Chapter 23
Chapter Twenty- Three
Zara
W hen I’d told Dave I was going to have a busy week, it wasn’t stretching the truth .
There were last-minute preparations for Audrey’s wedding. And I needed to line up extra childcare for the week following the wedding. Griff and Audrey were taking a honeymoon in San Francisco, which meant that I’d be working twelve- hour days .
Meanwhile, Audrey wasn’t fully present at work. She was focused on wedding details and relatives who were arriving in town .
Also puking. Poor Audrey spent part of her coffee-shop hours ducking into our bathroom to dry heave. We weren’t discussing her pregnancy yet. She hadn’t come clean. But when she wasn’t puking, she was shoving bread in her mouth. Oh, and she’d given up coffee. Either the Apocalypse was upon us or the girl was preggers .
I was excited for her. But needless to say, this week I did all the heavy lifting in the shop .
So it wasn’t exactly a good moment to get a call from Dave, asking me to meet him at an address in town. “Can I have just a half hour of your time?” he asked. “I need your opinion about something .”
“Today?” I cringed when the question came out bitchier than I’d meant it to .
“Well…I could probably schedule a different time. But today would really be best .”
“What is it, anyway?” I couldn’t imagine Dave needing my opinion on anything important .
“I’d rather show you than tell you .”
Right .
Sigh .
Even if I hadn’t been so busy, the vague answer would have been irritating. But Dave was my Kryptonite. “Okay,” I caved. “I’ll meet you at eleven. Before the lunch rush, I guess .”
“Thanks, gorgeous.” He repeated the address and we hung up. And an hour later I drove up the hill toward town. If I hadn’t been in a hurry, it would have made a lovely ten- minute walk .
The address he’d sent me belonged to a single family house on the hill situated between the river and the tiny downtown area. It was only a mile from my coffee shop. When I pulled my aging car into the driveway, Dave stood beside his rental car, talking to two people. One was Mrs. Godfrey, a real estate agent friend of my mother’s. The other was a man wearing a tool belt. A van was parked at the curb. Karl’s Construction it read on the side .
It was all very odd .
“Hi,” I said warily as I stepped out. “What are we, uh, doing here ?”
Dave beckoned me over. “I need you to take a quick peek inside this house.” He pointed at the white one with a long porch on the front. “And also that one.” He pointed at its neighbor—a brick Tudor with a peaky roofline .
“Why, exactly?” I wondered aloud. Mrs. Godfrey beamed and the contractor just looked bored .
“You have to pick one, so I can let the contractor know,” Dave said. “Both houses need work .”
“The colonial needs a new kitchen,” Mrs. Godfrey put in, as if her opinion was useful right now. “New counter tops and appliances, at least .”
“And I don’t like the electrical in there.” The contractor jerked a thumb at the white house. “Gonna need an upgrade if you want a dual fuel range.” He looked at me as if I knew what he was talking about .
I really didn’t enjoy being confused, and my natural response was to get snippy. “David,” I barked. “Come here a second.” I marched out of earshot of his new friends and over to a nice lilac bush in front of the Tudor .
He followed me, and when I stopped, he put his hands on my shoulders. “Sorry, Z. I didn’t know everyone would show up at once. But I need you to take a look at these two houses and pick one .”
“Why ? ” My pulse fluttered, because it sounded like Dave was planning to buy a house in Vermont. Although that couldn’t be right. The man got paid a lot of money to play hockey in Brooklyn. But my foolish heart wished for it anyway .
He didn’t help matters by stepping closer to me and giving my shoulder muscles a squeeze. I looked up into his green eyes at close range and held my breath .
“For you,” he said, in a low voice. “And Nicole. You said you were looking for a house on the way into town. With a yard. There are only two houses for sale that fit that description. These two .”
Wait .
“For me?” I squeaked. “I’m not in the market to buy a house right now.” Maybe five years from now I could afford to think about it. Not now .
Dave stood back, and I lost his broad palms on my shoulders. “You know I have to go back to New York in a few weeks. So we need to do this sooner rather than later .”
“Do what now?” I said, losing my battle with patience. “I can’t just buy a house today because you got the urge to think over my real estate issues .”
“I’m buying the house,” he said .
“Why? For who ?”
“For you and Nicole!” He squinted at me as if maybe I’d lost a few brain cells this morning .
I hadn’t, but I might if he didn’t start making more sense. He couldn’t just buy someone a house. “When you asked me what I needed from you, I don’t remember mentioning a house .”
“But you did mention it. You said you were looking for a new place, just like these. And it’s a simple decision, okay? Because there are only two. Personally, I think Number 12 has the better yard. But if you have a thing for fireplaces, Number 14 has three of them. You’ll have to make up your mind in the next week, so the contractor can get the place ready for you. He had a cancellation .”
“He had a cancellation,” I repeated in a brittle voice .
“Right.” He crossed his big arms and stared down at me. “Would you please look at the houses? Silly me, I thought you might enjoy it .”
Bitch mode kicked into a higher gear. Because I would enjoy looking at houses, if it didn’t mean owing him. My heart thumped speedily against my rib cage, and I fought to downshift from bitch to grump. And didn’t quite manage it. “Fine,” I snapped. “Show me, already .”
* * *
“T he previous owner opened up the kitchen to the dining room, converting this to a lovely family floorplan,” Mrs. Godfrey gushed as I walked around the pretty space once again .
Both houses had three bedrooms and two bathrooms. Tons of space for one prickly woman and her toddler. First we’d toured the white colonial. As advertised, the kitchen was about thirty years out of date. But the Tudor was lovely inside, with cozy family spaces and a big cherry tree with a swing in the backyard. Like a storybook .
I loved it .
