Page 62 of The Chad Next Door
“Oh.”
He laughs, pressing a kiss to my temple and sliding his phone back into his pocket. “I’ll talk to him tomorrow and let him choose whether he wants to hear it or if everything should just play out.”
“Look at you, learning how to keep boundaries and let people solve their own problems!”
He groans. “You’re never going to let me live the Todd thing down, are you?”
“Never.” But I punctuate that word with a kiss, and even though his other siblings eventually make it outside on their way out, neither of us give them any notice. That’s for Tomorrow Hope and Chad. Tonight, we’re the only ones who matter.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Chad
November 1
I should have this figuredout already, but I’m still annoyed when I wake up in the morning exhausted because I could barely sleep knowing Hope was in a guest room right across the hall. I made sure to put her in a room that didn’t share a wall with mine, but that didn’t really help. Not when the rest of the house is empty. All I could think about was how easy it would be to take the few steps to her door and crawl into bed beside her so I could hold her and never let go.
It’s not even about physical intimacy, though that crossed my mind as well. It’s about being with her, next to her, breathing the same air and knowing that her heart is beating strong and calm.
Forcing myself to ignore her closed door, I make my way downstairs and start a pot of coffee so I’ll be at least moderately personable when she wakes up.
Hope showing up on my doorstep was so much better than I could have expected. As much as I had hoped and dreamed for something like that to happen, I was convinced the most I would get was a phone call. When I didn’t get that much, I resigned myself to being alone the rest of my life, knowing no one would ever compare to the woman who forced herself into my life in the best possible way. The way I feel about her isn’t something that will go away with time or distance, so I’m glad I don’t have to deal with either of those things right now.
When she appears on the stairs, her hair falling in a mess around her shoulders and her eyes sleepy and warm, my heart beats with a resounding rhythm of love. I hate that I haven’t said those words to her yet, not even last night, but I’m not sure I can survive putting them out into the world if I am not absolutely sure that I am what she wants.
Seeing her in my house like this feels so much bigger than having her stay with me in Laketown. Laketown was a dream, a world set apart from reality, and it was easy to pretend that it had nothing to do with my actual life. But this? She comes up beside me and steals my coffee out of my hand without a word, and the sight of her here in New Mexico seems to solidify the idea that she can be a part of my life forever if I just say the words.
Can I do that? Can I trust her with my heart?
Of course I can. I don’t think that was ever in question, no matter what I told myself. Hope never says something she doesn’t mean, and she’s already told me multiple times that she loves me. She basically told me last night that she has no intentions of going anywhere.
So what’s stopping me?
“Morning,” she says, grinning as she takes a sip of my coffee. “This is disgusting. Where’s all the good stuff?”
“I was planning on making you your own cup,” I tell her, rolling my eyes even though I don’t care.
I’m too busy thinking about how my yard is ideal for kids, with a huge stretch of grass in the back and a pool that rarely gets used. The school bus stops just a couple of houses down. I can count nearly a dozen kids in the neighborhood similar in age to Zelda and Link. I know Hope just bought her house in Laketown and that moving to a new place is always a little traumatic for a kid, but have they really settled enough to cause problems if I were to ask them to come here?
“You seem to have a lot on your mind this morning,” Hope says, brushing my cheek with her thumb.
There’s a wildlife center not far from here. Link would love that. And Sun City just opened up a new observatory a few miles outside of town…
“Care to let me in?” she asks. But then she narrows her eyes and looks around. “Okay, is it weird that it feels too quiet? I kind of miss the kids.”
I lean in and kiss her, taking the coffee from her hands and setting it on the counter so it isn’t between us. “Are you sure about that?” I ask before lifting her up onto the counter and deepening the kiss.
“Mm, okay, you make a good point.” Her fingers find their way into my hair, sending a shiver through me. “I think we need to take advantage of the privacy while we’ve got it.”
I grunt. Too much talking. Except… “I have no idea if this house is well equipped for this kind of thing,” I say in between kisses. “Care to test it out with me? The countertop seems sturdy.”
Grinning, she glances at the walk-in pantry, which is partially open. “You mean like making sure there is plenty of space for a couple of people to move around in your pantry if necessary?”
I nod seriously. “Or seeing if the window seat down the hall can comfortably seat two people.”
“Maybe figuring out which couch is the most comfortable,” she suggests with a wink.
This is why I love her. One of the reasons, anyway. She understands the things I don’t say. “I want to see how well you and I fit here,” I say, perhaps a little cautiously. I’ll ask her outright if she’d be willing to move to Sun City, but not yet. First, I want to enjoy this bubble.
