“Fantastic first impression.” Ken claps his hands together as we walk up to the front door. “Now, this one has the three bedrooms you wanted, a lovely open kitchen, and a couple of surprises out back that I think you’ll love.”
We step inside and Willow audibly gasps. I don’t blame her, this place looks like someone plucked the perfect family home out of a magazine and magicked it to life right in front of us. It’s warm, full of natural light, and I can instantly picture Petyon running down the hall.
“Ronan, this place is gorgeous,” Willow murmurs to me as we move into the living room. Big picture windows look out over the front yard, which has hedges high enough to offer privacy but still plenty of light. I take in the open layout, my head already nodding in agreement. We move into the kitchen, and Willow detaches her arm from mine, only to drape her upper body across the large island in the center of the space.
“That’s it, I’m never leaving. This is the kitchen of my dreams.”
God, she’s so fucking gorgeous.
“Shall we take a look at the bedrooms next, or would you like to see outside?”
I blink as Ken’s voice interrupts the fantasy that was playing out in my mind, of stripping Willow naked and eating her out on the kitchen island she’s so in love with.
“Bedrooms.” Willow winks at me. “Come on, lovebug. Let’s see where the magic is going to happen.” This is the Willow I remember. Full of life and fun, flirtatious banter, and happiness.
I gotta give Ken credit, he’s not batting an eye at our cheese. But when I join Willow, I hold her back a second so I can whisper in her ear. “Lovebug? Sugarplum?”
She turns her brilliant blue eyes up at me. “Your idea, I’m just playing along.” Threading her fingers with mine, she pulls me to the staircase where Ken is waiting. “Lead on, Ken, let’s see the bedrooms.”
After touring the impressive bedrooms and bathrooms, my decision is just about made. This place is damn near perfect, even if it does mean either Mom will have to sleep upstairs with me and Peyton, or I have to find her an apartment nearby.
Maybe Willow will come with me to look for that as well…
“And I saved the best for last.” Ken pauses at the bottom of the staircase. “Out back is not only a large enclosed yard, but also an in-ground pool and hot tub, and…a small but fully contained guest house for your mother.”
That brings me to a stop. I’d forgotten that in the brief I sent over to his office, I mentioned that ideally, we’d have a separate space for Mom. Honestly? I didn’t expect to find it, or if we did find a property with space for her, I’d have to sacrifice something else. But here we are, literally standing in my perfect house.
“Ken, I think you just sold yourself a house,” Willow says quietly.
Running my hand over my jaw, I give her a grateful smile for answering while I’m momentarily struck speechless. But I find my voice and turn to Ken. “She’s right, you did. Thank you, this was far easier than I expected it to be. How soon can I move in? I’m willing to pay extra for a quick closing.”
Ken’s eyes light up, no doubt seeing dollar bills, and I don’t blame him. “Let’s go to my office and work out all the details.”
After signing a mountain of paperwork, I take Willow out for the lunch I promised her. She leads me to a little hole-in-the-wall Vietnamese place, where the bowls of noodle soup are bigger than my head.
“This is insane.” I laugh when the server walks away. Looking over at her, I see Willow already using her chopsticks like a pro, picking up a piece of meat and laying it in her spoon that already holds some broth.
She slurps it down and then smiles. “It’s worth every penny, and the stomach ache, if you actually do manage to eat the whole bowl. Ask me how I know. But they’re good about giving you a container to take the leftovers home.”
This feels so easy. Being with her all day without the pressure of being around anyone from the team. It’s almost like it was in Hawaii, when it was just the two of us flirting and having fun. My hand reaches out across the table and covers hers. But when she snatches hers away, folding them on her lap, I realize my mistake.
I let myself be fooled by the teasing, the laughter, the innocent fun of pretending to be a couple looking for a house together. I let myself forget that Willow has made it abundantly clear there can be nothing between us now. Or that my own life doesn’t allow for a relationship.
“Sorry,” I mumble, putting my focus back on my food.
“No, I’m sorry,” she says quietly. I’m already shaking my head to disagree with her but she puts her hand up in the air to stop me. “Today I let the lines be blurred, but that can’t happen again. I think it’s because we never got to have any closure after Hawaii. Don’t get me wrong, I completely understand why you had to leave, and I guess it saved us the awkward morning after, but it also meant we never set any boundaries for seeing each other in the future. Which was kind of inevitable, I guess, even if I didn’t expect it to be like this.” She lets out a pained laugh, then sucks in a deep breath. “Like I said on the phone, I need you to promise me that Hawaii stays between us. That no one from the team will know what happened. Today? The flirting? I promise not to let things go that far again. It’s not right, and it’s not fair to either one of us.”
I let her finish, ignoring how every piece of me wants to reject what she’s saying, even though my head knows it’s for the best.
“Okay,” I say simply. “No one will know.”
She gives me a sharp nod, then returns to her bowl of soup. The rest of lunch passes quickly and quietly, then I drive her home. And as I pull away from her apartment building, I vow to myself to do as she asked and put it all behind me.
Every perfect, sinful moment we had together. It’s in the past, no matter how much a selfish part of me wishes it wasn’t.
Chapter fourteen
Ronan
