I nearly miss what he says because I’m too distracted from the arm porn happening right now.
“Marble?” I ask.
“What’s wrong with marble?” Cal frowns.
“It doesn’t fit the style of the house.”
“Neither does the price tag, but that didn’t bother you before.” He grins.
I could strangle him right here, right now with Ryder as my sole witness. Maybe for the right price, he would be willing to supply me with some cement sneakers.
Ryder’s dark eyes bounce between the two of us. “If you want marble floors for a house of this size, you’re looking at a six-month wait, at the very least, depending on our supplier.”
Cal waves his hand in the air. “That won’t work then. Let’s stick with the original floors.”
Ryder moves on to the kitchen while Cal and I follow behind. He pokes around and scribbles notes across his clipboard while making different noises to himself. Some sound confirmatory while others make the hairs on my arms raise.
He seems especially unhappy when he whips out a handy-dandy tool and starts hacking away at a goddamn wall. He mutters a curse under his breath before turning to face us. “So do you want the good news or the bad news first?”
Cal leans against the island with a smile. “You found something good about the place? I’m absolutely shocked.”
I pinch him in the side. “I’ll take the bad news first please.”
“You have asbestos.”
Oh, no.
“You’re kidding me.” Cal frowns.
“It’s pretty typical in homes of this age. We need to contact an asbestos abatement contractor who works with us to come out and carefully remove the mineral fiber from the walls, floors, and insulation.”
Cal pulls out his phone and gets to researching, completely tuning out my panicked gasp.
“They’re going to have to rip out walls?”
“Potentially. I’m not going to open up any more holes without the proper equipment.”
“What’s the good news?” I rub my temple.
“It shouldn’t take longer than three weeks, give or take how soon someone can come out here to clear it out. By the time you come back, all of it should be removed and we can get started on the demo. It will set us behind a bit with our timeline, but you can spend the time picking out the finishes.”
My world spins around me like I just stepped off a tilt-a-whirl. “Whoa. Wait. What do you mean come back? Where are we going?”
Ryder frowns. “Now that we found asbestos, I don’t recommend you stay here until we have professionals remove it.”
“Why not?”
Cal speaks up, his jaw working. “Because there is no way I’m letting you live around something that could cause you cancer.”
“Cancer?” My eyes widen.
“Pack your bags because you and Cami are staying with me at the guesthouse.”
After Ryder leaves, I do my own thorough search about what kind of health risks asbestos poses while Cal takes the initiative and books an abatement team to get started on Friday once I pack up the rest of the house.
I only have two options for a temporary living situation, one of which is automatically a no-go because Violet has two roommates right now and no guest bedroom for me and a small child. Delilah and Wyatt’s two-bedroom starter home is my only other option. I just need to call Delilah once she gets off work and ask her first.
Cal doesn’t seem to like me evading his order to stay at the guesthouse. He hasn’t stopped following me around all afternoon, which has been both annoying and useful when I need to reach tall items.