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For now, they had each other. And that was all they needed.
EPILOGUE
Nell
Eleven Months Later
“Hold on,” Rafe said, pulling her away from the front steps. “I need to carry you over the threshold.”
Nell laughed as he scooped her into his arms, carrying her up the three steps to the small, covered front porch. “That’s only if you’re married, you idiot,” she said, smacking his chest.
“You’ll quit struggling if you know what’s good for you, little girl,” he said, though there wasn’t a hint of a real threat in his voice. “This is the first house we bought together, and I’m carrying you over the goddamn threshold whether you want me to or not.”
Grinning, Nell rested her cheek against his shoulder as he fumbled with the keys, taking it all in. She still couldn’t believe this house belonged to them. It seemed like something out of a dream.
They both fell in love with the brick colonial the moment they saw the listing online. The gorgeous old house was exactly what they’d been looking for, with a perfect mix of historic charm and new upgrades that reminded them of the Manor. Just on a much smaller scale.
Even more importantly, it was only a ten-minute walk to the University of Vermont campus, and not much farther to all the restaurants and shops at Church Street Marketplace in downtown Burlington. Everything they needed was right at their fingertips. And yet, surrounded by trees and tall, sprawling bushes, the house felt isolated and private. With the kinds of games they liked getting up to, they didn’t want to feel like judgmental eyes could be on them at any moment.
Somehow, Rafe managed to unlock the front door and push it open without dropping her. “Now you’re just being difficult,” he complained as she extended her long legs, forcing him to scuttle sideways into the foyer like a crab.
In answer, she wrapped her arms around his neck, pulled herself up, and planted a kiss on his cheek. She giggled as the long strands of his beard tickled her chin. A few months ago, he proudly announced that if he wanted any chance of fitting in with all the hipsters and vegans in Burlington, he needed to grow out his beard.
Nell still wasn’t sure if she liked it, but the man was forty years old. If he wanted a long-ass beard, he could have one.
“There,” Rafe said, planting her on her feet. “That wasn’t so hard, was it?”
Still grinning, she kicked off her flip-flops, wanting to feel the wide, smooth slats of the hardwood beneath her feet. According to the sellers, the floors were original to the house, almost exactly a hundred years old. She fucking loved them.
How many people had stood right here? How many decisions were made, conversations had, lives changed in this exact spot? It was dizzying to think about.
“Movers won’t be here for a couple more hours,” Rafe said, glancing down at his watch. “We should’ve brought a couple folding chairs with us. I didn’t think about it.”
Neither had she. But as she glanced around at the empty living room and dining room, the former to the right of the foyer, the latter to the left, she regretted the oversight. “Hmm,” she said, chewing on her bottom lip. “We could maybe walk downtown and get some lunch? We’d be back in plenty of time.”
He nodded slowly as he considered the plan. “That sounds like our best bet. But before we go, I want to check something upstairs. Will you come with me?”
Pretending he wasn’t being super suspicious, she shrugged and said, “Sure.” If he wanted to christen their new bedroom before lunch, she wasn’t going to complain. Though she’d insist on being on top. She wasn’t getting covered in bruises from the hard-ass floor only days before classes started.
But when they made it to the top of the stairs, he didn’t go into the master bedroom. Instead, he led her down the short, narrow hall, stopping at the final door. This was the room she’d claimed as her office, so she had somewhere quiet to do all her schoolwork. The smell of fresh paint was strong even through the closed door.
“What have you been up to?” she asked, narrowing her eyes.
Grinning, he turned the knob, pushing the door open.
Nell gasped, her eyes widening. The room wasn’t empty anymore. Most of the floor was covered by a cream and gray patterned rug. An antique desk stood in the corner near the windows, its simple lines matching perfectly with the more modern desk chair. One entire wall was filled by a single bookcase, its shelves reaching almost to the ceiling. And in the center of the room, two cushy armchairs faced one another, a cream-colored ottoman between them.
“It’s like my picture,” she said, hurrying past him into the room, running her fingers along the top of the desk and sinking a hand into the back of an overstuffed chair. “How did you do this?”
Nell saw her perfect dream office online several months earlier, and fell instantly in love. She’d printed out the picture, determined to have an office just like it someday.
Apparently she didn’t have to wait as long as she thought. This room was almost identical, the walls even the same soft, calming blue, the curtains covered in similar embroidery of flowers and vines.
“The desk used to belong to Freya’s husband, Ian. She had it shipped up here for you. And I picked out the chairs myself. I wanted to make sure they were the kind you sink into. I know that’s what you love.” With a proud smile, he finished with, “Aiden and I made the bookcase.”
“You made this?” She couldn’t keep the disbelief out of her voice. It looked like something out of an expensive-ass furniture store, the wood stained gray and partially painted for a gorgeous industrial look.
He beamed at her. “These hands can do more than spank, you know.”
