AllFreeNovel
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We slow to a crawl on the dirt road. Two rectangular structures, surrounded by the lush greenery, grow in size as we near.
“What is this?” I ask, my voice a brittle whisper. Without waiting for Rhett’s response, I unbuckle and jump out.
Synapses fire again and begin to make sense of the buildings as I walk over packed down earth. A white window surrounded by gray siding looks out over the driveway, and a small porch juts out the side, the golden lumber fresh and ready to be stained. An identical building rests on a shared concrete foundation not even a hundred feet away.
“Come on.” Rhett curls his fingers around my hand and tugs me to the porch of the first house. The white door matches the windows. He throws the door open, allowing me to precede him inside.
The interior is wide open. A single wooden staircase leads to a small loft with a railing. Exposed beams make up the ceiling frame, and planks line the walls in a shiplap design. Along the wall shared by the porch are a row of cabinets and a small kitchenette. A single couch rests in the space diagonal from the kitchen with a modest flat screen mounted across from it.
And beside the couch rests a brand-new navy-blue dog bed.
“Rhett.” I choke out his name. My throat tightens as I peruse the space with wide eyes.
“Don’t fight this. Because I swear to God I won’t make it knowing you’re sleeping in your car out of sheer stubbornness. You won’t let me put you up in a hotel, so this is the next best thing.”
“Did you build this?” The disbelief in my tone brings him to close the gap between us.
“It helps to have a buddy with a construction crew and a slow season, but yeah.” He confirms as if the project is no big deal.
“What—um—” I’m lost for words while at the same time filled with the sensation of finding where I belong. “Who lives over there?”
He gives a bashful shrug and brushes the side of his nose with his thumb. “That one’s for Tommy and me.”
Oh my God. This man. The thunder of my pulse reaches an alarming rate.
Shaking in my arms brings my attention back to his face. The soft set of his warm eyes drags me in like a rip current, except I don’t want to be freed. My heart implores reason to let me drown.
“I don’t want to make you uncomfortable anymore by asking you to move into the house I shared with my ex-wife. You’ll live here, and I’ll live next door until you’re ready to live somewhere new with me, but I’m warning you now, that’s all the space I can give.”
“You’re so sure about this you built me a house.”
His face gets closer. “I’m so sure about this that I’d move into any house tomorrow if it meant I get to have you. If we can’t be roommates, then we can be neighbors.”
I choke on a laugh.
“And I’ll probably barge over at seven in the morning before Tommy wakes up, so be ready for me, Rosie.”
Old arguments rise to the forefront. “This isn’t much different, you know. It still feels like a handout.”
“If you wait until you’re ready and we’re on equal footing, you’ll be waiting forever. You did the hard part.” He tucks a lock of hair behind my ear. “You showed everyone you could do it on your own. You did that. Now it’s time to take it easy, beautiful.”
I break away from his gaze as my heart beats wildly in my chest. With an easy tap of his finger, he tilts my face back.
“I’m in love with you.”
I suck in a sharp breath at his admission as the remaining walls around my heart crumble to dust.
“I fell in love with you over shared meals and starry nights. From the day I met you, you made me feel things I didn’t know were possible. You showed me what a partnership truly should be. And since I’ve come to that realization, it’ll be damn hard to ever let you go. So tell me now if this isn’t what you want. If I’m not it for you. If you don’t love me back. Tell me and you can keep the house, and I’ll go—”
I silence him with a kiss. When we pull back, I grip his face in my palms.
“I love you too.”
His eyes search mine as he swallows hard. “You want this? You want…me?”
I nod, blinking back tears. “I do.” I press my lips hard against his. “I do want you.”
“Are we more than more yet, Rosie?” he mumbles against my lips. The weight of my struggles vanishes with his words.
