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“You know, when I first saw the cottage, I had the strangest desire to?—”
“Fuck?”
I pinched his forearm. “Take care of it. Restore it. I enjoyed working on the roof.”
“Yeah, I bet you did.”
I turned in his arms. “Really, be serious for just a moment.”
He nodded and pulled me in tighter.
“We could work on it together, if you’d teach me.”
His eyes went soft. “You’d want to do that? You’d want to stay here?”
“Well, provided there’s a new sofa in the near future.”
“Consider it done.”
“We could fix the sagging porch, maybe. A fresh coat of paint? A new roof?”
“So, the little things then.”
“Could we do it on our own?” I asked.
“I think we could manage it. Might need to have somebody come in and double check my work, though.”
“Perfect. If we’re to stay here, might as well fix her up.”
He looked down at me for a moment. “We can stay here as long as you want, Duchess.”
“Forever is on the table, isn’t it?”
The humor in his face slipped into earnestness as he thumbed my cheek. “It is.”
“Thank goodness. However could I leave? This is the only place I’ve ever felt as if I could be unconditionally me. In fact, you’ve never let me be anyone else. You made sure I spoke for what I wanted and chose for myself. You made me break all the rules, and it taught me something vital.”
“And what’s that?”
“Who I am. Who I want to be. This is the place it all began. You’re the one who struck the first match.”
“You mean when I won the bet?”
A laugh bubbled out of me and he smiled. “Oh my God, never. You will probably always beat me, but in that, darling, I won fair and square.”
“I know. You’re just cute when you’re mad. Your nose scrunches up”—he booped my nose—“and your cheeks flush. Your eyes go all fiery, glittery. Reminds me of that day you gave me your panties.”
“Must everything be about sex?”
“Not because of sex.”
I gave him a look.
“Okay, not just because of sex. But because I know you can take care of yourself. It makes me proud. And possessive—not of you, but of...of your heart.” He swallowed, his brows coming together a millimeter in uncertainty. Had I any armor left, he’d have disarmed me. “Remember when I told you I had it all in my hands once? My fingers were just closing over it all when it slipped away. And that was all right, I decided. If that was the price I had to pay to keep my mama, I’d give it up every time. I’d resigned myself to it. But then you showed up on my doorstep, and suddenly, I almost have it all again, right there in the palm of my hand. And is scares the shit out of me, Jess.”
“Well,” I started with a twist in my chest, “Despite my love of a good crystal ball, I don’t know what will happen. But here’s what I hope. What I want. First, I’d like to fall madly in love with you and stay here with you forever.” I looped my arms around his neck. “Secondly, I hope when you try out for the baseball team, you make it without question and get picked up for the majors right after.”
He laughed and opened his mouth to argue.
