Chapter 36
Home is not always where you expect it to be.
A few weeks later
Miles
I use the key Hazel gave me to enter her apartment. “Blaze! You home?”
“In the kitchen.”
I freeze at the entrance and lift my hands in the air. “I’m unarmed. Don’t hurt me.”
She scowls at me. “It’s a screwdriver. Not a weapon.”
“I don’t know. The last time you used a screwdriver, police showed up.”
“It wasn’t the police. It was the fire department. Which was completely over the top, considering there was barely any smoke coming out of the toaster.”
“But the toaster was toast.”
“Ha! Ha! Pun intended.”
“Why do you have the screwdriver out again?”
She waves it at me. “Don’t you mean how did I find the screwdriver?”
Confession. I hid all the tools after the last fiasco. I don’t have a problem with women making repairs. I do have a problem with Hazel thinking a hammer is a good implement to separate frozen hamburger patties. It’s not.
I shrug. “Was it hard to find?”
“You hid the entire toolbox in a box under the bed labeled tax documents.”
I scratch my beard. “I did? Doesn’t sound like me.”
She snorts. “It totally sounds like you. And I sure as mermaid didn’t label a box tax documents.”
I cringe. “No. You put your tax documents in a plastic bag and then dump them at your accountant with a smile. I can’t believe she hasn’t quit yet.”
“She loves a challenge.”
“No one loves a challenge that much.”
“Whatever. We’ve established you hid the tools from me.” She wags the screwdriver at me. “Never again, surfer boy. Never again.”
“I can agree to not hide the tools.” Throwing them away isn’t hiding, right? “If you tell me why you’ve got the screwdriver out again.”
“It’s not a big deal. One of the stove knobs is loose. I’m fixing it.”
Her stove is gas. My heart lodges in my throat. I rush to the stove. “What have you done? Did you call the fire department already?”
“You are such a drama queen. We don’t need the fire department. I’m merely disassembling the knob to tighten it.”
I snatch the screwdriver from her. “No, you’re not. You could accidentally open the gas valve too far or crack the plastic housing, causing a gas leak.”
She rolls her eyes. “I’m not going to cause a gas leak. It’s a little knob. No big deal.”
“Which is what you said about the cabinet light, the wobbly ceiling fan, the blender. Need I go on?”
“You make it sound as if my place is falling apart.”
“Blaze, your place is falling apart.” I throw the screwdriver on the counter before grasping her hands. “Why don’t you move into my house?”
She drops her chin to her chest but not before I notice the scowl. Does she hate my place? She prefers to stay at her place but I thought she just wanted to have her stuff close by.
I pinch her chin and lift her head until she meets my gaze. “What?”
“What? What?”
“Don’t try to bullshit a bullshitter. It’ll never work.”
She blows a raspberry. “I don’t want to hurt your feelings.”
“Do you love me?”
“Of course, I do.”
I smile. “Then, nothing you can say will hurt my feelings.”
“Don’t be too sure,” she mutters.
I drag her to the living room and sit on the sofa before drawing her onto my lap. She straddles me with a huff.
“Why are you huffing? You enjoy this position.” I waggle my eyebrows.
“Because sitting down means this is a serious conversation, and I seriously don’t want to hurt your feelings.”
I palm her neck and lean my forehead against hers. “I told you, Blaze. You can’t hurt my feelings as long as your love for me hasn’t died.”
“I can still hurt your feelings. You got all butthurt when I told Eli I’d met some famous footballer before you.”
“I wasn’t butthurt.”
“You said – and I’m quoting here – I can’t believe you told Eli before me. You wound me.”
I squeeze her neck. “Tell me why you don’t want to move into my house. If it’s too quick, I’ll understand.”
“Too quick?” She snorts. “We’ve been in love for over a decade. Quick has jumped aboard a smuggler’s ship and hightailed it into the seven seas.”
“Okay.” I nod. “It’s not too quick. You prefer to stay in your place. I’ll ask Eli if he has a recommendation for a contractor. I prefer to live in a house, but I can adjust.”
“I don’t want to stay here. It’s too small. And there’s no yard, should we ever decide to have children.”
“Children?” I lift my eyebrow. “Is that what this is about? Did you decide you don’t want children after all?”
She slaps my shoulder. “No. I still want children. Not six boys for sure. But one or two.”
“I’m stumped. You don’t want to stay here, but you don’t want to live in my house. What’s wrong with my house?”
Her nose scrunches up. “This is the part where your feelings might get hurt.”
“You hate my house?” I shrug. “It’s a house. You don’t have to love it. We can buy a new one.”
“Whoa. Hold your mermaids. Buying a new house together is a big deal.”
“I love you. You love me. Living together is the next step. Unless you want to get married first. Damnit. I screwed up. You want to get married before we officially live together. Not a problem. We can make this happen.”
“You were supposed to hold your mermaids. Not jump on top of one and go for a ride.”
I rub a hand down my face. “I’m seriously confused, Blaze. You’re going to have to explain things for me. Explain it like I’m a kindergartner who didn’t show up for the first two weeks of classes.”
“Fine.” When she pauses, I squeeze her neck. “I don’t want to live in your house because there are too many bad memories associated with it.”
“Bad memories?”
“I may have accidentally, totally not on purpose, happened to watch you walk into your house with a floozy from Mermaid Karaoke a time or two.”
I wince. I shouldn’t be surprised. I’ve staked out Hazel’s place a few times over the years as well. No matter how much I tried to avoid her, I was drawn to her. All those years wasted. Because I was an idiot. No more.
“Okay. We won’t stay in my house any longer. I’ll contact Jade today. We should probably have an idea what we’re searching for. How many bedrooms, bathrooms, etc.”
Her mouth drops open. “Are you serious?”
“Yes.”
“You’re not mad?”
“Nope, and I’m not butthurt either. I understand. I don’t want any reminders of the years we spent apart, either. I should have realized earlier.”
“But a new house? Can we afford it?”
I smirk. “With the money I won in the Raider Brothers prank war, we have a substantial down payment.”
She rolls her eyes. “You just had to mention you won, didn’t you?”
“It’s important my woman understands I’m a winner.”
She barks out a laugh. “You’re lucky I love you.”
“I am and I’m ready to show you how much I love you.” I punch my hips and my hard cock hits her core.
She moans. “I guess we’ll call the realtor later.”
I stand with her in my arms. “Much later.”
“Much later? Sounds like a challenge.”
“I love you, my little challenge-obsessed screwdriver-wielding woman.”
“Good. Because I love you and I’m never letting you go.”
Her arms tighten around my shoulders. She’s crazy if she thinks I’ll ever let her go. But she can wrap those arms as tight around me as she wants. After all, in her arms is where I belong.
Thanks for reading!