Page 104 of Chasing You

Her hands find the marble top immediately, she runs her palms across it until she notices the little gold key sitting by the edge.

“Miles, what’s going on?” She turns around to face me, and the look in her eye is one I can’t read. “Whose house is this?”

“It’s mine,” I say, taking a step towards her. “It can be yours too, if you want it to be. I didn’t get a place with this big of a kitchen just for myself.”

Her eyes are wide. “What are you talking about?”

I reach out to grab her hand, pulling her through the space. “Here, I envisioned a big dining table, one that can host all of our friends, and your parents too.” I move further into the space. “And here,” I bring her to the spot where the space narrows slightly, “the perfect wall for a sixty-inch TV where you can watch as many Julia Roberts rom-coms as you like. I’ll be mowing the lawn out there.” I turn her to face the glass sliding doors that provide the most gorgeous view of the ocean, but also show off the enormity of the backyard.

It was on my list of non-negotiables. A big kitchen and a big yard. A space that we can fill with love and laughter, and maybe children one day.

“Miles.” She shakes her head, and I take a step back from her, giving her a second to breathe, but she grabs my hand, wrenching me back to hold her as she looks out over the view.

I tell myself to relax, that the fact that she is holding me like this means she’s happy, but I can feel the tension stuck in my shoulders. “I don’t know what to say.”

“You don’t have to say anything if you don’t want to. But this place will be here whenever you’re ready.”

She grabs onto my forearms that are wrapped around her. “When did you get this place?”

“A few weeks ago,” I say into her ear before pressing a kiss just below it. My heart is still beating like crazy. I can’t tell what she’s thinking.

“Before we…”

I chuckle against her skin, and I watch as goosebumps crawl up her neck. “Yeah, baby, before that.”

“But you didn’t know… I mean… What could happen—I just…” She shakes her head. “This place is huge, an entire family could live here comfortably.”

“Well, that’s what I’m hoping for one day.” She’s stopped breathing. I unwrap myself from around her and spin her to face me. “I don’t want you to feel any pressure about anything, okay? I don’t want you to feel like you need to move in tomorrow—I don’t even have furniture yet—I just want you to know that it’s here, and that key over there,” I nod back towards the kitchen. “It’s yours. You can do whatever you want with it. Hook it ontoyour keychain or hide it in your junk drawer, whatever you want, but it’s yours.”

It feels scary to say it, to put myself on the line like this. I can’t say I won’t be disappointed if she chooses the second option, but I also wouldn’t blame her. This is a lot, and it’s soon. But it also feels like it’s been years in the making.

“What about…” Her words fall away as she takes in the space once more. “You bought a house here?”

“I told you, you’re all I want. You, me, a house with a big kitchen where you can bake all the brownies your heart desires.” Her lips curve into a smile that she can’t hold back. “I’ll figure the rest out later. We come first.Youcome first.”

She slowly spins back around and walks over to the doors, sliding them open to let the sea breeze sweep through the space as she steps out onto the grass. Her hands fall onto her hips as she looks around the garden.

I lean against the gigantic door frame. “What do you think, princess?”

She turns to face me, and this time I can read the look in her eyes perfectly. “I think we need some furniture. Maybe some cutlery, ooh! And a standing mixer!”

“Is that a yes?”

She smirks as she approaches me, her hands sliding up the front of my shirt. “I dunno, we might need to test out the acoustics in here. In every room really.” Her hand finds the button of my jeans.

“You wanna know if the neighbors can hear you screaming, baby?” I say. “Because we can test that theory.”

“Show me the bedroom?”

chapter forty-three

MARINA

PRESENT

“It’s kind oflike a rite of passage at this point.”

“Oh, so I’ll officially be accepted into the friend group after herding a mob of goats through a few gates, is that what you’re saying?” Miles asks as his car rumbles down the driveway that leads to Heath’s estate.

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