“As of next week we can…” His plastered-on smile morphs into a nervous pucker. “I sort of did a thing…”
“Ay cabrón.” Oh shit. “Why do I have the sudden urge to vomit?”
His sparkling blue orbs connect with mine, looking very serious and also extremely sexy. “Chance is buying me out.”
“Out?” My eyes widen as his words sink in. “Like out of the business?”
He nods. “Yeah. He pretty much runs the place on his own already. I’m never around.”
Why am I suddenly wracked with guilt? I should be over the moon ecstatic. This is exactly what I’ve always wanted to hear. Isn’t it? “But—Is this what you want? You can’t just give up on something you’ve worked so hard for because we had a fight.” I fiddle with the strap to my purse, shocking myself with the words spilling from my mouth. “I won’t have you regretting this rash decision and growing to resent me. That’s not going to fix anything.”
“This is what I want. It’s what I should have done years ago. I’ve regretted choosing that place over you and our family every day since. I chose wrong.” He shakes his head, taking my hand. “I’m not making the same mistake again.”
My head is spinning, trying to think of all the possible ramifications. “But what will you do for work?”
“I have my CPA license. I’ll go into business for myself. Chance still wants me to be his accountant. I know the place inside and out, and he’s shit with numbers. I’ll have my first client right away and never have to step foot inside that place again.”
“It all sounds too good to be true.”
“With what we get for my share of the club, we can pay the house cash and still have a really nice savings to hold us over while I get my business started.” He smiles at me smiling at him. “Say something. Please. I mean, you look happy, but your silence is killing me, darlin’.”
I cup his handsome face in both hands and lift up to my knees, my eyes glistening as I lean over the console to scatter kisses across his mouth and cheeks. “You’re sure?” I pull back and ask again.
“I’m positive.”
“This is everything, Liam. A fresh start, in a house we will make a home together.”
He grips the front of my shirt and tugs me closer, pulling me over the console into his lap. Then he dips his tongue between my lips, tangling it with mine. My heart speeds up. I’m dizzy and breathless. What is it about makeup kisses that makes them so intense? It seems like I haven’t felt his lips on mine in years, when it’s barely been over twenty-four hours. When he pulls away, swiping the back of a hand over his kiss swollen lips, I want to protest and yank him right back. I wasn’t finished. I don’t think I’ll ever be finished.
He growls at the desire he can see written so clearly on my face and runs the pad of his thumb over my lower lip. “We’re giving Angela a show.” He points through the windshield to the tall brunette who’s now leaning against the side of the house. Liam smooches the tip of my nose then pops the driver door open. “Let’s go check out the house. If it’s not the one, we can keep looking.”
I want to tell him I’d live in a tool shed as long as it was with him, but then I take another look at the outside of the enormous white brick home and some of my sense returns. Two-plus children in a tool shed might not be the wisest decision.
“Let’s do this.”
Liam
Making changes
“I told you the pictures didn’t do it justice,” our realtor says with a huge grin when she’s sees my wife’s eyes ready to pop. I’m sure she’s already envisioning that fat commission check being depositing into her bank account. It’s definitely her sale to lose.
The online listing must not have been updated recently, because this house looks nearly complete. I was expecting unpainted sheetrock, missing countertops, and cement floors.
“It’s so spacious,” Nya observes, clutching my hand in hers and tugging me through the brick archway leading to the kitchen. She actually gasps when she sees the flat black cabinets and white and gray granite countertops. The sight of the huge island has her squealing with glee. “Look at all the cabinet space and this pantry.” She walks inside, sticking her arms straight out and spinning around to demonstrate the ample space. Then she wanders over to check out the sunk-in double sinks and top of the line stainless steel appliances.
“Oh, I love the subway tile backsplash, don’t you?”
What I love is seeing her so happy. “It’s perfect,” I agree, because if she likes it, I like it.
I follow her around the room like a lost puppy as she takes note of and comments on every last detail. She’s so in her element. It’s a joy to watch.
“A pot filler! No more trips to the sink while we’re cooking, Liam!” The back of her hand slaps against my chest as she turns to witness my delight over her latest find.
The things that excite women…
“Right?” I chuckle. “We’re taking our laziness to new heights. This is 2020, we can’t be bothered with such inconveniences.”
“Keep making fun,” she warns, wagging a finger at me.
“Wow. Take a look at that back yard.” I motion with my head toward the row of windows lining the wall in the breakfast area. “That’s gonna be my favorite spot for sure.”
Nya squeaks. “Is that what I think?” She all but sprints out the back door.
“Yep,” Angela answers coming up behind us. “The guy who was originally building the house insisted on a pool. Unfortunately, his financing fell through at the last minute. It’s already nearly done, so of course it has to be finished.”
“Ellie’s going to love this!”
We walk around the construction site, slogging through the mud. It’s an absolute mess but far enough along in the building process that we can easily visualize how beautiful the lagoon-shaped pool and hot tub will be when it’s complete. Nya’s already plotting out where to put the safety fence and outdoor kitchen.
“I don’t even need to see anything else. This is it. I’m sold!” She crosses her hands on her chest, looking around at the mud pit like she’s in the middle of paradise.
Amused, I drag her back inside. “Let’s scope out the rest of the house before dropping this kind of money, loca. We can add a pool and outdoor kitchen to any house.”
“Yes, but this is right down the road from Ellie’s best friend and five minutes from the hospital. Hannah could come over on her lunch break every day!”
“On second thought…” I turn back toward the realtor. “You said you had some similar homes on the other end of town to check out too, right?” That earns me a snide laugh from Nya.
Angela gives us a tour of the rest of the house. There are four bedrooms; three upstairs and the master down. There’s also a huge office with plenty of room for both of us, with built-in bookshelves and an entire wall of windows overlooking the pool. The more we see, the giddier my wife becomes. When she spots the chandelier dangling over her clawfoot tub, it’s all over. I may not be able to get her out of this place today.