Charity Case - The Complete Series - Piper Rayne Page 0,102

is Chelsea we’re talking about.

“Want to join me?” she asks Hannah.

“Me and you in a sex shop?” Hannah shoots her an expression that says never. “I’d rather not get arrested tonight.”

“Fine. Leave it to me to be the curator of cock on my own then.” Chelsea shrugs like she doesn’t really care, which she probably doesn’t.

“Okay, have a great weekend, girls.” I wave goodbye and Reed pats my lower back to get me going.

Once we’re down on the sidewalk, I spot Abe leaning against his car, reading a book while he waits.

“The Realtor is meeting us there?” I ask.

“Yeah.”

Reed has decided he doesn’t want to live downtown anymore, so he’s house hunting closer to us. He says he’s found one he really likes and wants my opinion.

“Hey, Abe.” I smile and wave at him.

“Victoria,” he says, rounding the car to get back in.

Reed opens the door and I slide inside. Reed’s hand plays with mine as we pull away from the curb.

“I firmed up some plans last night with Pete.”

“Yeah?” he asks.

“I’m going to fly out there with Jade to drop her off and then fly back to pick her up. She’ll stay for a month this summer.” I take in a deep breath. It’s going to be horrible, but she deserves to spend some time with her dad and he promises he won’t work the whole time.

“A month?” he asks.

“Well, he’s going to hire a nanny and take two of the weeks as vacation.”

Reed nods. “Nice of you.”

“I was wondering though, would you want to come with us and maybe if it’s okay with Ned and Helen, Henry could come when we go to pick her up? We could stay—”

“I’ll go both ways. You’re going to need me after the drop-off.” He smiles, his fingers tightening in mine. He knows me well.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” He smiles. “I’m pretty sure since I’m his guardian if anything should happen, Ned and Helen will be fine with us taking Henry.”

I slide closer, laying my head on his shoulder. My eyes close briefly from the late nights studying for exams. Three more weeks until I graduate, and I can cross off one thing off my list.

“We’re here,” Reed whispers in my ear.

“Sorry,” I mumble, lifting my head to see my mom’s house. “What are we doing here?”

Reed says nothing and steps out, holding his hand out for me to take. “Have a good weekend, Abe. See you Monday.”

“Bye, guys.” He waves and once Reed shuts the door, he pulls away.

“So…I wasn’t exactly telling the truth when I said we were going to look at a house I was interested in. And I hope you’re not mad, but…” He takes my hands in his. “I bought the house next door to your mom’s. My plan is to renovate it, make it large enough to fit all of us. You don’t have to move in with me, but I want to be close to you.”

He guides me up the walkway, pulls out a key and inserts it in the lock.

“This is not me asking you to choose. This is me wanting to be as close to you as possible. I’d love for you and Jade and your mom to move in here. Or just you and Jade and she can stay next door on her own as long as she’s able. I knew you’d want to be by your mom, so…” He trails off, opening the door and waiting for me to take the lead.

The thing about Chicago housing is that next to one bungalow is a three-story flat and next to that is a renovated single family. It’s a hodgepodge of housing types. Reed’s bought the single-family home that needs some updating, but nothing major.

“It’s beautiful.” The light that streams in through the front windows highlights the hardwood floors and moldings. The place has good energy and being close to my mom makes it perfect. We can get out from under her and she can maintain her independence. But we can still help out around the house and with meals since we’re so close.

I walk farther into the house to take it all in.

“The kitchen needs some work, but I have some ideas.”

Warmth blooms in my chest the more I see, but Reed takes my silence the wrong way.

“I don’t want to pressure you, Vic. If you completely hate the idea, I can renovate it and turn it for a profit.”

I shake my head. “I’m not feeling pressured.” Turning back around to him, tears