a matter of where had she put it. Currently, she had several boxes that needed to be taped so she could stack them into a corner.
Shoving the drawer shut, she leaned against the counter.
“If I was tape and I belonged to Molly, where would I be?”
The last time she had used it, she was mailing a box of books to her cousin. Her bookshelf was in the spare bedroom, so maybe the tape was in there as well.
She checked the bookshelf first, but it wasn’t there. Next she checked the small desk and its drawers. Where the heck was it? It had to be in here. She got on all fours and looked under the bed. Found it! It must have fallen and rolled under there.
She reached as far as she could, but it was just out of reach. She needed the broom. Going back out to the kitchen, she grabbed the broom, and headed back to the bedroom. She retrieved the tape and it felt like victory. She jumped up and down and spun around. The excitement was short lived. Back to work.
After taping up the boxes, she pushed them into her foyer for now. This time, she laid the tape on top of the stack and hoped she would remember where she had put it.
Was that a knock at her door? She walked over and looked out the skylight window. Her heart sped up. Luke was out there. Maybe she could hide. No, she was being silly. She should just open the door to see what he wanted. She couldn’t avoid him forever.
Taking a deep breath, she opened the door. “Hi, Luke.” Her tone was soft.
“I hope you don’t mind I came by. I would’ve called, but you haven’t returned any of my calls.”
Part of her wanted to giggle from his bluntness. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry. Let’s talk about it. Can I come in?” She stood back and motioned for him to come in. “You’ve been packing.”
“I have.”
She followed him into the living room and took a seat on the opposite end of the couch from him. She’d much rather be sitting closer to him, but she wasn’t sure how the conversation was going to go. It was best to keep her distance until she knew.
“We need to talk about the house.”
She smirked slightly. She’d been trying to talk about it all this time, but if she could recall correctly, it was he who never wanted to talk about it. “OK, let’s talk.”
“I walked away from the house for you. Once I got to know you, I developed feelings for you. I saw the joy that the house would bring you and I wanted to give you what you wanted. I hear it’s one of my weaknesses, putting myself second to make sure everyone else is happy.”
“But why? At the time, you thought that if you got the house, it would help your chances with your custody case. It seems silly you would have given that up to take a chance with someone you hardly knew.”
“You’re right, but deep down I think I knew the house didn’t really matter. When my agent first contacted me about the highest and best offer, I wasn’t going to up my offer any. But then, you came and visited me and it changed everything.”
“I was a bit hot-headed that day.”
He smiled. “You were, and it was hot.”
“OK, you’re a nut if you like psycho women.”
“Why have you been ignoring me?”
“I don’t see how this can work between us.”
“It seemed to be going pretty well, in my opinion.”
“Yes, when we pretended the house didn’t exist.”
“Does what I just told you not mean anything? I told you, I gave you the house.”
“But what if it doesn’t work out between us? You’re going to regret it. And then you’ll hate me.”
“What are you worried about? That I might sue you for the house and claim to the judge, ‘She made me fall in love with her just so I’d give her the house, and now I want it back’?” He cocked an eyebrow at her.
Did he say the word love…and about her? She bit her bottom lip, unsure of what to say.
“I’ll be honest, it’s crossed my mind that if things work out between us, I get a pretty sweet deal—you and the house. But that’s in the far future.”
She still didn’t respond. She’d had the same thoughts, but didn’t know what to say to him. She cared for him a lot, but she hadn’t