She laughed.

The kids amused themselves that evening playing video games for a while. Even Grant got in on the action, and before long, they’d convinced Katrina to join them. She had to admit, it was fun, though she obviously wasn’t as well versed in whatever universe they were playing in, and got her butt kicked frequently. But she enjoyed a nice relaxing evening with her siblings, laughing as they hunted her down and killed her more than once.

“You guys are ruthless,” she said.

“Hey, don’t blame us if Grant doesn’t have your back on the battlefield,” Leo said.

“Not my fault,” Grant said, keeping his eyes on the screen. “She keeps going in the wrong direction. I can’t protect her if she’s heading the opposite way.”

“There’s too many buttons on this controller. I can’t figure out what to do with them all.”

“That’s because you don’t play enough,” Leo said.

She decided to take a break from the carnage, letting her soldier—or character, or whatever—die, much to Grant’s dismay. She went upstairs to refresh her drink. When she came back down, she didn’t reenter the game, just watched for a while, and surveyed the rest of Grant’s unfinished basement. It was cool down here, even in the hot summer. Which gave her even more ideas. Taking some time to amuse herself while the rest of them finished out their battle, she grabbed Anya’s tablet and used her sister’s home decorating app to flesh out some thoughts that had popped into her head.

She curled up on one of the side sofas and lost herself in her ideas.

“What are you working on over here?”

Grant’s warm breath tickled her neck. “You’ll laugh.”

“I doubt it. Looks like you’re renovating the basement now.” He came around and sat next to her. “Show me what you’ve got.”

“Well, you’ve done this amazing media room, but people have to go upstairs for drinks. It’s nice and cool down here, and you have plenty of space for a wine cellar, plus a wet bar over here.”

He studied the plans she’d created, then looked over the space in the basement.

“Definitely doable. I’ve been wondering what to do with the unfinished part of the basement.”

She fiddled with the design. “Then you could soundproof this room, close it off from the dressing room and laundry area, but both areas would still have doors leading to the stairwell so people could get upstairs.”

He glanced over at her. “I really do like this idea, Katrina. Plus the outdoor barbecue. You and Anya are good at this.”

She shrugged. “Just playing, really.”

He laid his hand over hers. “No, I’m serious. Can you e-mail this to me? I want to talk it over with my contractor. I think this is something he could get started on right away. We could do the outside entertainment area before the cold weather sets in, and they could work indoors this winter.”

He was taking this way too seriously. “You know we did not mean for you to spend money renovating your house. We were just throwing out silly ideas.”

His lips curved. “That would be fun if the ideas were crazy. But these are realistic and would add value to the house. Why wouldn’t I take them seriously, especially if it’s something I want to do?”

She stared at him. “You are taking this seriously.”

“Well … yeah. My mom’s been after me to finish the house for a while now—especially the basement. I haven’t given it a lot of thought. Now I am.”

Anya flipped around and faced them. “So you’re going to do it?”

Grant gave her a grin. “I think so.”

“Very cool. I want to come back when the outside kitchen is finished. I think it’s going to look awesome.” She turned around and went back to the game.

Until Leo paused the game again and turned around. “The zip line, too?”

Grant laughed. “I don’t think that one’s gonna fly, buddy.”

Leo faced the game again, shaking his head. “Too bad. You could be really popular if you did the zip line.”

“I think Grant is popular enough without it,” Katrina said.

Grant called an end to the game and they agreed on some epic movie watching, though everyone argued over what to watch. Anya wanted a romantic comedy. Leo picked a horror movie, and in the end, Katrina and Grant won out with an action flick, which Anya and Leo grudgingly accepted.

They made popcorn, everyone refilled their drinks, and they settled in to watch the movie.

The sound was amazing, and Katrina was convinced that once the room was enclosed and soundproofed, it could be even better. The movie was pretty fantastic, too, with nonstop action. Even the kids admitted to liking it.

Once it was over, though, Katrina and Grant headed upstairs, leaving the kids to watch the movies they wanted.

“Don’t stay up too late,” Katrina said.

“Or what?” Leo asked. “We’ll be tired for school tomorrow?”

She pinned him with a look.

“He’s kind of got you there,” Grant said, then turned to Leo. “You should stay up all night. Then when I wake you around eight, you’ll really enjoy it.”

Leo frowned. “Why would you wake me that early?”

Grant arched a brow and gave Leo a smug smile. “Wouldn’t you like to know?”

“Fine. I’ll go to bed after the next movie’s over.”