Page 70 of Pack End Game

Any doubt I had is long gone already. "Serious enough to offer them all-cash and over asking if we can speed the whole process along as quickly as possible."

Mia's heat grows closer with every passing day. We don't have time to waste.

"Well... congratulations." Rufus still looks stuck in complete disbelief, but a good realtor knows never to talk a difficult client out of the choice they finally make, no matter how misguided this venture might prove to be.

"Thank you!" Freddie grins and bows, somehow managing to look like he's taking all the credit even though Zak and I will be the ones ultimately footing the bill for this purchase.

He's lucky he's so damn cute.

"I'll make some phone calls and see what I can do." Rufus holds his hand out to me, and we shake on the decision. Once he tells the seller what I'm willing to pay, I have a feeling everyone will be happy to help expedite the process for us.

Money talks, and we have plenty of it at our disposal. Jokes about buying cars and gym memberships aside, our financial advisors have invested well for Zak and me.

It's about damn time we put the money to better use.

I never expected the home of our omega's dreams would turn out to be a retirement home, but now that she's shown us all the vision, I couldn't picture making our home anywhere else.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Mia

No wonder Quinn loved working with Rufus so much, because the man is a wizard. Less than twenty-four hours after showing us the former retirement home of my dreams, he leads us out of the lawyer’s office and grins as he hands over the keys.

"I have to say..." He shakes his head with a bemused smile. "This isn't where I expected our search to lead, but I'm so happy we could make this happen for you so quickly."

"You lack imagination," Freddie tells him, his tone too apologetic to think he's trying to be mean. He looks honestly a little embarrassed on Rufus's behalf, which is so funny that I have to bite back a giggle.

"I have imagination," Rufus defends himself. "What I lacked was confidence in your collective sanity."

"That's fair," I chime in.

Spencer runs his hand over the back of my head, down the length of my hair, until his hand comes to rest at my lower back. "So, that's it? We own the place fair and square?"

"The property is yours," he confirms with a nod. Paying over the asking price certainly helped make it happen.

I grab Spencer's forearm with both hands and squeeze. "We bought it!"

The corner of his mouth tips up. "We bought it."

Freddie claps with the enthusiasm of a standing ovation.

I feel deliriously happy for about six perfect seconds.

Then Rufus clears his throat.

He holds his hands up. "I don't want to ruin anything. I just have to remind you that while you all now officially own the property, there's still the matter of zoning."

Right.

That.

My joy deflates like a balloon someone poked a tiny, bureaucratic needle through.

The building is ours, but we can't legally live in it until the city approves our request to change the property to residential use. I understand the details in theory, but I hate the obstacle in practice.

"How long will it take to get the city to approve rezoning?"

Rufus winces. "That depends."