But I hadn’t said so yet. Because I was still trying to wrap my head around the idea of moving into a house that Dave had purchased. I’d never been the kind of girl who’d clipped photos of her dream house. But somehow I was standing in it, anyway. I’d always been the type who’d clipped pictures of the dream guy, instead .
He was here, too. But not really. He was offering to mend my bank balance, but not my heart .
“What do you think?” Dave asked me when Mrs. Godfrey finally stopped talking. “It’s okay if you can’t decide today. I can give the contractor a deposit and send him home. You could take a few days to think it over .”
Mrs. Godfrey stared at me, waiting for an answer. But I didn’t like the pressure. So I stared her down until she got the message, saying, “I’ll leave you two to chat .”
“You don’t have to do this,” I said when she finally walked away. “I was doing all right on my own .”
He didn’t call me on the lie. He just parked his hip against the doorframe to the dining room and sighed. “I never said you weren’t doing okay. But it’s easy for me to help you like this. I’d feel better knowing you had a plan for the coming year. And, hey, your brothers think this town is a good investment. They said so several times on Sunday .”
I blinked at him. An investment . It sounded so clinical. Not that I should care .
But that was the whole problem. I did care. He was standing about four feet away, and I could smell his woodsy scent and see the faded freckles at his hairline .
He was right there . And it was torture .
Since the moment he’d reappeared, I’d been trying to figure out what the future held. Would he leave again on August first, and not show his face for another few years? That was completely possible. He wanted to set us up in this house like a sea captain setting off for his next adventure. He could ship out without worrying too much about us. Heck, if only the house had a widow’s walk in the attic, I could stand up there and watch for him, like a freaking loser .
I’d never wanted to be like my mother, damn it. She’d spent my childhood watching for signs, the way other people watched the weather. If my father brought her flowers, maybe he planned to stick around .
Dave wanted to buy a house for me to live in. Was that more encouraging than flowers, or less ?
Fuck .
“I want to pay rent,” I said, swallowing hard. Because he definitely hadn’t thought this through. What if, a year from now, I met someone who really wanted to be with me? It wasn’t completely impossible—at least I liked to think so. Living in Dave’s house rent free would make me beholden to him. I needed nice, clean boundaries .
Clearly I should have thought about that before we’d gotten naked and had mostly-but-not-always- protected sex .
“We can work something out,” he said, and I couldn’t help but think it sounded patronizing. “Which house are you leaning towards ?”
“Are the prices the same?” I asked .
He shrugged. “Close enough. One’s cheaper, but needs more work. It’s probably a wash. Do you want to tour the other one again? I could keep Mrs. Chattypants away from you .”
The nickname made me smile in spite of myself. “I don’t have time, but it doesn’t matter. Both houses are fine, of course. But these brick fireplaces are yelling my name .”
“They’re pretty cool, right?” He smiled at me, and I felt it everywhere. “I’m going to catch the contractor before he drives away. Meet me outside ?”
“All right .”
His footsteps echoed in the empty house. After he left, I did another slow tour of the front parlor, with its inlaid wooden flooring. I passed the fireplace that made me want to curl up in front of it with a book. Then I walked slowly up the staircase. It was a bit narrow and steep. I’d need a baby gate for a little while, until Nicole was big enough to handle the stairs .
There was a big, sunny bedroom I’d give to my little girl, so she’d have a nice place to play with her toys. And the rear bedroom looked out on a big oak tree and a yard with a picket fence around it and lilac bushes along the back .
I wanted to live here, damn it. But not as Dave’s pity case. I wanted to buy a house with a man who couldn’t wait to fuck me in front of that fireplace while the baby slept upstairs. A guy who’d stand in the kitchen with me on Sunday mornings drinking coffee and making pancakes .
I might as well wish for a pony and front-row tickets to Pearl Jam .
And I really did need to get back to work. My brother Damien might have scared all the customers away by now. When I traipsed down the front steps, I was ready to tell Dave that I would like to live in the Tudor if I could make a meaningful contribution to the costs .
However .
By the time I got outside, Mrs. Godfrey was adding an “Under Contract” label to the sign in the front yard of the other house. And just like that, bitch mode was reactivated. Dave hadn’t even waited for me to decide? Who does that ?
“Who does what?” Dave asked, turning to watch me storm across the yard. So I must have said it aloud .
I marched right over to him. No hitting this time . “Are you kidding me?” I squeaked. “You told me to take my time? And five minutes later, you just pick anyway? What the hell ?”
Heads turned, and I knew I was shouting. But seriously! This man and his ego !
“Beautiful, look.” He actually caught my chin in his big, callused palm and turned it a few degrees. That made me even angrier, because he’d used those bossy, macho moves in bed, and it had driven me crazy. He’d overpower me and then thrust so slowly until I —
GAH !
Now I wanted to kick him in the shins and then strip him naked . So irritating! Finally, though, my eyes focused on the other sign—the one in front of the Tudor .
It too had an “Under Contract” label on it .
“Wait,” I said stupidly. “ Both of them? Why?” I shook off his hand and gave it a shove, while he chuckled as if he could hear my dirty thoughts .
“Yeah, I’m buying both houses. Your brothers think this town is a good investment, right? I’m getting in on the ground floor. We’ll rent the one you don’t pick. And if you’re hell bent on making a contribution, you can take charge of renting out the spare house and acting as superintendent. That way I won’t have to hire a property manager. And also, you can choose your own neighbor .”
I looked up at the Tudor, picturing Nicole looking out the front window on an autumn day, as the leaves began to turn red and yellow. Then I swung my chin in the other direction, toward the white Colonial, which could be fixed up and rented out .
Dave-freaking-Beringer. He was still in charge. And we weren’t even naked .
He lifted his hand a final time and gently nudged my chin upward, closing my gaping jaw. “Catching flies there, beautiful. Now didn’t you say you needed to go back to work ?”