“Did you really have a meeting today?”
“Yes.”
“You wore that?”
“Yes.”
“To the office?”
“No.”
“Conrad,” she half whines, half laughs.
“Patience, beautiful,” I say, giving her thigh a gentle squeeze.
She’s quiet for the rest of the ride—I’m sure trying to figure out in her mind where we’re going and what I’m so excited to show her. “Are we going to Aurora’s?” she asks when we turn on my road.
My. Road.
I can’t believe I bought this place with only my brother and Aspen’s sister knowing. I hope she loves it as much as I do. When I bought it, I thought of her living here with me. I hope that one day that’s not just a dream but a reality.
“No. We’re going here,” I say, turning on my turn signal and turning into the drive.
“Wow, this place is beautiful. Who lives here?”
“No one.” It’s not a complete lie. I’m not living here yet.
“What are we doing here?”
“I wanted you to see it.”
“Oh, okay,” she says, confused, but takes off her seat belt and climbs out of the car. “I love the front porch.”
“Yeah?” I ask her.
“It’s so inviting.” She follows me up onto the front porch and gasps when I pull keys out of my pocket. “Do you know the owner?”
“I do.” Pushing open the door, I step back, allowing her room to pass me.
“Wow,” she breathes. “Look at these floors. I love this color,” she says of the gray hardwood floors.
“Come on. I’ll take you for a tour.” We spend the next half hour or so going from room to room, and in each one, she comments on something that she loves about the place. It’s the same exact reaction I had.
“This place feels like a home. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s just… homey,” she says, twirling in circles in the kitchen. “Why did your friends ever move from here?”
“Well, I didn’t know the previous owners, but it just sold, and I know the new owner.”
“I bet they’re excited to move in.”
“I am.” I let my confession hang. It takes her a minute to register what I’ve just said. I can tell the minute she gets it. She stops and slowly turns to face me.
“Did you just say I am?”
“Yep.”
“You own this place?”
“Yep.”
“Can you give me more than yep?” she asks.
“I closed on it this morning.”
“You bought a house? A huge, gorgeous house?”
“Yep.” I smirk.
“When? Why didn’t you say anything? Why? You love your condo.” She fires off questions.
“I put in an offer about a month ago. We had to wait for appraisal, inspections, and the owners to find time to fly in from California to close. That happened this morning. I did love my condo, but it was more of the convenience to downtown. I don’t live that life anymore.”
“I don’t understand.”
“I wanted to show you I was serious about leaving all of that behind. I was scrolling through social media one morning and found an ad for this place. I called the realtor and put in an offer that day.”
“Did anyone know?”
“Your sister and my brother. And before you get mad that they didn’t tell you, I asked them not to.”
“I’m not mad, I’m just… processing, I guess. Wow. Congratulations.” She walks toward me and wraps her arms around my waist.
“Thank you. Do you think you could ever see yourself living here?”
“Who couldn’t?”
“Aspen, answer the question.”
She tilts her head back and looks up at me. “I could.”
“When you’re ready, you let me know.” I bend down and kiss the tip of her nose.
“When I’m ready?”
“To move in.”
“Are you asking me to move in with you?”
“Yes. When you’re ready, when I’ve proved to you we’re the real deal, I’d love nothing more than for you to live here with me. To be able to fall asleep with you in my arms and wake up the same way.”
“Y-You’re serious?”
“Never been more serious about anything.”
“Living together is a big step, Conrad.”
“One I’m ready to take.”
“I—” She starts, but I kiss her to stop her.
“When you’re ready, baby. No rush on my end. Although, I will be moving in starting today, and I was hoping I could get your help decorating. This place is a hell of a lot bigger than my condo.”
“I’d love to.”
“Perfect. As much as I wish we could stay here, we can’t. We have to get to my place. The moving truck will be there soon.”
“Are you packed?”
“Yep.”
She rolls her beautiful hazel eyes. “I guess that’s why you haven’t asked me to your place?”
“I didn’t want to spoil the surprise.”
“You really bought this place?”
“I really did. And I was hoping you would stay here with me tonight. You know, a new house and all the new noises. I might get scared.”
“Well, we can’t have that now, can we?” She laughs. “I’d love to. I’m so excited for you.”
“Thank you. Now, come on, we need to go.” Together, we lock up and head back to my car. “Reach into the glove box,” I say, backing out of the drive.
“What am I looking for?” she asks, opening the glove box.
“A set of keys.”
“These?” she asks, holding up the keys.
“Yep. Those are yours.”
“These aren’t mine.” I can tell she’s a little defensive, thinking I maybe mixed her up with someone else.
“They are now. That’s your set of keys to the new house.”
“Conrad—” She stops. “I don’t know what to say to this.”
“You don’t say anything. You put them in your purse and know that anytime you want to use them, they’re there for when you’re ready. The first bay in the garage is yours. Here is the garage door opener for your car.” I pick it up from the cupholder and hand it to her.
“This feels like I’m moving in.”
“It’s me giving my girlfriend full access to me and my home. It’s me telling you that I want you in my life, and I’m willing to take any part of yours that you’re willing to give.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“Don’t say anything. Just take the keys and the door opener and promise me that you'll use them.”
“Okay,” she whispers, sliding the keys and the garage door opener into her purse. This time she’s the one who reaches over the console and laces our fingers together.
I need to call my family and tell them what I’ve done, but today, I just want to spend some time with her. We’ll meet the movers, then follow them back here to instruct them where to unload, and the first order of business is setting up my bed. After that, we’ll call my family, and maybe even invite them over. We can order pizza or something. All I know is tonight will be my first night in my new house, and Aspen will be in my bed next to me. There’s nothing more in this world I want.