Page 68 of Curious
“I do. It’s why I like making crafts like vision boards. Or hug books.”
I give him a puzzled look. “What’s that?”
“We have a client who needed a hug, but I wasn’t going to be there to give it to him. So I made him a book of hugs from the internet. I cut out all these pictures of kittens hugging and T-rexes trying to hug, that sort of thing.”
“That’s cute. Was the client a little old lady?”
He chuckles. “No. A porn star.”
I do a double take.
“Porn stars need love, too, and he’s been having a tough time of it. Anyway, all I wanted to say was that I get it. I understand why you like building things. I do it, too, just with paper and pictures.”
“Yeah.”
He looks at another picture where I’m sitting on top of the doghouse. “You on a roof? Not surprising.”
“Guess it started early,” I say. “Hang on. Let me show you where I used to go once I got a little bit older.”
“Not the doghouse?”
“Not the doghouse,” I assure him.
We go upstairs, where I pull a ladder down from the ceiling. I climb up into the attic, trying to mostly put weight on my good foot, and Shelby follows. Once we’re up there, I open the window, remove the screen, and we crawl out onto the roof. The lights of Los Angeles twinkle around us, and a cool breeze plays across our faces.
“Oh, wow,” Shelby says. “I love it up here.”
“I do, too. I used to come up here when my siblings were being too noisy.” There’s noise outside, of course—traffic, a plane, laughter from the house across the street. But I feel removed from it all. “Come here,” I say, and Shelby crawls into my lap. “Thanks for coming tonight,” I murmur. “You made my mom happy.”
“Did I?”
“Uh-huh. Me, too.”
We sit out there, just watching the world. After a moment Shelby says quietly, “Reyna told me you’d intended to rent out the pool house as an Airbnb. Now that we’re… I mean, I could move my stuff out of there and free it up for you if you want.”
I shake my head. “No. I don’t want strangers coming in right now.”
Shelby bites his lip. “You were so stressed about money before, and I don’t want to prevent you from getting out of debt.”
“Life seemed pretty dire there for a while,” I admit. “With not knowing how bad my foot might be, and no way of working.” I shrug. “Having health insurance makes a huge difference, anxiety-wise, and I guess with perspective, I’ve calmed down some. Leah sent over a check to pay for some of the costs from the wedding, and I’ll maybe refinance the house, since its value has gone up. Do some debt consolidation. I was panicking before, but now that I know not everything is due today, it seems more manageable.”
“Good. And I can contribute more in terms of rent.”
“Not necessary. But I appreciate the offer.”
“Then I’ll keep the offer open.” He turns, and I kiss him. He tastes like beer and barbecued chicken and something familiar and homey. It feels like Shelby and I have been together our whole lives, not just the past few months. He should be my companion in everything I do for the rest of my life.
Maybe I was waiting to be with him. He opened me up to see other possibilities. Maybe he’s my soulmate.
I suck in a breath, and he gazes at me. “What’s up?” Shelby asks.
“Nothing.”
Is Shelby my soulmate?
With how he always seems to know what I need even before I do, I kind of think he is. It’s not that he finishes my sentences or things like that, but, dammit, I’m starting to have strong feelings for the guy, and I’m not wanting this thing to end whenever we’re supposed to be ending it.
… so maybe we don’t.
