Chapter 18
Porter
After that weekend with Kaylee, there was no longer a doubt in my mind that I wanted to settle in Bluewater.
So, I spent the week making it happen. I got my paperwork in order for the house.
My gut told me she was going to accept me. She’d accepted the whole dragon thing pretty well. Why not me?
I wanted to give her the world. My dragon’s instinct was to protect and provide and I wanted to do that for Kaylee in any way I could.
And since she was my future, I needed our future home. I called Gazelle and got it all in motion. The owners had already moved out.
Nothing was stopping me from getting the keys this week. Gazelle called the owners and got permission for me to start decorating and moving in, since the financial part was pretty secure. It didn’t hurt that I offered them a little bonus for the permission.
As soon as I could, I went to the house.
Oh, man. It was perfect. It was so right.
I called Skye and Bri as soon as I had permission to be in the house and they met me there.
“Here is my credit card, and here is my checkbook,” I said, handing them over.
“The balance on that account is written in the margins and the credit limit is on the back of the checkbook. Make this place exactly what she would want. Please.”
The girls’ faces lit up. “Seriously?” Bri asked.
“Seriously. I know that I want to be with Kaylee. But we don’t know each other well enough for me to do this myself. Please, help me.” I stood with my heart on my sleeve as Kaylee’s two best friends called a decorator they knew, Janice, and promised to take care of it.
With an enormous weight lifted off of my shoulders, I went to work.
Throughout the week, I sent them notes of things I’d picked up from Kaylee like she liked silk sheets and hated dark walls.
The girls combined with Janice were beasts. They sent me updates on purchases and emailed receipts.
Everything moved really fast. Midweek, I went by Jace’s Place and sat at the bar across from my brother. “I think it’s time for you to find a new renter for my apartment, brother.”
Jace’s face lit up. “I wondered when you were going to officially tell me you got the house.”
“And I think I’ll be moving in this week. Don’t worry, I’ll pay rent until you find another renter, though,” I told him as he rounded the counter.
“Nonsense, I don’t care about that rent. I told you to begin with I didn’t want you paying it.” He yanked me into his arms and clapped me on the back several times. “Drinks are on me, brother!”
My heart swelled as other members of the pack joined us and congratulated me.
Maybe, finally, I did belong.
Thursday, I met with Janice, Skye, and Bri. They walked with me through the house.
And I was not disappointed. The house was gorgeous. Decorated in light, airy colors, with the windows treated to let light in but give privacy. The furniture would be ruined if we had children, all creams and light grays.
But it was absolutely perfect.
“A few more deliveries are coming next week, but it’s livable,” Janice said. “You’re ready to go.”
“Thank you,” I whispered. “You did it.”
All three women beamed at me. “Go get ‘em,” Skye said. “Make our girl happy.”
Kaylee and I had plans for Saturday. She wanted to do at least one live this weekend since she’d been uploading so many videos. So Friday had me at our new house on my own.
I’d stopped by my storage unit on my way home from work and filled my SUV up with boxes, planning on spending the evening moving some of my kitchen appliances in.
When Kaylee moved in, we’d figure out what to keep and what to donate.
Or hell, the house was big enough we could keep it all if she wanted to.
Halfway through my second box, my phone rang the special ringtone I’d set for Kaylee. “Hey, babe, I thought you were working,” I answered.
She sounded upset. Her voice was higher than usual and sounded shaky. “I was. I canceled my live.”
“Why?” She’d been adamant about doing it, about being there for her fans.
“I got on and got started, but I couldn’t get into it. I guess they could tell because they started commenting and asking if I was okay. I ended up telling them I had a headache and apologizing, and then put up a video.”
“I’m sorry, love,” I said softly. “Is there anything I can do?”
“I miss you. That’s so unlike me, but all I could think about was being with you.”
Laughter bubbled up my chest. I had this insane reveal planned for tomorrow night. But that all went out the window and I didn’t even care.
“Why are you laughing?” Kaylee asked.
“I’ll be there in ten minutes to pick you up, and I need you to bring a blindfold.” I laughed silently as I rushed out of the kitchen and grabbed my keys from the bowl thoughtfully placed on a table near the door.
“Oh, a blindfold? Sounds kinky.”
