Chapter 48
CHAPTER 48
R ayna fumbled with the two locks and the deadbolt before yanking the door open. “Isaac, what are you doing?”
He immediately pushed his way into the house, the look on his face suggesting he thought she might slam the door in his face if he didn’t move quickly.
“What did you do?” She grabbed the torn papers from him, a panicky part of her wondering if they would still be valid if she taped them together. She nearly ran into the kitchen, setting the papers on the table and grabbing some tape from the drawer.
“Rayna, stop, baby,” Isaac said as she pushed the ripped pieces of paper together. He gently tugged the tape dispenser from her hand. “I’m not buying your house.”
Despair crashed over her, and she sank into a kitchen chair, burying her face in her hands for a few seconds before taking a deep breath. She was fucked if Isaac didn’t buy her house. She had to change his mind. She’d get on her knees and beg if she had to.
Without looking at him, she said, “Three twenty-five.”
“What?” he said.
“I’ll sell it to you for three twenty-five,” she said.
“No. That isn’t -”
She made herself meet his gaze. “Three hundred. I’ll sell you the house for three hundred.”
Despite her best effort, she was crying again for a record third time today. “You have to buy the house. Please, Isaac.”
He crouched in front of her, his hand cupping her face, his thumb swiping at the tears. “Shit. Don’t cry, baby. God, I am fucking this up again .”
Before she could stop him, he scooped her out of her chair and sat in it, pulling her into his lap and wrapping his arms around her. He kissed her upper chest. His lips were cold, and he smelled like snow and pine trees.
“I’m so sorry, baby. So fucking sorry,” he said.
“Please don’t back out on the house sale,” she said. “I know you’re angry with me, but you want the property, I know you do, and -”
“I want you ,” he said.
For one crazy moment, she wondered if maybe she could offer him sex in return for buying the house. Before she could blurt out that insane statement, Isaac said, “Our fight was my fault, and I’m so sorry I hurt you, Rayna.”
She stared wide-eyed at him, barely registering how his thumbs were busy wiping away the tears from her cheeks again.
“I’m sorry,” he repeated. “When people hurt me, I push them away because being vulnerable is hard for me. You’re one of only a few people who I’ve ever truly been myself with, and when I thought that you didn’t see the real me, that you thought that I was only being nice to you because I wanted your property, it hurt me.”
“I’m so sorry,” she said.
He shook his head quickly. “No, it’s… I know why you thought that, and part of the reason I was upset and angry is because, deep down, I knew it had started that way. I was only nice to you because I thought it would get me what I wanted. Then I got to know you and realized how incredible you were, and I felt so fucking guilty. I know this doesn’t make it right, but I regret it intensely, Rayna. I’m an asshole, but I’m working hard not to be one and to be a genuinely good person.”
She cupped his face. “You are a genuinely good person, Isaac. Everything you’ve done for me and the rescue… it was stupid of me to pretend that it was only because you wanted something from me. In my heart, I knew that it wasn’t that, but I… I guess I felt a little vulnerable myself.”
“You’re incredible, and I love you,” Isaac said.
“You love me,” she whispered, her body going still with shock.
“Yes,” he said.
Her body trembling, her mind racing, Rayna said, “I love you, too.”
The tenseness left his shoulders, and he gave her a relieved smile. “Thank fucking Christ.”
“Please buy my house,” she said.
He kissed her instead of answering. She returned his kiss eagerly, sliding her tongue into his mouth, his familiar taste almost making her cry again. She’d missed him so damn much in the last week, and suddenly the only thing that mattered to her was getting him into her bed. She needed to be with him again, craving that connection she had only with him.
“Come upstairs.” She tried to slide off his lap, but he shook his head and tightened his arms around her.
“We need to talk, Rayna.”
“I know, and we will,” she said. “I need you, Isaac.”
“I need you too, baby,” he said, but instead of releasing her, he studied the boxes sitting on the kitchen table. “I know what Mack did.”
Embarrassment rocketed through her, but she wasn’t surprised. The entire damn town probably knew at this point. Straightening her spine, she said, “Then you know why it’s so important I sell the house. I fucked up, Isaac, and this is the only way to fix it.”
“You didn’t fuck up,” he said fiercely. “Mack is the bad guy, Rayna.”
