Page 86 of A Pen Pal for Christmas

She nodded, a faint smile tugging at her lips. “I do. With you.”

That settled it. If she said she was ready, she meant it. The last thing I wanted to do was tear away her agency. She knew herown mind. And if she was ready to go back to that house so we could claim it for ourselves, then so was I.

“All right,” I said, pushing back the covers and standing. “Let’s go.”

She slid out of bed, wrapping one of my flannels around herself before grabbing her shoes. I moved to the nightstand, opening the drawer and pulling out a small, velvet box. My fingers tightened around it briefly before I slipped it into my pocket.

Sofia glanced over at me, one eyebrow raised. “What’s that?”

“Nothing,” I said, a little too quickly.

Her eyes narrowed, but thankfully, she didn’t press. I wasn’t ready to explain—not yet.

When we were finished getting ready, I grabbed my jacket and held the door open for her, letting her step out into the hallway first. As I followed her out into the crisp morning air, my heart was racing in a way that had nothing to do with what had happened the night before.

This wasn’t how I’d planned to do it, but maybe that didn’t matter. My only goal had been to wait until there was no more danger looming over every bright moment we shared, and now? That box was checked.

And now that we were free, I wanted nothing more than to give her everything she deserved.

Including what was in my pocket.

The driveto the outskirts of town was quiet. Sofia kept her gaze out the window, her fingers lightly tapping against her thigh. Butwhen we pulled up to the house, her hand found mine, and I brought it to my lips.

“You ready?” I asked against the back of her hand.

She inhaled deeply, then nodded. “Ready.”

We got out of the car and let ourselves in—with my key—and it struck me right away that the house looked different in the light of day. And, unfortunately, not in a good way. The scuffs on the floorboards, the peeling paint, the broken glass still scattered near the back door—they all stood out more starkly now.

But so did the potential. The way the sunlight filtered through the windows spoke of a space with good light, and the wide-open floor plan begged to be filled with laughter and life.

Sofia walked beside me, her hand in mine, her steps deliberate and sure. I didn’t say much as we moved through the house, letting her take it all in. But I watched her—closely. The way her eyes moved, the set of her jaw, the faint furrow in her brow. I was looking for signs that this was too much for her.

She stopped in the living room, turning a slow circle. “It’s bigger than I thought,” she said softly.

“Yeah?”

She nodded, her gaze lingering on the window that faced the front yard. “It’s beautiful, Hudson. Even like this.”

“It’ll be better,” I promised. “Once it’s finished, once it’s ours…”

“It already feels like it is.” She turned to me, her eyes meeting mine. “Even now.”

My fingers tightened around hers. “Are you sure about this? About… making new memories here? Because if it feels?—”

Her expression softened, and she reached up with her free hand, brushing her fingers over my cheek. “I’m sure. It’s hard, yeah. I won’t pretend it’s not. But every second I spend in here with you—looking at it now, fixing it up, making it ours—it’ll erase those few minutes I spent being scared.”

I blew out a breath, shaking my head as I stared down at her. “You’re incredible, you know that?”

Her lips curved into a faint smile, and her only response was a brief kiss.

“Come on,” I said, taking her hand and stepping back. “There’s something I want to show you.”

I led her toward the back of the house, past the kitchen, before carefully stepping through the back door. She stopped at the threshold of the screened-in porch, her eyes widening as she really took it in for the first time.

“This,” I said, gesturing to the space around us, “is going to be that library I told you about.Yourlibrary. We’ll close it in, add some insulation, and put in floor-to-ceiling shelves. Maybe a cozy chair in the corner and a little fireplace…”

She tore her gaze from the space to focus on me, her eyes shining.

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