Luca's POV
Friday meant the contractor. I was at the house by seven thirty for the walkthrough. Three remaining rooms, the main bathroom tile, and the back garden clearing that needed to happen before any planting could begin. I'd pushed the garden up the priority list after Aria's twelve-item categorized planting plan.
The contractor noticed.
"You've never rushed exterior work before," he said.
"The timeline shifted."
He looked at me. He'd been working with me for four months and knew my patterns. "Someone's moving in."
"Eventually."
"How eventually."
"End of school year."
He did the calculation. "Four months." He made a note. "Garden bed by March then. Soil prep takes six weeks minimum."
"I know. That's why it moved up."
He nodded and wrote and didn't ask anything else. He was
