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She places the frame back on the nightstand and turns to look at me. Tears shimmer in her eyes. She blinks them away, and although I hate to see her tears, even happy tears, I want to smile because my plan is working. I’m making her see that this, that she is more to me.
“There’s more. Take a look in here.” I point at the door of one of the matching his and her closets.
Cautiously, she steps toward the door and turns the knob, stepping inside. “A housecoat and hangers?” She turns to look at me over her shoulder.
“Your housecoat and those hangers are for you too. You can leave as little or as much stuff here as you want. This closet is yours as far as I’m concerned. You have a dresser out here as well.”
“Holden” Her voice cracks.
I step up behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist. “This is my home, and I want you here. I know that if I were to ask you to move in with me, you’d tell me I’m crazy and that we’re moving too fast. So this is my compromise. This is me telling you that you are welcome here. I want you in my space, in my home, and in my arms as much as possible.” I place a tender kiss on her neck, and she shivers at the contact.
“I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything. Besides, I’m not finished. I have something else to show you.” With her hand in mine, I lead her back downstairs into the home office. “This is for you,” I tell her as I move back, letting her step into the room.
She gasps. “What?” She turns to look at me, and the tears are back.
“I want you here, and I know once the season starts, life is going to get crazy. I know you have one more semester of school, and I thought you’d like a nice quiet place to study. I already want to spend all my time with you, and I can only imagine that’s going to intensify the more that I do. So I thought you could study here.”
“Holden, I don’t know what to say.” Her eyes scan the room as she looks at the new office furniture.
“The computer is new,” I say, pointing at the new iMac that’s still sitting in the box. “That way, if you forget your laptop, you have options, or you can do research or shop online. Hell, I don’t care what you do with it. I just want you here. Close to me.”
A sob wracks her small body, and my feet are moving. When I reach her, I pull her into my arms. I don’t say anything because I don’t know what to say. This is not the reaction I was expecting. Instead, I move us to the small loveseat. I thought I could sit in here with her sometimes. My need to be close to her is over the top, but I’m embracing it.
I pull her onto my lap and hold her close. “I’m sorry,” I say, running my hands up and down her back. I don’t really know what for, but something I’ve said or maybe this room altogether has upset her in some way.
She lifts her head, giving me a watery smile. “You have nothing to apologize for. This just kind of hit me in the feels. When my parents were dating, Paisley was four, if I remember correctly. My mom was a single mom working and going to school. Dad took Paisley shopping and came back with shoes for her because she needed them and apparently told Dad she had to wait a few more weeks. To hear Dad tell it, he spoiled his girls that day. Paisley got what she needed and then some, and so did my mom. But one of the things he bought her was a laptop. Hers was apparently a piece of junk and took her a ton of extra time to finish her assignments because it was so slow. This”she motions around the room—“reminds me of that. Of the love they have for one another.”
“Your dad is a good man.”
“He’s the best. My sisters and I have always said we want a man like our father in our lives. That we want to be loved like that, and then you do this, and it’s so much like something my dad would do.” She looks back at me, her blue eyes full of emotion. “I know we’re not there yet. Love is a huge declaration, but this gesture… you’re not the man I once thought you were Holden, and I’m sorry for judging you.”
“You know better now,” I say, poking her in the side to lighten the mood. “A lot of that was on me. I knew what the media would say, but I listened to my agent, who claimed any press was good press and rolled with it. I never imagined I’d find a woman who would capture my attention, and I’d end up regretting letting it happen. That’s not who I am. Not anymore. You’ve changed me.”
