All Consuming (Brotherhood by Fire #3) -Jaci Burton Page 0,97
house. Hannah frowned.
“What’s this?”
“It’s a house I’m looking at. Want to come with me?”
She gave him a suspicious look, but nodded. “Okay.”
The house was a one-story cream-colored stucco with a beautiful front porch and a tile roof.
“This is really nice,” she said as they got out.
It was dark out so she wouldn’t be able to get the full picture of how pretty it really was. But if she liked it, he’d bring her back during the day. “Come on. Naomi is waiting for us inside.”
“Naomi being . . .” she said.
“My Realtor.”
“So you’re house shopping.”
He grinned. “You could say that.”
They walked through the front door. Naomi, a mid-forties dynamo who was all of five foot one, waited for them in the entry. She shook his hand. “Hi, Kal.”
“Hey, Naomi. This is Hannah.”
She held her hand out. “Nice to meet you, Hannah.”
“You, too, Naomi. This house is lovely.”
“Isn’t it? Go ahead and walk through. I’ll be waiting outside.”
Kal led Hannah through the foyer and into the kitchen.
“Wow,” Hannah said. “This is nice.”
The kitchen was open to the dining and living area. The kitchen had tons of counter space and lots of cabinets, and the floor was a light travertine, which was amazing during the day. “There’s tons of light in here. Look at all the windows.”
She walked around, sliding her fingers over the granite countertops. “I can see why you’d like it.”
He took her hand and led her through the back door, flipping on the light. “And look at this backyard. Built-in kitchen, fire pit, and plenty of room to build a pool.”
She took in the view. “This is really amazing. So spacious.”
“Right?” They stepped inside and he flipped the light off, then walked with her down the hall toward the bedrooms. “Four bedrooms, two bathrooms. The master is killer. It’s huge.”
“It definitely is,” she said as they walked through all the rooms. “Nice bathroom, too. It looks like they renovated everything. I like that soaker tub in the master.”
He loved that she loved everything. “Yeah. And all the bedrooms are big. Which one do you think Oliver would like?”
She stopped abruptly and spun around to look at him. “Wait. What?”
“Oliver. For his room? Which one do you think he’ll choose?”
She held up her hands. “Wait a minute. This house is for you, right?”
“For us. For you and me and for Oliver.”
She shook her head. “No.”
Now it was his turn to frown. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, no. N-O, Kal. I don’t want this.”
“You don’t like the house?”
“I love the house. The house is great. You should buy it. For yourself. Not for me. I’m not moving in here with you.”
Now he was really confused. “I don’t get it. So you like the house, but it’s not for you?”
“No. When and if I can afford to buy a house, I’ll buy one. With my own money. For me and for my son.”
What she was saying didn’t make any sense to him. “Hannah. Maybe I didn’t make this clear. I want us to move in together. Make plans for a future together. You and me and Oliver. Like a family.”
“No, you didn’t make that clear, but the fact that you assumed that I’d just ride along on your grand plan without even consulting me about your house-hunting adventure is so typical of the male species it should be written in the ‘Dumb Things Men Do’ guidebook.”
Ouch. “Okay, maybe I thought you were ready to—”
“That’s the problem, Kal. You just thought. You didn’t talk to me at all. No, I’m not ready. I’ll never be ready. Not for this. Can you just take me home now?”
“Sure.” He didn’t know what else to say.
As they walked out, he gave Naomi a tight smile and told her he’d call her later. Fortunately, this house was only a couple of blocks from Hannah’s, because the silence in the truck was icy. She got out as soon as he’d parked, then pulled her packages out of the truck.
“Hannah, wait.”
She clutched the bags to her chest and turned to face him.
She didn’t say anything, so he had to. “I guess . . . I need to know how you feel.”
“How do I feel? I don’t know how I feel, Kal. Not right now.”
He stepped toward her. “Then I’ll tell you how I feel. I’m in love with you. And I love Oliver, and I want both of you in my life. But if that’s not what you want, then you need to let me know, because I’m invested.