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Her stomach did a cartwheel, as she pushed the paperwork toward Hillary.
Shutting her laptop and grabbing Mel’s contract, Hillary reached for her briefcase where she tucked both inside, then retrieved an envelope with Mel’s name on it and slid it across the desk. “Here it is. Happy Monday. I’m going to get some coffee.” She stood and headed out, leaving Mel gaping behind her and feeling slightly out of sorts. “I’ll be in the break room if you need me. Have those reports I asked for by the end of the day,” she said over her shoulder.
“Will do,” Mel called after her.
Once Hillary was out of sight, Mel scrambled for the envelope and squeezed it in her grip. With an unladylike squeal, she ripped it open. Sliding the check out, she held it in front of her, staring at the bold numbers leaping off the little rectangle of paper—$20,000. Twenty-thousand-dollars!
She’d never held a check for that much money before, and it was the most glorious thing she’d ever seen. If getting a large promotion meant huge bonuses, then maybe she’d make a career of job-hopping different corporate positions.
Hugging the check to her chest, she whirled around in her desk chair, then kissed it before regretfully placing it back in the envelope, and tucking it away into her purse. On her lunch break, she’d take it straight to the bank, and then she’d spend the rest of the hour pursuing houses for sale in Jersey and the surrounding areas outside the city.
It was almost too good to be true. This money, along with what she’d managed to squirrel away over the years, meant having a down payment, which meant security, getting a house sooner. Maybe Blake was right. Maybe she was on the verge of getting everything she wanted.
For years, it seemed so many obstacles were blocking her road to happiness. But not now. Now, the path was clear—the road nothing but a long stretch of highway under a bright blue sky. She had a full tank of gas, nothing but time, and the open stretch of road laid out before her. At the moment, she felt like anything was possible.
She couldn’t wait to tell Blake. The thought stopped her short, and her smile faded.
She shook her head, admonishing herself. Now she was just being stupid. Blake had no stake in this. Of course he’d be happy for her, but nothing more, and Mel needed to stop thinking like that. After all, there was no point in wanting something you couldn’t have.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
MEL
With the deposit burning a hole in her purse, Mel rushed home from work and into her apartment. She flung the door open, unable to contain her excitement. The kids sat on the floor with Blake, furiously coloring pictures of puppies with the concentration of Picasso. When they glanced up at her abrupt entrance, she nearly burst from her skin.
“Guess what?” She clapped her hands, but she didn’t give them time to answer. Instead, she bounced on her toes and announced, “We’re going house hunting this weekend!”
The kids squealed and jumped up from their seats on the floor. “We might move?” Peter asked, wide-eyed.
Mel nodded. “I found a couple options, but there’s this one . . . I think it will be our best bet.”
“Is it like the one above your desk?” Kinsley asked, her little brow furrowed in concentration.
“Pretty close.” Minus the pool, but she’d break that news to them later.
All three of them popped up and hugged her, their tiny arms squeezing her legs like a boa constrictor. Though Mel wasn’t sure they fully understood what moving meant for them, it had zero effect on dulling her excitement as she pulled them close.
Her gaze found Blake’s and he smiled. “I assume today went well, then?”
Mel bit her lip. The bonus check flashed in her head. “Better than I could’ve imagined.”
Blake stood and placed his hands on his hips, any awkwardness from this morning gone. “Congratulations.”
One by one, the kids peeled themselves off of her and ran back to their coloring books. Blake’s gaze followed them, and so she, too, allowed herself to absorb the simple sight of them settling back into their pictures, coloring with vigor. “So do I get to see this dream house of yours?” Blake asked, drawing her attention back up to him.
Her head snapped up as her eyes locked with his. A wave of pleasure rippled down her spine. “Uh, yeah.” She swallowed. “I’m sure the kids would love it if you came with us.”
“You’d actually want me to come along?” he asked, with a raised brow.
“Didn’t you just . . . ?”
Oh, no! Mel slapped a hand over her face, mortified. She groaned as her cheeks burned. Hadn’t she just been wondering whether she was reading too much into things? And now look. He said one thing, and she assumed he wanted to go house hunting with them when all he probably wanted was to look at the pictures of the house online.
A snort of nervous laughter escaped her, which did little to help ease her blush. “You just meant the listing, didn’t you?’
Blake crossed his arms, a playful smile turning the corners of his mouth. “Disinviting me already? I didn’t even give you my answer yet.”
“No. I just . . . didn’t think . . .” Mel swallowed. Could the ground please swallow her up now? “Did you want to go?” she asked, even though she hated herself for it. If he went, it meant another Saturday spent with Mel and her trio, which wasn’t the typical man’s idea of a good time.
