Page 118 of Take My Heart
I turn to her. ‘I was going to ask you to move here. I was going to ask you to buy a house with me and we’d live there together while we fix it up. I’m not ready to give up on us, Kate. I know we’re nothing alike, but somehow we work. And I like who I am when I’m with you. You make me want to try harder and do better. I’ll never be a neat freak and I can’t promise you I’ll stop eating sandwiches off the counter, but I’m a better man than I was before I met you. And I don’t want to just end this ifthere’s even the slightest chance we could make this work.’ I take a breath. ‘Anyway, that was it. That’s what I wanted to say.’
‘When can we start looking?’
‘What are you talking about?’
She sits up straighter. ‘I accept your offer to be business partners.’
‘Wait—what are you saying?’ I ask, not believing she might actually do this.
She smiles. ‘I’m saying I’d love to work on another house with you. Remodeling this house is the most fun I’ve ever had.’
‘But what about your job? And Chicago?’
‘I’m tired of the city. In the time I spent here, I fell in love with Haydon Falls. It’s quiet. Scenic. The people are nice. And there’s no traffic. As for my job, I was dreading going back. I used to think it was okay, but then I got a taste of what it’s like to do something I really love and decided I can’t go back and sit in an office all day, making spreadsheets.’
‘You love making spreadsheets.’
‘For us, yes, but not for other people, and not all day.’
‘Us?’ I smile. ‘So we’re really doing this? We’re going into business together?’
‘We are.’ She holds out her hand. ‘Let’s shake on it until we can make it official.’
I shake her hand. ‘And don’t worry about the money. I know you’re broke from the lawsuit. I’ll use the profits from this house to buy the next one.’
‘There’s no lawsuit. Cam’s parents dropped it. It’s a long story. I’ll tell you later. The point is, I have money to invest inthe house.’ She shivers. ‘Can we go inside? It’s freezing out here.’
‘Yeah, let’s go.’
When we’re in the house, it instantly feels like home again with Kate there. I pull her into my arms. ‘This place wasn’t the same without you.’
I kiss her, but she pushes me back. ‘Wait.’
‘Why? What’s wrong?’
‘What does this mean? Us going into business together. Are we just business partners?’
‘We’ll be living together, so I guess we’ll also be roommates.’
She looks down. ‘Oh. Okay.’
‘Kate, that was a joke.’ I tilt her face up and wait for her to look at me. ‘The reason I went to see you today was to ask you to be my girlfriend. To see if you wanted to try and make this work. If you’d told me you didn’t want to move here, I still wouldn’t have given up on us. I was prepared to drive my ass to Chicago every weekend to see you.’
‘Really?’ She smiles. ‘You’d really do that?’
‘I’m in love with you, Kate, and that’s not something you just give up.’
‘I love you too,’ she says, still smiling, but she’s tearing up. She holds her hand out to me. ‘The answer is yes. I accept your offer to be your girlfriend.’
‘I need more than a handshake.’ I hold her face in my hands and kiss her, which leads to us going to my room. Actually, it’s our room now. Kate’s moving in.
I’m shocked she agreed to this, and even more shocked she was driving up here to see me. She’s giving up a lot to move toHaydon Falls, but it was her decision. I was never going to pressure her. She’s had enough pressure from her family always telling her what to do. Now she’s finally doing what she wants, which apparently is to be with me.
How did I get so lucky? I get to be with the girl I love and get another chance to fix up a house and maybe turn this house-flipping thing into a business. And I get to do it with Kate, which is even better.
Chapter 23
End of April