I slammed my car door shut and turned over the engine. “Whatever you were wearing for the live. Throw a coat over it. I’ll be right there.” I didn’t give her a chance to hang up. I clicked the button on my phone and pulled out of the driveway, eager to get to my mate.
I left the engine running, then bounded out of the car. I went up Kaylee’s steps at top speed and she met me at the door. “What’s this about?” she asked.
“Don’t ask questions, please. We can talk, but don’t ask where we’re going.
” I opened her car door and closed it behind her, then ran around and got in the driver’s seat.
“I had this big romantic thing planned for tomorrow night, but we’re doing it impromptu tonight because I missed you too. And I can’t wait.”
Of course she didn’t listen. She didn’t wait until we got there. “Is it like a romantic dinner? I’m not dressed to go out.”
“Don’t worry. That won’t matter.” I kept stalling her until we pulled into the driveway. “Hang tight.”
After opening her car door, I unbuckled her seatbelt and lifted my mate into my arms.
She giggled and wiggled as I walked toward the house but didn’t know where we were. I’d managed to keep it a secret.
I opened the front door, glad I’d accidentally left the house all lit up against the darkness, then changed my mind. She should see it from the outside.
Flipping the switch to turn on the outside lights, I hurried us out into the front yard. “Ready?” I asked.
“I’ve been ready. I’m dying.”
Slowly, I set Kaylee on her feet, then pulled the sleep mask off of her beautiful face. “Tada,” I whispered.
She blinked as her eyes adjusted. Her brow furrowed as she looked from the house to me. “What is this?” she asked.
“It’s yours. This house started the feud. Come on.” Laughing, I pulled on her hand and brought her inside.
“Oh my gosh,” she whispered as she looked around. “How?”
I sucked in a proud breath. “As much as I’d like to take credit, all I did was employ your best friends.”
She giggled and covered her mouth with her hand as she looked around. “Employ?”
“Not really the right word. Begged them to help, more like.”
She walked slowly through the downstairs. “It’s like you got in my brain and decorated from my thoughts.”
“I think Bri and Skye managed to get into your apartment and took your magazines where you’d been dreaming about decorating this place when you were trying to buy it.” I stepped back and smiled. “And now it’s yours.”
“Mine?” she whispered and stared at me with wide, round eyes.
“Yours. Ours. I want to live here with you, marry you, have babies with you.” I spread my arms. “I want my future with you here. And if you don’t want that, it’s still yours.
I’ll wait. I’ll keep dating you or be friends with you, but either way, the house is yours, no matter what happens with our relationship. ”
She gasped and stared at me, shocked, then looked back to the house.
I watched her look at the house. She soaked in every detail, the clean lines, the art on the wall, the openness.
While she marveled and remarked, I stood behind and breathed her in.
This wasn’t a moment either of us would get to have twice in one lifetime.
I wouldn’t be able to recreate the emotion or the feeling and this time was full of intensity, hers as potent as mine.
She’d come into my life, fully in and she turned, laid her hand over my heart. Probably she could feel the racing, the pounding I couldn’t control under her palm. And it was all because of her. Her eyes, stormy and blue, like a warm summer night, sparkled with tears.
I stood enthralled, unable to form a word, she was too beautiful, too much.
“I don’t know what to say. Thank you.” She shook her head. “I know it isn’t enough and you deserve more, but I can’t think. It’s…so perfect.”
No. She was perfect. This was a house with walls and a roof. Like millions of others in the world. There was only one Kaylee and if I could find a way to make her happy enough to stay with me, I would.
“Porter. I don’t have anywhere to go with all these emotions and I’m probably going to explode if I don’t let them out.
” She curled her fingers into my shirt, holding on and I wrapped my arms around her.
Pulled her in. A tear leaked out and trailed down her cheek, followed by another and another after.
“Don’t cry.” Even though they didn’t come from sadness, I couldn’t stand to see them.
“No one’s ever done anything like this for me before. This house is a dream, a fantasy. Much like the man who gave it to me.” She brushed her hand over my cheek, tilted her head and smiled the softest, most beautiful smile I’d ever seen in my life.
When I opened my mouth, she laid my finger over my lips and I closed them. As much as I wanted to tell her how I felt, I wanted to hear what she had to say. I could wait.