as Beau pulled around to the far side of the house so his Explorer wouldn’t be seen.
“What do you mean?”
“Our place,” I said, voice wistful as I reached for the handle of my door. But he grabbed my arm to stop me.
Excitement and mischief tugged at his mouth as he studied me. “You think this is your surprise?”
My stare darted out the windshield before meeting his again. “What—yeah. We haven’t been here in months.”
“Yeah,” he said as he leaned forward to capture my lips with his. “But we’ve never been inside.”
I sucked in a sharp breath as he pulled away and got out of the small SUV, a wicked smirk on his handsome face.
I scrambled out of the passenger side and met him around the back just as he was pulling blankets out. “Wait, what do you mean? You can’t—we can’t . . .” I looked to the house, words failing me.
“I found a window that wasn’t locked,” he said softly, hesitantly, his brow creasing when he looked at me. “Say the word, and we’ll stay in the back instead.”
“I wanna go in.” I reached for the arm that wasn’t cradling the blankets, awe swirling through me before what he said finally registered. “What do you mean you found a window? You just went around looking? You could’ve—”
“Gotten arrested?” His arrests had been such a sensitive subject since they’d both been linked to his anger—his fighting. He’d been so ashamed of them. Embarrassed for me. But the way he’d just tossed the words out there, it was as if the thought didn’t bother him at all. “Putting this look on your face? Getting you in that house? It would’ve been worth it.”
My pulse went all kinds of crazy with affection and excitement. “You’re crazy.”
One side of his face scrunched up in an adorable, teasing expression. “That title belongs to you.”
I pushed at him, feigning offense even though I couldn’t stop smiling. “Have you been in?”
His head shook, just a slight shift, but it still made such a big statement. Then again, everything Beau did seemed to be that way. Subtle looks or movements that had a massive impact. “Not setting foot in there without you.”
“Then let’s go.”
He reached for me with his free hand, not saying a word as he led me around the large house to where we normally spent hours getting lost in each other and dreams for our future.
But instead of continuing through the overgrown flowers to the gazebo, he took me up to the back porch. The faded wood creaking beneath our feet as he pulled me past the bay windows I knew looked into the kitchen and over to the opposite edge of the porch where another unkempt flowerbed began. A knowing look on his face when I glanced from the large windows overhead to him.
“One of those?” I assumed. At his faint nod, I asked, “How did you find this . . . why?” A hushed laugh made up of excitement and nervousness and awe bubbled past my lips. “What made you decide to go looking?”
He shifted the bundle of blankets to my arms and headed into the mess of wildflowers growing up and tangling with the dormant spring plants. Talking as he stopped below the second window in and began working on it. “Last week, after one of your fights with your parents, you said you’d give anything to be just you and me, in this place, living out our future.” The window opened with a groan, and Beau just stared at the open space for a moment before looking to me, hand stretched out in invitation. “I can’t speed up time, but I can give you the rest.”
I went to him, my soul dancing from the overwhelming love I felt for this boy. “Beau—”
“It isn’t too late,” he said quickly, softly. “We don’t have to go in.”
“Why wouldn’t I wanna go in?”
“The worst thing you’ve ever done is sneak out to be with me. This—going into the house—that’s . . . Savannah, that’s big.”
I lifted my chin to stare him down and watched as the corners of his mouth kept tilting up as if he was fighting a grin. “Excuse me, but I’m gonna own this house one day. And as the future owner, I’m simply checking on it because I’m concerned for its current state.”
“Uh-huh,” he rumbled, all kinds of amused. “Sheriff’s gonna love that one.”