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I took the papers and read over them. I knew she had just gone over the main points with me and that I knew what they said, but I needed to read it. I needed to actually see the words for myself and know that they were actually what was on that paper, and there was nothing else in there to change it. Less than an hour ago, my heart had shattered when I thought everything was over and I'd never accomplish what kept me driven even through my hardest moments. Now I literally had someone hand it all to me. I owned the house. The gorgeous, unattainable, perfect house. It was mine.
I could transform it into the bed and breakfast I'd always imagined and have what I'd worked so hard for.
The initial shock and total disbelief dissipated, and excitement filled me. I felt like I was going to burst I was so happy.
"Is this real?" I asked.
I hadn't really intended on asking it out loud, but it came out of my mouth anyway. Ryan and Carmella laughed, and Ryan nodded.
"It is," he said.
There weren't even words to describe how incredibly touched I was that he'd done this for me.
He did it simply because he wanted to show me how much he cared and for me to have everything I wanted, including the house I thought was totally out of my grasp.
I looked over the papers one more time and looked around, realizing I didn't have a pen to sign them with.
"I need a pen," I said with a nervous laugh.
"Here," Carmella said.
She held a pen out to me, and I took it, hoping my hands weren't shaking too hard to sign my name legibly. I put the papers down on the desk and leaned on it to give myself the best chances of signing something that looked like my name.
"You know," I said, glancing over at Ryan, "you need to figure out how to be a bit more clandestine if you ever want to give me another surprise. You managed to scare the hell out of me."
Ryan laughed. "I'm sorry. I promise I'll try not to do that again."
I signed the paperwork, added my initials in a couple of places, and looked it over one more time before handing it back to Carmella. She checked each of the highlighted lines and smiled. Reaching into her drawer, she came out with a keychain. My heart jumped when I saw it.
"That's it?" I asked.
"That's it," she said. Her hand shot forward toward me, presenting me with the keys. "Congratulations. You are an official homeowner."
"And soon-to-be business owner," Ryan added.
I grinned and opened my hand so she could drop the keys into my palm.
"Thank you," I said, curling my fingers around them.
The weight of them and the press of the cold metal into my skin was one of the greatest things I'd ever felt. I opened my hand again and looked down at the keys. So many different emotions ran through me I couldn't settle on just one. I was thrilled and excited for my future, but also nostalgic and a little sad for what I'd been through. Then came a wave of nerves, wondering if I was going to actually be able to pull this off. I'd been so focused on finding a way to be able to buy the house I didn't really think about all the other challenges that would go into getting the bed and breakfast off the ground and eventually make it successful.
But as soon as that passed through, confidence and determination took over, making me even more driven to make this happen. I could strap on a pair of work boots and get started right then. Instead, I wrapped my hand around the keys again and looked over at Ryan.
"Thank you so much," I said. "I can't say it enough. Thank you."
He shook his head. "You don't have to say it at all. This is for you, but it's also for us."
"For us?" I asked.
My heart trembled in my chest, and I drew in a breath. I didn't want to jump to any conclusions or put any words in his mouth. He nodded and reached out to take my hands in his.
"Yes, for us. We are going to do this thing together."
I looked over at Carmella, and she nodded, giving a little shrug and a smile. "He told me the same thing when he came to me about this. He said that you have this absolutely amazing dream, and he knows that if there is anyone in the entire world who would be able to accomplish it, you would be that person. And he wants to be right there by your side for the entire thing, witnessing all the incredible things you're going to do."
Tears sprang up in the corners of my eyes and I looked at him again.
