“I want to sell my place,” I tell her, raising my eyebrows.
“I know a Realtor,” she says without hesitation, biting her lip.
We both grin at each other and I kiss her, pushing her onto her back on the couch as I do.
Lifting my head, I gaze down at her. “I’m paying for the new windows.”
She blinks at me and then asks, “What?”
“And I’m building you a garage,” I add.
Her arms coil around my neck. “Is this your idea of pillow talk?”
“And the roof,” I answer before kissing her.
She giggles throughout and I’ve never been happier.
“When do you want to move in?”
“Is tonight too soon?”
God, her smile, one look at it and I feel invincible.
“How should we celebrate?” I ask, kissing her neck.
“I have a feeling we already did,” she jokes.
She’ll learn I’ve barely started our celebrations.
“And a hot tub,” I say.
She blinks. “A hot tub?”
“Yep, after I put in a back patio,” I say.
She shakes her head. “You’re crazy.”
“But before all of that, I’m buying you a ring,” I murmur.
She goes stock-still.
“Fin?”
She doesn’t reply.
“Finley, say something,” I plead.
“Do you mean a wedding ring?” She asks, her voice a whisper.
“I do,” I confirm.
“Really?”
Sliding my hand up into her hair, I pull her lips down to mine. “I’ve never been surer of anything.”
We kiss and she melts into me, trusting me, believing me, knowing that I’d never lie to her.
When I lift my head, breaking our kiss, she wipes tears from her eyes.
“I love you,” she murmurs.
“So you’ll wear my ring?” I confirm.
With her lips pressed together, looking like she’s holding back a fresh wave of tears, she nods.
“I love you so much Fin,” I murmur, kissing her temple. “And, I’m only catching up. I’ve watched you work so hard to transform this place. You have me now.”
She reaches up to cup my cheek, her eyes wet. “I’ve had you from the start, from day one.”
“And you always will,” I promise.
Her face goes soft, dreamy like. “I believe you.”
“You better.”
Then she giggles. “A hot tub?”
It’s my turn to laugh. “Damn straight.”
Sitting back, I pull her up with me.
“You wait here,” she says. “I have something I think you’ll like.”
She returns, this time with a plate. I missed dinner, and she had made my favorite.
Taking the plate from her, I set it on the steamer trunk. “Did you eat?”
“I did, with Abby,” she replies.
“I’m lucky she didn’t eat it all,” I joke.
She sits next to me, retrieving my plate and setting it on my lap. “Now eat.”
“How soon will you list it?” My mom asks.
“Abby’s here with me now, taking pictures. Then I’m heading home to Fin,” I reply.
“We love Finley for you Noah. She’s a great girl.”
“The best,” I correct her.
“You waited for the right one.”
“I did.” I nod my head, even though she can’t see me.
“When can we come over?”
“Give us the weekend for me to unpack,” I plead, hopeful that she isn’t already on her way to Finley’s.
“I suppose,” she mutters.
I catch Abby’s eye and say, “Thanks Mom.”
Abby waits nearby and watches as I hang up.
“Any bets on whether she’ll give you the weekend before she descends?” She asks as I slip my phone into my back pocket.
“I’m not taking that bet,” I mutter. “How long do you think it will take to sell?”
She frowns. “Sales slow down during the winter months but with that garage and how well the place will show, I’d be shocked if it doesn’t sell fast.”
That’s great news, I think to myself.
Our conversation on splitting things was frustrating. She seems to think putting the windows and a garage in is too much. I haven’t told her I’m going to replace the siding yet. I figured it’d be better to ask for forgiveness than permission.
“I’m all done here. I’ll have the listing up by morning,” Abby replies.
We walk out together. She’s blocked me in so I sit in my truck and wait, watching until my path is clear.
This place is empty now. We didn’t need to hire movers. Between Jon and my trucks and the trailers, it only took a couple of trips to get all of my things to Finley’s.
We’re putting my bedroom set in the master since it’s nicer. Her TV is going there and, since mine is bigger it’s going in the living room. Her bed is going in one spare room and my spare set is in the other.
She has enough kitchen things to serve a battalion so Gideon took mine. We split my living room set between her office and the third floor.
Fin was hanging up my clothes in our closet when I left. I told her to leave it. Each shirt she pulled from a box she stroked with gentle care. With one of my shirts still in her hands, I wrapped my arms around her middle and held her back to my front. She leaned back into me, holding my arms to her with one hand and lifting the hanger to the rod with the other.
I kissed the top of her head and left her to it. When I get back to the house only the kitchen light is on downstairs. I go straight upstairs and find Finley working in one of the spare rooms.
“You could have waited for me to help,” I greet.
She lowers her hammer. “I wanted to surprise you.”
“You like them?” I ask, nodding my head toward the black and white prints.
They’re hockey themed close-ups. One is an extreme close-up of a puck, its shadow gray against the ice. Another one is hovering at an angle over what would be the blue line if the print were color. There’s one of the sharpened blades of a pair of skates and the last one of the goal net.
