with a beautiful banister that just needed some stain and a bit of wax. And the crooked chandelier that hung above my head would look beautiful with a nice shine and a straight hang.
“It’s really not that bad,” I said.
He snickered. “Yeah. Right.”
My eyes found his. “No, really. It’s not terrible. If anything, it’s a blank slate.”
He furrowed his brow. “You know, that’s exactly what I thought before I bought the place.”
I smiled. “We were always more alike than not.”
He walked toward me. “Could you be happy here?”
I snickered. “What kind of question is that?”
He took my hands in his. “An honest one. And I want an honest answer. Could you be happy here back in our hometown? With me?”
I closed the distance between us. “I wouldn’t care if we were stranded on a desert island. So long as I’m with you? I’m just fine.”
He grinned before capturing my lips and my heart exploded with joy. I threaded my arms around his neck as he dipped me back, his tongue invading my mouth. I loved how he did that. He just charged straight on through knowing damn good and well I’d take it anytime he had to give it. And as our lips finally parted, he set me back onto me feet.
Before gazing deeply into my eyes.
“I love you,” he said.
I smiled brightly. “I love you, too.”
He drew in a deep breath. “I say the first thing we do is hire a contractor to tackle the upstairs.”
I nodded. “I agree with that. Get the rooms and bathrooms situated while we bunk down here. Then, we can switch off.”
“Exactly.”
“Do you know how you kind of want the place? Or do we need to get an interior designer or someone like that to give us some pointers?”
He shrugged. “I don’t give a shit about that kind of thing. I just want this place to be sturdy and safe enough for it.”
I slid my hands down his chest. “Well, then it’s a good thing I’m a sucker for decorating, huh?”
I stood on my tiptoes to capture his lips once more before his cell phone rang. He sighed, his eyes closing as he slumped softly against my body. I wrapped my arms around him and held him close. He dug around for his phone in his pocket before he stepped away.
And with one last wink tossed in my direction, he picked up the phone.
Heading into the kitchen while I stood there, imagining what our new home might look like.
As his voice wafted down the small hallway, I began to paint a picture in front of me. Plush microfiber furniture filling the living room with shining, all-natural hardwood floors. The baseboards and crown moulding stayed crisp and white while the walls themselves turned as brown as the floor, allowing the white furniture to pop. The ceiling, with its popcorn studs removed with a scraper, was even painted brown, giving us a dark landscape to fill with brightly colored pictures and lamps.
I even saw a television mounted on the wall. One I knew JayJay would love. One I knew we could use together, whether we had Movie Night Fridays like we did while growing up, or whether we made our own movies to watch back on nights we felt a bit frisky.
Either way, the house came alive inside of my mind.
That is, until JayJay came back from the kitchen.
“We have to get to the bar. Something’s come up,” he said.
His voice pulled my eyes toward him. “Want me to stay and unpack?”
He grabbed my hand. “No. Until this shit is resolved, I want you in my sights at all times.”
I followed him back out to his bike and we quickly took off. I wrapped my arms around him and sighed with relief, enjoying the freeing feeling of riding on the back of his bike. I loved moments like this with him. Where it seemed like nothing could get to us. My cheeks hurt with how much I was smiling, and I wondered if things could get any better than this.
If my life could get any better than this.
We pulled up to a bar called the Iron Horse—a name I’d heard many times by this point—and I hopped off the bike. I slid my helmet off and propped it against my hip with my arm as JayJay slid his helmet off. He shook out that hair of his I’d grown used to clinging to at night and it caused my pelvis to warm. The mere idea of