Page 61 of Starting Over with You
Home.
I’m moving in with Dean.
With his tight ass and slutty mustache.
He taps the top of my car, pulling me from my internal monologue, before pushing off and heading to his truck.
Do I watch his ass in my side mirror?
I absolutely do.
Then I wipe the corners of my mouth like a fucking lady.
CHAPTER
TWENTY-FOUR
Kenni
Dean inherited his grandparents’ cabin when they passed. I remember it being quaint and very old-ladyish when I was younger, but nothing could have prepared me for the place that Dean has made a home. Dean refurbished the whole house, making it his own. He kept a lot of the original elements of the home, which offers a stunning mix of old and new. He replaced the standard windows with floor-to-ceiling ones, the natural light making all the rooms glow. He used the same old bricks that Sadie used on her home to accent the front stoop. The inside is all exposed wood, along with accent walls made with the bricks from the old homes on his great-uncle’s ranch. He even swapped some of the doors with doors from the houses where he got the bricks. Along the frames are little marks for kids I don’t know growing up, but then I notice a DM and SM for Dean and Sadie. How sweet. It’s even sweeter when I notice that Skyye also has her growing marks on her door.
It’s beautiful.
Dean put in stunning herringbone flooring throughout the whole house, in such a soft pine that it makes the exposed dark wood and bricks stand out. While it’s obvious this is a man’s home, I love the accents of Skyye. He has photos of her everywhere, showing her at various stages throughout her whole life, along with lots of pictures of Sadie, Matt, and the kids.
This place is a home.
I lived in a 4,000-square-foot house for nineteen years, and while I tried to make it a home for my boys, it never felt the way Dean’s does. His home is like a hug that surrounds you in a pine and sandalwood scent while simultaneously making you feel all fuzzy inside.
I love it, and I’ve been breathless since I arrived.
Dean moved all my stuff into the guest room, which is way bigger than the one I had at Missy’s. I can tell he cleaned and replaced the bedding with a set in a soft pink color that is my favorite. The dark wooden dresser, I’ve already filled with all my things. The closet holds all my clothes, and the Jack and Jill bathroom that I’ll share with Skyye is already packed with my products. It’s wild, but I unpacked faster here than I did at Missy’s.
But I’m not giving that thought any of my time.
Dean had to go back to the firehouse, so I’m left to explore his home. Skyye’s room is a Taylor Swift paradise, with all her records on the wall and even Taylor bedding. I’m surprised since her room at Missy’s is bright green with ice skating memorabilia. She has the best of both worlds, and I love that Dean and Missy work so well together to give their daughter everything she needs.
The door beside mine leads to Dean’s room. I’m instantly hit with his scent, sandalwood and mint. I inhale deeply as I enter and look around. It’s done in dark greens and an off-white that makes everything pop. He has a huge king-sized bed with hunter-green bedding that takes up most of the room. The windows are floor-to-ceiling in here too and give the most gorgeous view of the mountains and forest. His boots are lined up by the dresser, and hiscowboy hats are hanging on the wall. On the wall above his dresser is a huge canvas photo of him in his firefighting gear, all covered in ash and soot from the fires in Gatlinburg a while back. In his arms is younger Skyye as she kisses his cheek, and he holds her so tight, their love shines off the canvas.
It’s stunning.
A smile pulls at my lips as I run my fingers along his soft bedding, when a photo frame catches my eye. At first glance, it looks like it’s only a photo of Dean and Skyye at the rink, him in his hockey gear and both of them beaming, but I see a Polaroid too. I reach for the photo that is tucked into the side of the frame. The Polaroid is of Missy, Sadie, Dean, and me at the county fair when we were in our teens. I squint at it, my face breaking into a grin when I remember this moment. We had saved for weeks to go, just to blow our money on rides and cotton candy. I’m holding a funnel cake and looking at it like it’s God’s gift to the world.
Which, aren’t all funnel cakes?
But what has me clutching my chest is the way Dean is looking at me in the picture. He’d bought me that funnel cake since I’d run out of money. He did that a lot, bought me things when I wanted them. Sadie and Missy would tease him for spoiling me. But as I think back on it, what if it was more than that? Because in this photo, his eyes are so intent on me. A little grin tilts his lips, while Missy and Sadie are looking at the camera, laughing. I run my finger along his sharp jaw and just soak in the image. I can still taste that funnel cake, but I wish I had noticed he was looking at me like that. I swallow and put the photo back before walking out of the room.
Before I do something stupid like lie down in his bed and wrap my body in his blanket.
I shake my head at my crazy antics and wander over to the kitchen. I don’t know what is going on in my brain, but Dean is starring in all my damn thoughts. I was so nervous that Missy would be mad I was moving in with him, but all she cared aboutwas that I was leaving her. I thought for so long they were secretly in love, but being home, I know that’s not the case. It’s annoying how I feel it’s so wrong to lust after him. Especially when it’s hard not to. With his flirting and smirks that put me in a tizzy.
What the hell are we doing?
It feels like we’re tiptoeing around each other, and that’s not how we do things. It’s always been crazy comfortable between us, being around him as easy as breathing. But now, I feel like I can’t catch my breath when he’s close to me. I damn well can’t think when he’s looking at me. It feels wrong but also right, and that’s confusing as hell. I just got out of a nineteen-year relationship. Isn’t there a rule that I have to be single for like half that? I know the boys suggested I put a sock on the door and enjoy myself, but I’ve never been that person. Missy and Sadie, sure. But for me, I was in love with everyone I slept with.
Or thought I was in love.
I groan as I enter the kitchen and reach for the door of the fridge. I need to run to the store to get my Poppis, but when I open the fridge, they’re there. A whole case of Ginger Lime, my favorite. How…
