Page 108 of This Heart
We drove in silence for a couple of minutes when I turned and asked, “What do you want for Christmas? I’m asking for Winnie.”
He gave me a quick glance, then focused back on the road, shaking his head slightly. “Winnie wants to know, huh?”
“Yes. As a matter of fact, during bath time last night, she looked up at me and said she had no idea what to get you for Christmas.”
Liam laughed. “The thing I would like the most is for you to move in with us.”
My smile faded, and I was sure a look of shock replaced it. “Move in with you?”
“Why do you sound so surprised?”
I turned and faced forward, staring out the window of the truck. “I am, I suppose. Wouldn’t that confuse Winnie?”
With a shrug, Liam answered, “I don’t think so if we explain to her why you’re moving in. I’ve already told Winnie I love you and you love me.”
“Yes. But she’s not even three yet, Liam. She doesn’t understand that.”
“What she does understand is she loves you, and for her, if you were there every morning and every night, she would be the happiest little girl on Earth. And I, the happiest man.”
I wrung my hands together slightly. It wasn’t that I didn’t want to move in with Liam and Winnie, I did, but how did I explain to Liam that his house felt more like Hope’s house? I swore I felt the ghost of her every time I walked through the front door—but I’d never admit that part to him.
I heard him turn on a signal, but I was so wrapped up in my thoughts, I hadn’t been paying attention to where he was going.
“Liam, I don’t know how to say this without sounding…I don’t even know how it would sound. I don’t think I can move into your house.”
“Why not?” he asked, his brow creased.
“That house was Hope’s house. Your house and Hope’s. A place where you made memories together and the place where she…”
My voice faded off, and I closed my eyes. “I sound like a bitch. I’m so sorry.”
He took my hand in his and gave it a light squeeze. “You don’t sound like a bitch at all, Aurora. And I can’t begin to tell you how glad I am that you told me your true feelings.”
I smiled at him. “I’ll always tell you the truth.”
He lifted my hand to his mouth and kissed it. “And I will always tell you the truth. But, when I asked you to move in with me and Winnie, I wasn’t talking about the house I currently live in.”
I let out a confused laugh, then asked, “What house are you talking about then?”
A wide smile grew across his handsome face as he pointed in front of us. “This house.”
It was only in that moment that I noticed he had stopped driving. I turned and drew in a sharp breath. Sitting in front of me was my dream house. The Miller Mansion. The yellow Victorian house looked like something out of a postcard, with the fresh, untouched snow surrounding it.
“The Miller Mansion?”
“The Miller Mansion.”
With my eyes still on the house, I asked, “Wait, I’m confused. You said this house sold this past summer.”
I turned and met his eyes. They were sparkling with pure happiness. “It did. I bought it in August, before you told me it was your dream home.”
My mouth dropped open. “Are you kidding me?”
Liam laughed. “Do you know how hard it was for me not to tell you I was the one who bought it?”
“Why…how come you didn’t?” I asked, turning to look back at the house.
“I wanted to surprise you, and I’ve been waiting for the right moment to do it.”
