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I sank back into the wall and gave Jason a thumbs up while she climbed up on the hearth step to sniff the mantle. “Is this cedar?”
Opening the basement door for Carolyn to leave us alone for a minute, Jason shot her with his finger gun. “Damn straight. I cut and sanded it from a tree that fell in the backyard.”
Their footsteps disappeared down the staircase, and Faith backed from the fireplace into my arms. “What do you think so far?”
She took a deep breath through her nose, shaking her head when I bent down to kiss her neck. “I’m not sure how to explain it, but it’s like I’ve been here before if that makes sense.”
Laughing at herself, she wiped the tear rolling down her cheek and sniffled. “Like I drew up the plans for it myself. It’s so...” Her shoulder bounced under my chin. “I can’t describe it.”
I hugged her a little tighter as I nodded my head against hers. “Comfortable. It feels comfortable.” From the moment I stepped into this place when Jason considered buying it, I had the same feeling. Standing there with her in my arms like that, I finally knew why. “It’s what home is supposed to be like. It’s not something you can define, but you know it when it surrounds you.”
She touched my cheek for a moment as her other hand pulled my fingers apart so she could turn around to face me. “Yeah. That’s what I’m trying to say.”
Her palms slid up my chest until her arms were around my neck. “It’s like I’ve lived here all my life and never want to leave it again.” Leaning sideways to peek behind me, she jerked her chin at the rest of the house. “It speaks to my heart. You know?”
Pushing my forehead into hers, I smiled and jerked my eyebrows at her. “I think you found your dream house, baby.”
Biting down on her lip to keep it from shaking, she squeaked back at me. And it was the most beautiful thing I ever heard. “This is my house.”
Locking my arms around her waist, I lifted her from the floor and nodded at her as I turned us around. “You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that.”
Sucking up that dreamy look in her eyes that pulled me in every time, I walked her to the hallway as all that anxiety about the pile of cash I dropped a few hours ago vanished entirely. “Now, let’s go try out the bedroom.”
29
Sneaking Around
Dominic
The seatbelt moved over her, and I gave her wrist a yank, pulling her across the seat to me before she buckled herself in. “You don’t have to sit so far away.” Twisting the ignition, I bared my teeth at her and turned back to look out the rear window as I put the truck in gear. “If you recall, I don’t bite hard unless you ask me to.”
She latched her belt buckle and pulled her phone from her bag, already beating at the screen. “What do you think the monthly payment on that will be?”
Flipping through the mortgage breakdown from the email in my memory, I shrugged back at her like it was nothing. But yeah, I was a little anxious about it myself. “Buying a house is one of the most stressful things you can do, so” — I pulled the phone from her fingers and dropped it into the pocket in my door so she couldn’t reach it — “don’t worry about it until you have to. Just be with me right now.”
Our bodies were still in tune, whatever those little voices of doubt in our brains whispered to us, and her palm moved over my thigh without another thought. “I’m sorry if I’m annoying you.”
Math was always a concept too hard for her to grasp, and I sensed the stress in her as she gently rolled out her neck. “I’m so afraid that they won’t give me the loan,” — I caught her eyes getting wider in the corner of my eye — “and even more afraid they will, and I won’t be able to afford the payments.”
I squeezed her hand as I leaned forward to peek down the road while we waited at the end of Jason’s drive. “Everything’s going to be fine. Just focus on the goal, not the how, and the universe will provide.”
Bumping into me with her shoulder, she clicked her teeth back at me. “There he is.” When I raised my eyebrow at the interstate sign to question her, she arced her hand away and whispered, “The magic man.” Laying her head on my shoulder as I took the exit out of town, she shook her head against it. “You always have been the most positive person I have ever met.”
I spent the last twenty years hating my life and dedicated every waking moment to willing some kind of miracle to happen. Laughing under my breath at her always too-high opinion of me, I merged into the bit of traffic littering the road. “Hardly. But this is a no-brainer, Faith. It’s perfect.” I bounced our hands against my leg. “Start picking out furniture. That’s your place now.”
My hand uncurled from the steering wheel for a moment to focus her on anything else. “On to new business.” I glanced over and wiggled my eyebrows. “Let’s talk about how you’re staying with me tonight.”
Cringing at the road, she shook her head and sighed as her whole body deflated. “I’m not sure I’m up for battling it out with your mom on my happy day.”
My finger bounced back at her. “Yeah, well, she’s not invited to this particular blessed event.” When I saw the amenities sign coming up on the right, I lifted my chin at it. “I thought I’d get us a room.”
Squishing air through her throat, she rolled her eyes at herself. “Ever since I got back here, it’s like...” She flipped her hand up from her lap. “I feel like a teenager sneaking around again.”
I slapped on the blinker to move to the passing lane. “Yeah. But now we don’t have to worry about getting caught. So be as freaky and loud as you want.”
The music died, and I glanced at the display when the unit’s ringtone started playing instead. “Dammit.” The edge of my thumb flicked the switch on my steering wheel. “Hey, it’s Doctor Vasser. What’s going on?”
I had a love-hate relationship with everyone I worked with. They were more or less my family since I spent most of my life with them. So they got the short end of the stick sometimes with my mood swings, and I guess they never knew which version of me they’d be getting.
