Chapter 51
Chapter Fifty-One
SALVATORE
Keeley crutches her way through the door, only pausing when we pass over the threshold, her eyes wide, lips parted in awe.
To our left there’s a sweeping staircase, leading up to the bright landing of the second floor.
To our right, there’s a sunken living room with plush lounges and a huge TV.
But neither of those things grab her attention.
Her eyes are focused directly in front of us.
To the open kitchen and dining area and the wall of glass doors leading out onto a deck overlooking the ocean.
“You’re asking me to move in?” she whispers, her voice hesitant as she slowly moves forward.
“Did I ask?” I wait for her gaze to snap to mine, and it does, right on cue.
“No. You didn’t. You all but demanded I do. And as sexy as that is, don’t you think it’s a little too soon?”
“Do you want to spend the next week stuck in your apartment? Or would you prefer to be here, with ocean views and a pizza oven?”
“A pizza oven?”
“Yep.” I nod, thankful I was able to get one added so quickly.
Keeley laughs, and the relaxed sound makes my heart race. “Obviously the latter but…” She trails off and I’m quick to reassure her. The demanding Sal is gone.
“You can move out again when your ankle gets better. For now, I’m going to be staying here, and I want you here with me. I want to continue looking after you. In this house.”
Keeley eyes me suspiciously, and I can’t for the life of me figure out why until she laughs. “You spoke to my mom, didn’t you?”
“About what?” I’m genuinely confused while Keeley appears to have figured out the answer to the meaning of life.
“Don’t mess with me. There are only two things in the world that ever work to still my mind.
Well, three…” she muses, shaking her head with a laugh.
“The point is that you know yoga is one of my escapes, and the second is the ocean. But I don’t just mean the sounds from the water crashing against the shore or the smell of salt in the air.
It has to be all of it, hitting my senses in one go.
Like a wave washing over me, blinding me from whatever’s going on in the world, taking me out of reality. ”
I watch her as she speaks, her eyes alight with happiness, the calm she’s talking about washing over her from the thought alone.
She raises an eyebrow in question when she’s done, her expression confident.
“I haven’t spoken to your mom. At least not about that.”
Keeley’s excited appearance morphs into one of confusion, and for the first time since I’ve known her, she blushes.
“Silly me.”
“Wait. It’s not silly at all. I may not have known any of that, but I had the house prepared so I could bring you here, hoping for the same result. Hoping to take your mind off things. To calm you.”
“You had the house prepared?”
“Yes. That was the meeting I wouldn’t tell you about. Until a few days ago, this place was unfurnished.”
“Unfurnished? You got a whole house furnished in a few days?”
“I did.” I bounce my eyebrows, and Keeley laughs before her gaze sweeps around the house.
“Can we look around?” she asks softly, her voice holding an element of awe.
“Of course. Let me know if there’s anything you don’t like because we can change whatever we want. I didn’t pick any of it, so you won’t offend me if something isn’t to your taste.”
“We?”
“We what?”
“You said we can change it.”
“Keeley, this place is yours for as long as you want to stay here.”
She mumbles something under her breath, and I swear I hear the word forever but I don’t let myself get caught up in it. I could have been deluding myself. But…
Forever sounds good to me.
We take our time walking through the house, with Keeley seeing it for the first time and me falling in love with it again as I experience it through her eyes.
She stops when we find ourselves back at the stairs leading to the second level, and her face scrunches.
“Lucky there’s a bedroom downstairs. I might have to stay down here for a while. ”
“Nonsense.”
Before she can question me, I grab her crutches and rest them against the wall, then curl my arms under her legs, lifting her in my hold. I jog up the stairs, laughing as she begs me to put her down.
“You can’t carry me up and down the stairs.”
“Wanna bet? How about a lazy million?”
“Oh, sure. Because I’m going to agree to that.”
“That’s how certain I am that I can do this.” I put her down and settle her beside the wall, running down to grab her crutches as she watches me. “We should get you two pairs of these, one for each level.”
“That’s a bit extreme.”
“Maybe.” I shrug as I angle her toward the landing, and more importantly the primary bedroom with another wall of windows facing the water. Just like downstairs.
“Holy shit.” Her jaw drops as she takes herself closer, her crutches making little imprints on the carpeted floor. “That balcony runs the entire length of the house,” she says in wonder.
“It does.”
“And…is that the en suite?”
“Yes.”
“It’s bigger than my bedroom. What’s that empty space for?
It seems like a waste.” She points to the other side of the room that remains unfurnished.
At least it does now; the interior decorator had put a couch and armchair there.
But when I came past yesterday, I asked for them to be removed.
“I thought that would be a good place for a yoga mat and TV, to find your zen by the water. There’s a studio in New York that does online classes.
My New York assistant was raving about it.
I thought you could join their online session when you don’t have time to visit Aliive. ”
“You know the name of the studio I go to?”
“That I asked your mom about. I told her it’s because I wanted to get you a gift voucher. She thought it was sweet.”
“Instead, you furnished an entire house so you could give me my own studio?”
“Yeah.” I scratch the back of my neck, only now realizing how crazy that sounds. We only just started dating.
Keeley’s silent as her eyes wander the empty space, and I hope to God that she’s picturing it all in her mind, instead of contemplating how the hell she’s going to let me down.
“Yes,” she whispers after what feels like a lifetime. “Yes, I’ll stay with you.”
I almost whisper forever but hold back, instead rushing forward to meet her, wrapping my arms around her waist. “Thank you. I was never actually going to move in here alone. It’s too big for one person.”
“If we’re being honest, it’s too big for two…and I didn’t say I was moving in.”
“Not yet.”
“Not yet?”
“You heard me.”
Keeley snorts out a laugh before her expression softens, and the smallest of frowns lowers her lips. “I wish I could do yoga. Or any kind of exercise. I’m going to lose my stamina.”
“It’s only about six more weeks. In the meantime, I’m sure we can think of other ways to burn energy.” I glance to the bed and Keeley laughs.
“I’m sure we can.”
After a quick tour upstairs, with a few more oohs and ahhs from Keeley, I carry her back down and get her settled comfortably on the lounge chair outside, making her promise me she’ll stay downstairs for the next few days if I’m not home to help her. Thankfully she agrees.
The early afternoon sun reflects off the glistening water, and with the sound of the waves and the breeze surrounding us, Keeley finally looks happy. Peaceful. At ease. And my body warms because of it.
“You were right,” she says after a period of silence. “This is exactly what I needed.”
“Thank God.” A loud breath expels from my lungs. “I wasn’t sure I was going to survive the rest of the week with the way you were glaring my way.”
“Stop. I’d never actually hurt you. And I still want to work as soon as I’m allowed. But this is nice in the meantime.”
“Good.” I smile until Vance comes to mind, and I hate that I have to ruin the moment. “We probably have another hour before we need to leave. Do you want to stay out here? I could bring you a book.”
Keeley blows out a breath, smile gone. “I might head in to watch TV. I’m not sure I can concentrate enough to read.”
“Sounds good.”
I should be working, but instead, I sit down next to her once she’s settled on the couch and lift her legs onto my lap, making sure her ankle’s supported, wanting to be here if she needs to talk.
We watch one of her true crime shows in silence, my hand on her thigh, my heart pounding harder the closer we get to having to leave.
While I don’t want her to go anywhere near that asshole, I’m prepared to suck it up because that’s what she wants. But…if his hands go near any part of her body, even by accident, I’m going to intervene.
I’m only human after all, and there’s only so much I can hold back, so much pain I can endure. And with Keeley, that level is low. She’s already been hurt enough. It’s her time to have a happily ever after.