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They made it to the front door and she unlocked it.
“I am exactly as cool as I believe I am.”
He extended an arm and ushered her to go first.
Ninety-nine percent of André’s personality was perfect. At least for her. He was gracious and sweet and polite. He held the door for her like a gentleman, but he never ever asked her to comb her hair or put on more clothes before they went out in public. He laughed at her jokes, listened to her talk about music in a way that had to be annoying, but he also didn’t get jealous that she had a lot of guy friends.
And then there was that one pesky detail.
That one thing that changed everything.
The Ghosting.
The door closed behind them, and André made sure to lock it. All the lights were still on. He must’ve been working right up until he came to get her.
Her stomach fluttered and she had to consciously keep breathing.
They arrived at the closed door of the lounge. He gave her a smile before pushing the door open.
She stepped into the room and her heart fell through the cracks of time and memory.
She’d been busy enough and disconnected from reality enough that she hadn’t really been paying attention to the changes going on over the past two weeks.
And nowhere in there did she consider what he could do to her.
She was wholly unprepared.
Yes, he’d painted the walls. And the floor was finished.
But he’d also replaced the couch with a cream-colored leather one which was going to match the lounger she had at home perfectly. He’d even left a space for it near the window where he’d set up a round coffee side table that looked like a converted wine rack.
On the painted walls he’d hung art. Vintage band posters, framed albums that they’d produced, political art from the ’80s. She looked up and the ceiling was what he’d described a few days before except it was so muchmore. The copper pipes gleamed. The ductwork had been replaced and was also copper now. But he’d painted the rafters to match the walls so the ceiling looked like it went on forever.
Against the wall with the built-ins, he’d created a tall worktable with stools around it.
It was a creative heart’s dream come true.
And it was all so…
“I needed to do some finishing touches. I found this lamp at a flea market in…” He shook his head. “Don’t worry about that part actually. It’s too hard to explain.” He strode across the room, his steps ringing solid on the hardwood, and wrapped his fingers around the stem of a tall floor lamp. “I thought I’d put it here.” He placed it near the wine rack side table. “But this space really needs a chair too.”
I have one.
She had the perfect one. They had both planned on putting it in the same place in the room and he didn’t even know the damn chair even existed.
“I have a few calls out to see if I can find a chair that will work. I don’t think a regular Lay-Z-Boy will do.” He flashed her a grin.
She was either going to throw up or burst into tears.
“I have one,” she choked out.
“I’m sorry, what was that?” he asked.
“I have one. A chair. The perfect chair actually.”
“Great!” He checked his watch. “Actually, we could grab it now if you have time.”
She gulped. This was…