She sighed, hating that Isaac knew how stupid she’d been. “You were right about it being a mistake to give Mack the control I did with the finances. I should never have done that. This is my fault. I am so stupid.”
“No, you aren’t,” he said. “You trusted someone you believed was a friend, and he betrayed that trust, baby. You are far from stupid.”
She smiled at him. “Thank you for saying that.”
“I mean every word of it,” he said. “On Tuesday night, when I talked about tearing the house down, I -”
“I overreacted,” Rayna said. “I’m sorry.”
He kissed her throat. “You don’t need to apologize for anything. But let me say this, okay?”
She nodded, and he smoothed her hair back from her face before tracing his fingertip over a hole in her leggings. “I realized that day how much I loved you, and I was picturing a life with you. When I talked about tearing the house down, it was because I was thinking about the house we would build together. But obviously, that wasn’t clear to you because I hadn’t said a word to you about how I felt. I got caught up in the moment, I think.”
“You want to build a house with me?”
“I want to build a life with you,” he said.
She pressed her lips together, trying hard to stave off the tears. “Shit, I’m going to cry again.”
“That’s okay,” he said.
She sniffed loudly. “I never cry, Isaac.”
“That’s fine. I can be the crier in our relationship.”
She couldn’t help but giggle at the solemnity of his face, and he grinned at her. “I love you, baby.”
“I love you too,” she said.
“What I said about us being a mistake wasn’t true. I was hurt and upset, but I shouldn’t have said that, and I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay,” she said, resting her forehead against his. “I’m sorry that my insecurities reared their ugly heads. We’re very different, and I’m worried that eventually, you’ll grow to hate me for it.”
“I won’t,” he said. “I love everything about you, Rayna Abrams.” He placed his hand against her heart. “From your incredible kind heart to,” he touched her leggings, “your complete inability to wear a pair of pants that doesn’t have holes. I love it all, and yes, while we are different, we’re the same when it comes to what counts the most.”
“What’s that?” she said softly.
“How much we love and respect each other,” he said. “You are the most amazing woman I know, Rayna Abrams, and nothing would make me happier than to spend the rest of my life with you.”
“Holy shit. Did you just ask me to marry you?”
He cocked his head. “Huh, I guess I did.”
She stared wide-eyed at him, and he grinned. “Too soon to be talking marriage?”
“I… actually, no, I don’t think so,” she said.
Maybe she was acting completely insane, but nothing had ever felt more right to her than marrying Isaac Stark.
“Good. I’ll buy you a ring tomorrow,” he said.
Her head spinning, Rayna said, “Not to be a total downer, but I really would prefer if you bought my house instead. I’m not sure how much you know about what Mack did, but -”
“I know everything,” he said. “I hadn’t read your email, so I didn’t know the rescue was closing until I got a call about sending Molly and the babies to a different rescue. When I couldn’t get you to respond to my calls or texts, I -”
She grimaced. “I blocked your number. I’m sorry, but I did it because I didn’t trust I wouldn’t text you, and I was pretty sure you hated me.”
He hugged her close. “It’s okay. I was an asshole, and you should have blocked me for my behaviour. Anyway, I stalked Lucas at the office this morning and then threatened to fire him when he wouldn’t tell me what was going on.”
She laughed. “Are you serious?”
“Yes,” he said. “When that didn’t work, I told him I had fucked up and that I loved you, and that convinced him to tell me what happened. He told me how much debt Mack racked up and that you needed to pay it off quickly.”
“If you know all of that, why did you rip up the papers I signed?” Rayna asked.
“Because you don’t need to sell your house to pay off the rescue’s debt,” Isaac said. “I’ll pay what is owed to the bank.”
“No,” she said immediately, pushing free of his lap before pacing the kitchen. “You are not paying the debt I owe because of my mistake, Isaac.”
He stood and caught her hand, pulling her to a stop before pushing her against the counter and caging her in. He kissed up her throat before nuzzling along her jaw. “Please let me do this, baby.”
“It’s too much money,” she said.
He leaned back, sliding his arms around her waist. “Rayna, I am a multimillionaire.”
“I’m aware,” she said. “But I’m not taking advantage of that or making you feel obligated to help.”
