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She climbed off her bike and leaned it against the fence. “Hey.”
He stared at her, his face blank of expression. “Busy day?”
“I was going to tell you, but I wanted to wait for the right moment.”
“And when was that?” He laughed without humor. “When the house sold?”
“Ryan, it’s not what you think.”
He stood and scowled. “Maggie, I try to be patient with you, and for the most part I think I’m pretty understanding. But this…” He waved an angry hand at the FOR SALE sign. “This is bullshit.”
She wondered if he heard about the bar. “Ryan, do you know?”
“Do I know what? All I know is my girlfriend put her house up for sale without even mentioning it to me. What the hell, Maggie? I thought we were closer than that.”
Her stomach knotted. “Can you not yell at me?”
He dragged a hand through his hair and paced. “I just don’t understand this. Where are you moving?”
“I … found a loft apartment in town.”
“A loft.” He scoffed. “I like you living next to me.”
“I like that too, but I needed to make this move for myself. I was holding onto the past with the house. This was a really hard decision, but the second I sold it, I felt this incredible relief like I’d done the right thing.”
He pivoted. “Wait. Sold it? You already sold it? To who?”
“The bank. It’s a short sale. They’re relisting it.”
He shook his head, face stunned. “You can’t even decide if you want sausage or broccoli on your pizza without having a full conversation about it, yet you did all this without even mentioning it to me.”
“I wanted to surprise you.”
“Well, color me fucking shocked.”
“Ryan, I had my reasons.”
“Yeah, I’m sure you did. But you never thought to discuss them with me.”
She frowned. “I didn’t want other people’s opinions deterring me from what I wanted.”
“And what is it you want, Maggie? Because you clearly don’t trust me to let you decide for yourself.”
“That’s not true.”
“If it wasn’t true, you would have told me—” His phone rang, and he glanced at the screen.
“Who is it?”
“It’s my mother.” He silenced the call.
“Answer it.”
His eyes narrowed. “We’re in the middle of something.”
“Ryan, answer the phone.”
He huffed and brought the phone to his ear. “What is it, Mum? I’m in the middle of something.” He paused. “No, I’m standing.” He frowned. “Mum, just tell me. Is everyone okay?” He waited. “Oh.” He moved to the steps and sat down, his anger shifting to disappointment. “That fast? I thought it would take months to find a buyer.”
He glanced up at her and covered the phone. “They found a buyer for O’Malley’s.” His attention returned to the call. “No, it’s Maggie. Yeah. We’re just talking. Why would she?” He frowned and glanced up at her, then he glanced at the FOR SALE sign and his face paled. “Mum, I’ll call you right back.”
He ended the call and stared at the ground. The silence stretched for a solid minute. “You said the bank already bought the house off of you?”
“Yes.”
“I know what our houses are worth. That’s not enough to…” He shook his head and looked up at her in confusion. “Maggie, what did you do?”
“Nash had a life insurance policy, but it wasn’t enough.”
His chest lifted with each breath as he stared at her. “Enough for what? Please tell me you didn’t—”
“I’m buying the bar. The papers are all drawn up, and I’m signing them tonight. I didn’t want you to talk me out of it.”
He looked at her with a blank expression of shock. “Why?”
She shrugged. “Because it meant something to you, and I didn’t want to see you lose something you loved.” She smiled apologetically. “And also, because I wanted it.”
“You … bought the bar?”
“Well, I still need to give your family the check, but yeah, it’s mine as soon as I sign.”
A disbelieving breath punched out of him. “You sold your house to afford it?”
She nodded. “I’m really okay with it, Ryan. This is a good move for me. Perrin’s going to help me run it, and I can live in the loft on the second floor.”
“Fuck that.”
She flinched. “W—what?”
“I want you to live with me. I like that I see you each morning before I leave and that you’re the first person I see when I get home. Anything else feels like a step backwards.”
Her heart jerked wildly in her chest. Moving in was a big deal. It meant living in a life of compromise, but more importantly, it meant opening herself up to another person and not always having a place to escape and catch her breath. It meant growing closer and caring more deeply. It meant entwining her life with his, in a way that wouldn’t be easily untangled.
“Will you move in with me?”
She stepped back and tried to catch her breath. What if she wasn’t ready? What if this led to emotional landmines?
