    She turned and looked at the first set of plans as he pointed to a dining room that was going to be placed between the kitchen and the new living room. An office in the front of the house, with the stairs remaining where they were, finished off the plans for the first floor. “I would have thought you’d want a nice view for your office.”
    “No, actually if I give myself a bad view it will force me to spend less time in there,” he said devilishly.
    She nodded in agreement. “I didn’t think of that.” 
    After pointing out the large French doors that would be installed connecting the new living room to the deck, which was also being expanded, he pulled the second set of plans out of the pile.  “This is the upstairs.  Right now there are two good-sized bedrooms and a full bath, but I’m having a large master suite added with a balcony overlooking the lake, and a fourth bedroom.”
    Shuffling the plans again, he pulled out the third and final set. “This is for the walkout basement. I’m putting a guest suite down there. I realized how nice it was to have when I was visiting my sister, Brooke, last summer.  Her husband has a guest suite in the basement and it gave everyone privacy.”
    “It’s almost like you are building a whole new house. Why not buy land and start from scratch?” She couldn’t imagine the amount of money it would take to put this addition on an already existing house.
    “There isn’t a lot of land available for sale on the lake, so I couldn’t be too choosy. And this lets me live here while the construction is going on. I know it’s going to get pretty crazy once they start cutting through the existing walls, which will be any day now. The contractor said he would try to get the new walls up fast so that the dust is blocked off. So far he’s been true to his word schedule-wise.  Everything is moving fast, and he’s even brought in a few extra crewmembers to get it done as quickly as possible.
    After Mac finished up explaining the floor plans, she made some suggestions on colors that she felt would brighten each room up, but not be shocking either.  He was a man after all, so she made