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“What’s that?” he asked, his voice cracking.
“Hope. Excitement. The idea of bringing happiness to something that deserves it and longs for it.”
In that moment, I wasn’t talking about the house. I was talking about Wade, the incredible man who stood before me. Who put others ahead of himself and cared with his whole heart. Who had loved big and who had lost so much.
He dropped my hands and cupped my face, his thumbs left a burning path as they swept over my skin.
His eyes captured mine, and I knew in my heart there was something else I was talking about.
Us…and our love.
My lips crashed against Amelia’s. Her words tumbled in my heart, screaming a million and one different things as we got lost in our kiss. I wanted to do this every damn minute of the day.
I dropped my hands from her face and wrapped my arms around her. Lifting her up, I kissed her deeply, trying to fill her with the happiness that she had brought to me already.
When I slowly placed her back on the ground, I drew back. My breathing heavy, and my chest light.
Amelia swayed and grabbed my arms. “Jesus, what you do to me with your kisses, Wade Adams.”
Grinning, I kissed her forehead. “I could say the same thing about you, Amelia Parker.”
I loved hearing my name roll off her lips. I couldn’t wait to hear it while I made love to her.
I took her hand in mine. “Want to see the inside?”
She nodded. “Is it safe to go in?”
“Yeah, I had an inspector check out the whole house. It has good bones. All it needs is a cleaning, painting, some wood replaced here and there. And air conditioning.”
We made our way up the large, stone steps. The massive wraparound porch was amazing, and I could tell Amelia was being pulled in by the house.
“It’s like something out of an old book. My mind is racing with stories right now!”
My stomach did a weird dip as I watched her take everything in. I loved seeing her excitement. I’d thought she would go nuts over the house, and I was right.
“Wait! I need a notebook.”
She rushed down the steps to my truck. I wasn’t surprised to see her pull a small notebook and pen out of her purse. She rushed back to me and wrote something. I glanced at it:
She took my hand. “Let’s go inside. I’m dying to see it.”
I unlocked the door, and we walked into a small hall. To our left, see-through book shelves led to the parlor, and a grand fireplace stood in the middle of the outside wall. We continued to another room.
“Must be a bedroom,” I said as Amelia squeezed my hand.
We walked in, and she gasped. “Oh my! Look at this fireplace. This mantel. It’s exquisite. Look at the tin on the ceilings, Wade! Look at the woodwork! It’s all so amazing! How has it all stayed in such good shape?”
I smiled and squeezed her hand. “It is, isn’t it? After I found the place, I asked Mrs. Hamilton. She said her mother told her never to go into the house. When she got older, she came in and fell in love. She’s been having someone come once a month to clean and keep things in order.”
“Wow!” I whispered. “Joanna Gaines would have a heart attack from all the shiplap!”
“Who?” I asked, while Amelia spun around the middle of the room, taking everything in.
“You know, the Fixer Upper lady on HGTV.”
I gave her a blank expression. “Nope. No clue.”
“It doesn’t matter. Is that the bathroom?”
Amelia walked into the bathroom and gasped again. “Look at the porcelain claw foot tub. Look at this arch!”
I was drawn to the cabinets. Years of no one touching them and they were still beautiful. An old washtub sat in the middle of things, and I couldn’t help but smile.
“This piece of furniture looks like it was built especially for this area of the bathroom. Look at the carvings.”
Amelia made her way over to me and dropped down to examine it. “Stunning! Why would anyone abandon this house?”
We made our way through the bathroom door and into another bedroom. This one didn’t have a fireplace.
“I wonder whose room this was,” Amelia said.
“I’m sure I can try to find out some information from Mrs. Hamilton.”
She simply nodded and walked into another living area.
“It’s huge! I’m going to guess this was the sitting room. Wade, can you imagine this house filled with beautiful, antique furniture? Please, tell me you intend to bring it back to its glory days.”
Laughing, I shrugged. “Sure. You might have to help me, though. Late eighteen-hundreds décor is not really my thing.”
Her grin nearly knocked me off my feet. “I’d love to help! Let’s see the kitchen.”
We made our way into a large kitchen. There was really nothing to it. Cabinets, which were beautiful, an old farm sink, and a fireplace where I imagined they did the cooking.