“Baby, listen to me.” He stared directly at her. “I am doing this because I love you and because what you do is incredible and so important. I have seen first-hand the difference you make in the lives of these animals and how often you help the less fortunate in this community care for their pets. Losing the rescue would be a massive blow to Harmony Falls. They need you, and I am in a position to help you help them. I am doing this for those reasons and not because I feel any obligation to help. I want to help you, baby. Let me.”
“You’re making it very difficult to say no,” she said.
“Then don’t,” he grinned.
“Could we consider it a loan?” she asked. “If you buy the house for three-fifty, then I’ll only have about fifty-eight grand left to pay. I could pay that back to you with interest in five years or so if I’m careful with my money and find a cheap place on the south side.”
“One, it will be a cold day in hell before I let you live on the south side,” Isaac said. “And two, paying off the rescue’s debt is my wedding gift to you. We’re getting married, remember? There’s no way in hell you’re living anywhere but right here with me.”
“You really want to marry me?” she asked.
“I really do,” he said.
She grinned at him. “Everyone will think we’re crazy.”
“Probably,” he said. “I don’t care. Do you?”
“No,” she said.
He squeezed her gently. “Do you want to renovate the house before or after we get married?”
“You hate this house, Isaac,” she said.
“I don’t hate it,” he said. “But I would very much like to have a shower that fits the both of us, a kitchen that doesn’t look like the eighties threw up all over it, and a front door that can’t be kicked in by a miniature donkey with a grudge.”
Rayna laughed so hard that it woke up Bea in the living room. She wandered into the kitchen, sniffing the air and her tail wagging happily when she smelled Isaac’s scent. She squeezed between them and sat on Isaac’s feet, staring blindly up with a happy grin on her face.
“Hi, Bea,” Isaac said before bending and giving her a few gentle pets. “I’ve missed you, sweetheart.”
Rayna cupped Isaac’s face, making him look at her. “You would be okay with living in this house with me?”
“Yes,” he said. “I want you to be happy, baby. That’s all that matters to me.”
She hugged him hard, her heart overflowing with joy and a love so deep she felt nearly faint from it. “I love you so much, Isaac.”
“I love you too,” he said.
She leaned back so she could see his face. “I think we should tear the house down and build a new one.”
He blinked at her. “Baby, no. You love this house.”
“I do,” she said, “but with everything that happened, I realized that as much as I love the house, it isn’t the building that matters. What matters is how it made me feel to buy the property, to accomplish something I never thought possible, you know? So, tearing down the house doesn’t feel like a defeat. It feels right to start fresh with you. This house did what it was meant to do - it gave me a sense of security and a feeling of home. Now, I’m ready to move on.”
Isaac kissed her. “I just want you to be happy, Rayna.”
“I know, and I want you to be happy. So, let’s build a house together.”
“Yeah?” The hopeful look on his face was adorable.
“Yeah,” she said.
He hugged her tight. “Thank God. This house is way too small for all of us.”
“All of us?” she said.
“We need the extra room for Molly and her babies.”
“What?”
“Didn’t I tell you? I’m officially adopting Molly and the boys,” he said.
“All three of them?”
He nodded. “Yes. They’re my babies, Rayna. If you’re marrying me, I come with four cats. There is no negotiating on this.”
She laughed. “I wouldn’t dream of trying to convince you otherwise. I guess we’re a four cat family now. Well,” she glanced at Freddie, who walked into the kitchen with impeccable timing, “make that five.”
“Pretty sure Freddie will be living with Hollis before the month is up,” Isaac said with a grin.
She took a deep breath. “Isaac, are you sure - really sure - that you want to pay the rescue’s debt? Because -”
“Ms. Abrams, if you ask me one more time if I’m sure about paying off the rescue’s debt, I will take you upstairs and do very naughty things to you.”
“How naughty? Be specific,” she said.
He leaned down and whispered into her ear. Heat immediately pooled in her core, and she licked her lips before giving him a wicked grin. “Are you sure you want to pay off the rescue’s debt?”
With a delicious growl, he picked her up and carried her toward the stairs. “You, Ms. Abrams, are trouble with a capital T.”
She kissed him, then smiled sweetly at him. “I love you, Isaac.”
“I love you, Rayna.”
Keep reading for an excerpt from Wicked Harmony (Harmony Falls, Book Seven), coming soon!