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“It’s just up the road,” he answered as he drove closer to their destination.
“Are you sharing what it is, or do I have to wait?”
She loved surprises. She loved him. After she learned the truth, would she still?
He held her hand while navigating through a posh neighborhood lined with large houses. “Does any of this look familiar?”
Outside her window was a landscape of lush green lawns, blooming flowers and fall decorations on porches.
“Yes.”She gasped. “This is familiar. We’ve driven through this neighborhood before, haven’t we? It feels like it’s been a while.”
“It’s been a long while. Over a decade.” His spine stiffened as he slowed down. They were close. “We used to pretend we were shopping for our dream home. You picked your favorite, I picked mine.”
“And they were the same one!” She laughed. “Oh my God, I remember! It was a transitional style, brick and stone. Two-car garage. Do you have any idea how good it feels to remember? So good.”
He hoped her excitement held through what he’d brought her here to tell her.
He presented his ID at the gate separating a ritzier part of the neighborhood from the one behind them and then drove the short distance to the house she’d described.
“Vic? What is this?” she asked when he pulled into the driveway. He’d had the interlocked paver-stone driveway laid two years ago.
“I bought the house. I never told you.” When she gawped at him, he gave her a tentative smile. “Surprise.”
The tears came as another laugh stuttered from her lips. “You’re serious.”
“Yep. Hop out and I’ll show you the inside.”
As he slipped the key into the dead bolt, she hugged him from the side. He turned to embrace her, holding her tight and never wanting to let her go. Would she be this happy a few minutes from now? He doubted it.
He unlocked the door and ushered her in ahead of him. They stood at the base of a long foyer, which led to the rest of an unfurnished home. To their right was a living room with built-in bookshelves, ideal for housing Aubrey’s massive book collection. To their left, a dining room large enough to host both his family and hers for Thanksgiving or Christmas dinners. He took her hand and led her through the arched foyer to the stairway leading upstairs.
There wasn’t a speck of dust in the place, thanks to the cleaning crew he’d hired. During the anger stage of their breakup, he’d been convinced he’d move into this house one day, and then she’d regret leaving him when she saw what she’d missed out on. When he’d hit the grieving stage, he’d kept the house up in case a miracle occurred and she came back to him. After that, well, he hadn’t needed a reason. Maintaining the house had become habit, and the idea of letting it go felt like a death. He’d revisited the notion of moving in here himself but ultimately hadn’t been able to stomach it. Even though she’d never stepped foot inside, he saw Aubrey in every corner and crevice.
“This is incredible. I can’t believe you did this! How soon can we move in?” Her hopeful expression was too much to take. What he wouldn’t give for them to be this way forever. Excitedly building a life together, piece by piece, no gap in her memories of them being together to worry about. From the start, he’d known it would be a bad idea to lie to her. He’d vowed to do what was best for her, but somehow that had become lost in what was best for him. He prayed she could forgive him—and find enough good reasons to stay with him after he told her the truth.
“How many bedrooms?” Her voice bounced off the walls and ceiling as she craned her head to look up at the second floor.
“Four bedrooms. Three and a half bathrooms.” He’d figured they’d have at least three children, so the house would hold them for a while. “Before we talk about, ah, moving in, I have something to tell you. Would you like to sit down?”
Her excitement morphed into worry as she chewed on the inside of her lip. “Is it bad?”
“Not...exactly.”
“If it’s bad news, and it feels like it might be, say it fast.”
He’d had an idea of what he wanted to say since the night he’d talked to Jayden, but he hadn’t decided in what order to say it.
“Oh my God.” She put her hand over her heart. “You’re breaking up with me, aren’t you?”
“What? No. Aub, that’s the last thing I want. I—Listen. Can you not talk until I’m finished? I have a lot to say.”
She nodded and then walked up a few stairs. Lowering onto the third step, she rested her elbows on her knees and pressed her folded hands to her mouth. Then, she waited.
Fuck. He didn’t want to do this. He didn’t want to look into the eyes of the woman he loved and tell her he’d kept a very big, very important secret from her. But he owed her the truth.
No matter how badly she took it.