“I know nothing about hockey but they look cool,” she says, her eyes taking them in.
“Nothing about hockey,” I grumble making her giggle.
“I’ll take you to a game someday,” I promise.
Her brows come together. “Could we watch one here?”
I cross the room and help her hang the last print. “In bed.”
She swats at my stomach. “How do you manage to make watching a hockey game sound dirty?”
“It can be the first thing we watch in bed.” I grin waggling my brows.
“Right now?” She laughs. “Is there even a game on tonight?”
I doubt she has a hockey package on her cable plan. That’s another thing that will be changing.
“Let’s call it a night and see what we can find?” I suggest.
She looks around the room, her eyes round. “There’s still so much to put away.”
“It’ll all still be there tomorrow,” I counter.
Her drive and focus are one of the things I love most about her. She has this inner strength that won’t quit, it’s what led her to coming here. That doesn’t mean she doesn’t overdo it.
“Tonight we’re going to bed early,” I say, my tone non-negotiable.
She stops looking around at the boxes we’ll still need to unpack and focuses all of her attention on me. “Are you tired?”
I dip my head and kiss her, lifting her as I do.
When I break our kiss to gaze down at her I mutter, “Not tired.”
She wraps her arms around my neck and smiles. “I can see that.”
I set her down and turn her toward the door. With my hands on her shoulders I follow her to our room.
“Will we need snacks and drinks?” She asks. “If you want, we can make a picnic of it.”
Once we’re in our room I spin her to face me and kiss her again. She looks adorably confused when I lift my head and start walking her backward to the bed.
As she lies back on it, I pull my shirt off. Leaning over her, I make quick work of undoing the buttons of her flannel shirt. Opening it, I lower my lips to the swell of her breasts.
“This is an interesting introduction to hockey,” she sighs, her fingers threading into my hair.
Epilogue
Noah officially moved in two months ago, and the new roof, siding, and windows are already done. No more worn gray exterior and sad roof. Now crisp white vinyl wraps our home, new black shutters framing the new windows, and charcoal shingles top it off.
“It’s done,” I say, my voice wavering.
“Why do you sound like you’re going to cry babe?” Noah asks, tugging me closer.
We’re standing on the street in front of our house. Before Noah moved in, he said there were some things he was going to do as his way of investing in the house since there’s no mortgage for him to chip in on.
He wasn’t lying.
I never thought he was, I just didn’t expect for him to jump on these projects the way he did.
“It’s done and now it’s like I have no idea what to do next,” I reply.
He tips his face down to stare into my eyes. “It’s not done.”
“What?” I ask, confused.
“It’s not done,” he repeats, this time more firmly.
Lifting my arm I make a sweeping gesture towards the house. “What are you talking about?”
“It’s going to grow with us so it will never be done.” His ocean blue eyes are still on mine.
I never thought about it like that, still I ask, “It will?”
Shifting from beside me to behind me, he wraps his arms around my middle and bends to rest his chin on my shoulder.
One of his arms comes up as he points toward the spare bedrooms on the second floors. “We’re going to fill those rooms with babies.”
My heart starts to hammer wildly in my chest. “Yes?”
He pulls his arm back to hug me even closer to him. “We may even need to build an addition for all of them.”
“An addition?” I breathe.
“Yep,” he says, kissing the spot below my ear. “But, before that, you have a wedding to plan.”
“So we’re not done at all,” I murmur.
“No, we’re only getting started,” he promises, his breath hot on my neck. Then he moves in front of me, facing me with an open jewelry box in his a hand, a gorgeous diamond winking from its velvet bed. Plucking that perfect ring from its perch he tosses the box over his shoulder with a grin. I’m laughing as he takes my hand.
Holding the ring up to the end the fourth finger of my left hand, he smiles at me, a smile I’ve never seen before. It’s nervous and excited at the same time. “Let’s start with this,” his voice wavers slightly before sliding it on.
He gives me no time to admire it, or answer his unasked question, sweeping me into his arms and kissing me thoroughly. Lifting my hand behind his head, I peek at it, and am not the least bit surprised to see it’s a perfect fit.
The End
Keep reading for the first chapter of Him, the first book in my Him & Her series. Available Now!
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Part I
Him
1
- Present -
After closing the refrigerator door, I pause, juice in hand, to look at my brother's wedding invitation. It's held up by a local pizza place's magnet and I've looked at it at least a hundred times. I should probably start packing. I'm normally so good at it, always prepared in advance for whatever trip I'm taking. This time is different, I'm headed home. When I got the save the date card a year ago, I called my brother, the groom. I tried to sell Brian on the idea of a destination wedding. Someplace tropic, Aruba or maybe Cabo. No, his fiancée, Christine was set on Decatur, our hometown. Something about dreaming about getting married in the little white church there and having all of her friends and family with her. Ugh.
There is no getting out of going, kind of a requirement of being a sibling. Plus, Christine, the bride, wants me to be a bridesmaid. At least the bridesmaid dresses are pretty, I picture the pale blue dress hanging in my closet. I take a sip of my drink as I walk into the living room. Our condo has an amazing view of the Rockies from the picture window in the living room. Sawyer has her mat laid out in a patch of sunlight in our living room and is going through a series of yoga poses. I sit on the sofa, waiting for her to finish.
