Page 65 of Single Glance

With a quick tug, the black silk fell away from my eyes, and I had to hold my hand up to my mouth to stifle my gasp. It was criminal to call this place an apartment, especially after the lackluster ones we’d seen over the past couple of weeks. One wall was all windows, showcasing the skyline of Erie City, complete with the Hawks’ stadium in the background.

It was only after I stared at the view for a couple more minutes that I dared to look at the rest of the place. The apartment was the perfect mix of rustic and modern, with warm, wood accents and exposed brick, painted black pipes running along the ceiling. The open floor plan let you overlook the living room from the kitchen. As I walked into the living room, my hand ran along the back of a dark green velvet couch. Whoever furnished this apartment needed to be my best friend. It was like they pulled all my dream elements out of my brain. Everything was mix-matched but flowed together, the perfect eclectic elegance I loved more than any other style.

“Wait…” I said as I walked further inside, checking out the primary bedroom off the hall. The walls were painted my favorite shade of teal, the bed the same one I’d shown Cam earlier that week. As I moved closer to the dresser, I realized all the photos in the frames were of us, many taken from our public declarations on social media. As I picked up our most recent one from the game earlier in the week, I turned around to face Cam. “Why is all of this here?”

He gave me a sheepish smile as he heldup the keys. “I hope you like it, or I’m going to be kicking myself all night. When the listing agent showed it to me, I just knew. I see us here, Hads. Mornings together, celebrating with Emilia, and everything else in between.” Speechless, I just stared at him, trying to figure out how he pulled this off behind my back. He must have misread my silence as annoyance, because he took my hand and led me down the hall to the other two bedrooms, one that had already been painted in glittery purple, with the dream bedroom set to match. “This is Emilia’s room, and then I was thinking we could use the extra one as a guest room, or an office, if you wanted a space at home.”

When he finished showing me around, Cam led me back to the kitchen, his smile replaced with something much less shiny. “Shit, Hads. If you hate it, I’ll go right back down and try to get us out of this. I just wanted to take care of you, and when I saw this place?—”

My hand covered his mouth. “I love it.”

His eyes glistened. As I pulled it away, he grabbed my wrist, leaving a soft kiss on my pulse point. “Are you sure?”

“Cam, you found us a home.” Tears formed in the crests of my eyes. “And it’s absolutely perfect. But I am mad about one thing…” My fingers trailed along his chest. “I thought we couldn’t fool around because the listing agent was coming up here.”

“Okay, so that was technically a lie. But there is one more thing you need to see before we can break this place in.”

My brow furrowed, about to argue, when Cam tookmy hand. He pulled our joined hands to his mouth, leaving a kiss on my knuckles. We walked out of the apartment, and I looked over my shoulder in complete disbelief that we had a place of our own. Once we were in the hall, Cam passed me a key topped with a light blue key holder. “Lock up for me, baby?”

I did as he asked, beaming up at him when I pulled the key from the lock. “I still can’t believe you did this.”

Cam pulled me into his arms, kissing the top of my head. “I’d do anything for you, baby. After all, you’re the one who’s made my life more than I ever imagined. I want a full life with you. This is just the first step.”

When we left the apartment,I expected Cam to take us to a local restaurant or a coffee shop that would be our new place. Instead, when we reached the ground level of the building, he turned away from the car, directing me to where a bunch of empty storefronts sat, waiting for businesses to claim them.

“This building is brand new,” Cam said as he tugged me along. “Just finished construction last month, but the plan is to make it a staple of the community. Not only quality housing, but local businesses to help the neighborhood thrive.”

We turned the corner, and I saw an addition next to the building, a one-story set-up with an attached yard. My heart clenched at the sight, wondering if one day, I’d have a place of my own just like this, a place where kids could learn and grow.

I expected Cam to turn around and continue the tour of theneighborhood, but then the sign in the front caught my eye.

The Sunshine Academy.

“Son of a bitch,” I muttered under my breath. Cam stopped, arching his brow in question. I shook my head. “It’s nothing. It’s just…the daycare Victoria and I always dreamed about? That was going to be its name. It was an inside joke, that she was the brains and I was the sunshine, and together, we’d make the perfect pair.”

Cam laughed, nodding. “Think that’s still the case?”

I furrowed my brow, following his line of sight until it reached my best friend, who grinned as she opened the door and walked outside. For the second time today, I was stunned silent, too busy hoping the sight in front of me was real.

When Cam let go of my hand, I stepped up to Victoria. “What are you doing here?”

“Thought you’d want to check out our first location.” She held up the keys. “Because a certain benefactor of ours just bought the building, and he wants to make sure both the owners approve before we sign on the dotted line.”

I whipped around to face Cam. “How did you even know about this?”

“I might have stolen your business plan,” he admitted with a shrug. When my mouth fell open, he just smirked. “Sorry, menace. It was too good to sit in a box gathering dust. I knew you just needed a push to make it happen.” He stepped closer, but this time, his expression didn’t seem so confident. “If I overstepped, I’m sorry. You’re an amazing teacher, Hads, but you’ve dreamed about doing so much more. Maybe I should have talked to you first,but you’d never let me help if I asked.”

I stared up at him, too stunned to articulate all the emotions rushing through me. Instead, all I could babble was a shaky, “Why?”

Cam cupped my cheek in his palm. “I will always support your dreams, Hadley. No matter what comes next, I’m in this with you. If you wanted to run the world, I’d be right by your side, doing everything in my power to make it a reality. I believe in you, baby.”

I rolled my lips, trying and failing to keep my tears from falling. Cam smoothed them away with his thumb. “Please tell me these are happy tears.”

I launched myself into his arms. “These are ridiculously over the top happy tears.” I pulled back and kissed him, pouring every ounce of devotion and appreciation into my touch. “But please tell me this is the last of the surprises. My heart can’t take any more.”

“This is it,” Cam chuckled. “But you have to go inside and make sure it matches your vision. Vic checked it out last week, but we wanted you to have the final say.”

I nodded, and Cam put me back on the ground. As I looked up at the building he’d bought for us, I reached out and took Victoria’s hand. “So we’re really doing this?”

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