Chapter 15 Welcome to My House
Welcome to my house
I was smiling so much when I woke up this morning to a text from Camille.
I wasn’t expecting it at all. Tyler gave me a quick brief this morning about it all, because he hadn’t even told me he offered my place up.
I’m not really bothered. I guess he knows me well and that there’s no way I would say no to someone if they needed help.
I do feel a little bad now that I’ve realised she didn’t know it was my place she was coming to today.
Maybe now she’s second-guessing everything. Maybe she won’t want to stay after all.
I just need to show her that it’s a good idea, that she’s safe here, and there’s nothing to worry about.
Even though Tyler said he’d hang around, he’s made himself scarce, disappearing into the gym out back while I give Camille the tour.
She’s been quiet as I walk her through the house.
I’ve done most of the talking, trying to fill the silence without overwhelming her.
I think she’s just taking it all in.
Well, I hope that’s what it is.
It’s hard not to touch her after last night. She looks gorgeous, even more than I remembered.
I keep replaying last night in my head, how good it felt, how good she felt.
Should I bring it up?
No. Not unless she does. I don’t want to make her uncomfortable.
“And this is one of the spare bedrooms,” I push the door open.
“It’s got its own en-suite and a walk-in wardrobe.
There are two spare rooms free at the moment.
This one’s my favourite, it gets great light in the afternoons.
” I glance at her as she steps into the room, taking it in.
She brushes her fingers along the edge of the timber dresser I made, like she’s still deciding whether any of this is real.
“I’ve got the master, and Tyler’s in the room furthest from me.
This one’s closest to my room and the other spare room is between this one and Tyler’s.
So, you can take whichever suits you best.” She walks slowly to the window, then back toward me.
“You can look around a bit more if you want, think it over. There’s absolutely no pressure to stay.
But if you do decide to, just so you know…
There’s no deadline. No pressure to find somewhere else.
Stay as long as you need. I’m here to help you.
” She looks up at me, her eyes softening.
A little glassy, like maybe she’s trying not to tear up.
“Thank you,” her voice is quiet. She glances around the room once more, then meets my eyes again. “Everything is so clean.”
I rub my hand on my neck nervously. I really wanted her to think it was clean, because truthfully, the place was a bit of a mess before she texted me. Not filthy, just messy. We were due to do a general clean. So Tyler and I spent the majority of the day cleaning up before she came over.
“I love it. I’ll take this room, please. It’s beautiful. This whole place is beautiful.”
“It’s yours, Camille. No timelines. No pressure. Just… whatever you need.”
And I mean it. The protective side of me is very happy about her living here, safe and close to me.