After ending in a final child's pose, she turns to me, her gray blue eyes bright. She rolls up her mat before joining me on the sofa, tucking her legs under her as she sits.
"Dude, have you packed yet?"
"Dude?" I cock my head at her. "You never say dude."
She blushes. Sawyer also never blushes.
I pick up a pillow and throw it at her and laugh. "But I know somebody who does!"
"Don't change the subject." She avoids what I've said altogether. "Packed yet?"
I flop back onto the arm of the sofa. "No, I haven't." I groan. "I don’t want to go."
I know I'm whining, but I really don’t want to go. She stands, holding out her hand to help me off of the sofa, which is laughable considering how much smaller she is than me. "Stop being a wuss." I let her pull me up. "I'll help you pack."
"Fine," I grumble and follow her, my shoulders slumped the whole way to my room.
I tried packing last night and had gotten only as far as pulling down my shiny red rolling suitcase. It still stands, proudly, next to my closet. I lift it and lay it open across my bed. Sawyer buzzes around me, throwing stuff into it.
"I don't think I'll need so many dresses," I argue.
"You never know. Maybe you'll hook up with a groomsman."
I pick up one of the dresses she's flung in my suitcase and neatly refold it. "Unlikely. All but one are married or already have girlfriends."
She smirks, lifting a brow.
"What?" I shrug my shoulders. "I asked Brian last time I talked to him. Even asked him the name of the only single guy, but he had to hang up before he could tell me."
"Why? Were you planning on practicing doodling his name on your binder?"
I roll my eyes. "I don’t do that."
"Right, Sarah. Your last real relationship was in high school. Can you repeat after me? High school." She uses air quotes.
"I've dated," I argue weakly.
She gives me a look like, really?
But I'm gaining speed. "Yeah, remember that guy? What was his name? The one who had the three legged dog."
She nods. "That was a really cute dog. If I remember correctly, you spent more time with Rover than Jeremy. And why do I remember the name of the guy you dated and you don't?"
I look away. "Did not."
She keeps going. "So why did you stop seeing Jeremy?"
I lie. "I forget."
Sawyer's always been able to tell when I lie. "Liar! You stopped seeing him because he flossed! Who does that? Who thinks flossing is a con?" she says in disbelief.
"You know that's not why. It’s not that he flossed. I like that he flossed. It's that he had to tell me every time he was going to go floss. Why? Why did he do that? Was he trying to prove something? Hey, look at me." I wave my hands in the air. "I'm going to go floss now!"
Sawyer throws a pair of socks at my head. "He was a dentist. You are a crazy person."
I turn to pick up the socks from the floor and put them in the inside pocket of my suitcase "He just wasn't for me." I grin, looking up. "I would've kept his dog, though. His name was Tank by the way."
Sawyer brings my bridesmaid dress out of the closet and sets it on top of everything else, folding it in the middle. "I'm worried about you."
I freeze. "Why?"
She shakes her head. "I know you, and I want you to know I
am so proud of everything you have accomplished. But."
I raise a brow. "But?"
She takes a deep breath. "But you are using your job as a reason to not cultivate human relationships."
"What? Human relationships? What are you, a robot?"
"Don't argue. Besides, I predate your company. I'm grandfathered or whatever. And, besides me, who do you talk to or hang out with?"
I spin my ring. "I met Jared for lunch, like…"
She laughs. "Sarah, you had lunch with Jared six months ago. We're going out tonight."
"I can't." I groan. "I have to fly out early. I have that lumber yard account to set up before I go home."
"You aren't flying straight home?"
"No." I shrug. "It’s work."
"You need to hire someone else to cut your workload down. This is too much for one person, babe."
"I'm fine. I can do it."
She cuts me off. "Yeah, ‘cause then you couldn't hide behind your job anymore. We're still going out tonight. I'll have you home early."
"Why is this such a big deal?"
"Sarah, when was the last time you had sex?"
"I'm not sleeping with anyone tonight."
"Geez, dude, you need to loosen up."
"Ah ha! You just said dude again."
She waves me off, walking back into my closet and pulling out a green dress. "Go shower and wear this." She sets it on my bed before walking out of my room.
I'm drying my hair when she comes back to check on my progress. Taking my brush from me, she starts playing with my hair. Hair has always been her thing. When I first met her, she had multiple pastel-shaded streaks. I think she's always wished I would let her dye my hair. I, on the other hand, am happy with my brown hair. She braids a chunk of it and pins it like a headband across the top of my head. We head to her car, a Hummer. It always makes me laugh because Sawyer is tiny and her car is huge.
We head to a nearby restaurant bar. There is a live band playing. As we're seated, I notice the bassist nod in Sawyer's direction. "Know him?"
"Oh, that's James. He's cool. He's the one who lives part-time in France. We went out a couple times."
Fix Her Up (The Fix Book 1) Page 21
