I sit back in my seat again. “Well, that’s good. That house was built to have a family.”
“Apparently, they agree,” Boone says as we pull up.
Three trucks sit in the driveway … next to Boone’s car.
“Why is your car here?” I ask him.
Larissa pulls to a stop. Seatbelts are unfastened.
“I …” He looks at Larissa. “Oliver and I came out earlier. We wanted to make sure the, um, construction guys weren’t going to pose a problem for Riss.”
We climb out of the car.
“But isn’t that why I’m here?” I ask, confused.
“Yeah, because a couple of them didn’t check out,” Larissa says. “Anyway, let’s go.”
We head across the lawn and around to the side of the house. It’s just as breathtaking as I remember it. But, with each step we take, a weird feeling comes over me.
I take in the backyard and all of the activity taking place. Four construction men with tape measures and pencils and paper stand near the back door.
Larissa and Boone wander off to a large hedge near where I said the pool should go, and I notice that there are little colored flags stuck in the grass in that area.
Wow. Herbie and Janet really took my advice to heart.
“What are you guys doing?” I say to the men. I keep my distance because I don’t know which one is sketchy.
“Building an enclosed porch,” the tallest one says. “Which was a great idea. Can you imagine this house with a big porch on it? And there’s going to be a real wood-burning fireplace too.”
I smile ear-to-ear. “It was my idea.”
“Good idea,” he says, grinning. “Do you know if we can put the trim from the kitchen in the garage? We’re supposed to use all of the original woodwork that we can. But with the new appliances and paint and recessed lighting, we’re going to have to pop a lot of the trim off and save it.”
My heart melts at the love that’s being put into this house. And a bit of pride comes in, too, that I had a part in that. Small, maybe, but at least I helped. That feels good.
“I’m sorry,” I tell the man. “I don’t know. This isn’t … my …. house?”
My jaw hits the grass. My eyes go wide before they fill with tears. My legs wobble as I swear my vision is playing tricks on me.
Coy breezes out of the house.
He’s wearing a black suit and tie. His chin drops, his eyes grow serious as he walks confidently across the backyard. His gaze fixes on mine in a way that only his can.
I try to speak, but it comes out as a squeak.
“Hey, baby,” he says, stopping just in front of me.
“You … what are you doing here?” I look over my shoulder at Riss and Boone. They’re smiling cautiously. “Coy? I don’t … understand.”
He grins. It’s soft and vulnerable and makes me want to jump and wrap my legs around his waist and hold on to him for the rest of my life.
I have missed him. I didn’t even realize how much until this moment.
“What happened today?” I ask him.
“A lot.” He grins again. “I woke up, fired Meadow, got a plane ticket home.” His lips twist together. “Bought a house.”
“You did? Where? I …. Oh, my gosh.”
The construction guys watch us like we’re on a soap opera. Larissa beams behind me. Boone just shakes his head with a cheeky grin on his face.
My head spins as I try to get a hold on reality.
“Holt told me where I fucked up,” he says. “I needed to show you that I’m serious. That we are forever. That you can’t run away from me, push me, tell me that it’s not time. But, damn it, Bells—it’s you and me. Or I don’t want it.”
“Coy …” I say, trying to catch my breath. “What did you do? Did you buy this house? How? How did you know?”
“You mentioned the house at dinner at Mom’s. And Larissa explained how much you loved it. Boone contacted Herbie and Janet, and Holt contacted the realtor and put the earnest money down—which I’ll pay him back for next week. Oliver called up a title office, and Wade knew a contractor that owed him a favor.” He scratches his head. “Now I owe Wade a favor, and that disturbs me.”
I giggle at the playfulness in his eyes. My heart swells.
“In all fairness, this isn’t in our name yet. You can’t just buy a house in a day and get it recorded. But it’ll be done fast enough, and Herbie and Janet … Well, they love you and happily signed a form Oliver sent them to allow us to do whatever we wanted in the meantime.”
This isn’t in our name yet.
“Coy … I’m still confused.”
He smiles. “Don’t be. It’s really simple. The label threatened to walk away, but my lawyer intervened, explaining what Meadow had actually done. She explained all the Willa crap and … I don’t know. She’s taking care of it. And she fully supports my boundaries which is crazy. Anjelica is my new agent. You’ll love her. She’s so not an asshole. I mean, I’ve talked to her once this afternoon, but she gave me good vibes.”
I laugh, feeling the stress on my shoulders start to release.
“And Anjelica promises me that we’ll figure this out. And we will. No matter what happens, as long as I have you, it’s worked out.”
I gaze up at him and take him in—his beauty, his flaws, his perfection, and his mistakes.
God knows I’m not perfect, either. But maybe we’re more perfect because of our shortcomings. Perhaps you have to find your wounds and heal them as you go to be whole.
I reach up and grab his shoulders and pull him down to me. I press my lips against his.
He wraps his arms around me and pulls me into him and holds me for so long that I don’t think he’s ever letting go.
Which is fine with me.
“I should’ve trusted you,” I tell him. “I’m sorry. I got scared.”
“And I should’ve done a lot of things differently, Bells. And I’m sorry I didn’t. You were right. I didn’t consult you. I didn’t really know that I could as I’ve done things solo for a long damn time. I’d forgotten how a good team functions, because I’d forgotten how good we are together. How much I can rely on you and your thoughts and input. And your love.”
I play with his tie as I think about last night.
“You know, I’ve been let down so many times in my life that I almost expect it,” I say softly. “I act bubbly and happy, but a lot of the times, I’m just looking around for what’s going to go wrong next.” I look up at him again, my hand stilling around the fabric. “I knew if things went wrong with you that I would never recover. Because I gave you my heart and—”
He kisses me again. This time, it’s deeper. More passionate. Full of promises.
When he pulls back, he smiles.
“We have one more decision to make,” he says. “And we need to make it pretty quickly.”
“Okay.”
He looks over my shoulder and smiles at Boone and Larissa. A small laugh escapes him before he looks back at me.
“What name do you want to put on the Deed?” he asks.