Chapter 22
Chapter Twenty-Two
It shouldn’t surprise me that Travis spends another night sleeping in the hotel room next to mine. And when he knocks at my door on Christmas morning and offers to drive me to his farmhouse, I have to make a conscious effort to suppress last night’s memories.
If anything happened to you…
He probably meant it in a I don’t want to look for a replacement because you’re such an amazing waitress and accountant, so it would be a pain in my ass if you left kind of way, and I should get over it.
Easier said than done.
On our drive, my head fills with all sorts of anxiety-inducing thoughts, such as how the hell I’m going to tell Jada and Paul that I’m moving in with my boss. And why.
“I forgot to ask you,” Travis says after not uttering a single word during most of our drive to his house. “I’ve got two dogs. Is that gonna be a problem?”
“Not at all. I love dogs. What kinds of dogs do you have?”
“Both are Great Danes.” He peels his eyes from the empty road for a second and gives me a quick perusal. “They’re not much shorter than you when they’re on all fours.”
The words on all fours shouldn’t leave Travis’s mouth ever again.
“Oh” is the brilliant response I give him, too focused on the heat climbing up my neck, all the way to my cheeks. Stop. Am I fourteen? But because that’s not a socially acceptable answer, I add, “I hope they like me.”
“They will,” he says with so much confidence, it eases some of my nerves, but not enough that my heartbeat doesn’t pick up when he pulls into a dirt road.
A couple of turns later, the trees give way to a massive farmhouse with a barn, and my palms start sweating.
“This is the place,” he announces.
His house looks modern, as if it had been renovated recently, and sits by the edge of Bannport Lake. On the horizon and across the water, acres of green land and rolling hills extend as far as the eye can see. It feels like being inside a painting.
No sooner has Travis parked his truck by the barn than I hear the barks.
My boss kills the engine and says, “Let me get out first and make sure the dogs aren’t too excited.”
Because they’ll probably tackle me to the ground, I’m sure he wants to say. I wouldn’t be opposed to such a sweet death.
Turning in my seat, I watch as two ginormous dogs come running toward Travis, now standing behind the car with his hands on his hips. He gestures with his hand, and both dogs slow their pace. They sit down a few feet away from their owner, tongues hanging from those cute faces, waiting for a new order.
I won’t lie—that was one of the hottest things I’ve ever seen. Travis oozes authority and confidence on a normal day, but seeing him in his element, on his property, interacting with his dogs, is something else entirely.
When did it get so hot in here?
His knuckles tapping on my window bring me back to reality. “You can come out now.”
I open the door slowly, careful not to startle the massive dogs. And when my feet hit the gravelly ground, I take in the most majestic creatures I’ve ever seen. Both have short black fur, but the one on the right has a bit of white on their snout, which is adorable.
“Oh my god. Aren’t you some cute giants?” I look at my boss, whose eyes are already on me. “What are their names? How old are they? Are they boys or girls? Sorry, too many questions.”
Is that a hint of a smile?
“Both are boys—brothers. They belonged to a friend of my uncle’s, but he passed away three years ago, and I took them in. This one—” He points to the one with the all-black fur. “—is Buddy. His brother is Cooper. They’re both five.”
My heart swells. “Can I pet them?”
His eyes stay on me for a second too long before he says, “Come here.”
I move slowly, trying not to startle them, until I’m standing with Travis. Buddy and Cooper look between their owner and me, probably questioning who I am and what I’m doing at their house. But their tongues are still hanging from their mouths, so they can’t be too annoyed. I hope.
Travis puts a hand on the small of my back and guides me forward. “Let them sniff you. Not many people come by, aside from my uncle and a couple of friends, so they aren’t used to company. But they’re good boys.”
He drops his hand, and I try not to feel too upset about it.
I also tell myself it’s none of my business if one of those friends is a woman or if they’re more than friends. Instead, I focus on the two snouts sniffing my jacket. Travis wasn’t joking—they’re huge up close.
And because my heart was never meant to survive this man, Travis tells the dogs, “She’s a friend, all right? Be gentle with her.”
He talks to them. Also, me? A friend? Sure, we have friendship bracelets now, but I didn’t think he took those seriously.
Also, what happened to not befriending his staff?
They don’t react when I pet them—in fact, they ignore me a bit—which I take as a good sign. If they didn’t approve of me, I guess they would growl or something, but they look as relaxed as they do with Travis.
“Want to see the interior of the house?”
The sun peeking through the clouds makes me squint as I glance up at him. “Sure. Are they allowed inside?”
Travis rubs their chins as both dogs try to lick his hands.
“Under normal circumstances, no. They are too big and knock everything down without meaning to. I keep the barn open, and their food, water, and doghouses are in there. But if there’s a big storm, I’ll allow them inside until it passes. They’ve never been too interested in coming inside the house anyway. They love it out here.” He tips his chin toward the house. “Follow me.”
I’ve never been inside a man’s house before, so I don’t know what to expect of Travis’s. A bit of chaos, maybe a forgotten sock lying in the middle of the hallway. But the only word that comes to mind when I cross the threshold is…wow. Plainly and simply, wow .
Shiny wooden floors, cream-colored walls decorated with pictures of the Maine landscape, and spacious and sunny rooms meet my eyesight in all directions. There’s a masculine air to his place that feels cozy.
“This is the living room.” Travis stops behind the massive couch in front of a big flat-screen TV. Right next to it is the kitchen and dining area. “You can buy whatever food you want for yourself. If you don’t want me to eat it, just let me know. You can eat my food if you want.”
I try not to sound too awkward. “It’s all right. We can share meals. I could cook for both of us.”
He sends me an unreadable look over his shoulder as we move across the hall. “You’re not my housekeeper.”
I frown at his comment. “I never said I was or wanted to be.”
Travis pauses in front of a closed door at the end of the hall. “You don’t have to cook for me.”
“What if I want to?”
“You don’t have to.”
“You didn’t have to offer me a place to live, yet here we are.”
I get one of those frustrated sighs that make him so endearing. “We’ll see.”
He opens the door to a sunny bedroom with white walls, flowy curtains, a big dresser, and a four-poster bed, big enough to have at least three people sleep on it.
“This is your bedroom,” he says, as if I had already accepted his move-in offer. To be fair, after seeing this house, declining is becoming more unappealing by the second. “Let me show you the bathroom.”
Conveniently, it’s right next door. I peek inside and see a modern shower, a toilet, and a small sink. Everything looks and smells clean—no mold in sight, unlike my own apartment I haven’t stepped foot in in almost a week.
“This will be your private bathroom,” Travis says. “I never use it, but if someone comes to visit, they might.”
“That’s fine. You have your own bathroom?”
“It’s attached to my bedroom.”
“Fancy.” I smile up at him. “You said there were three bedrooms?”
We pass by a door he doesn’t open but lets me know is his bedroom, and we end the tour in the smallest bedroom across from his. When I look inside, I blink.
“It’s empty,” I say, as if he didn’t live here and know already.
There’s nothing here—not a bed, not a desk, not even storage boxes or a home gym. Nothing.
“Never got around to buying anything for this room,” he explains, but there’s a weird edge to his voice that tells me there’s something else to it.
Even though I’m curious, I don’t pry. Everyone is allowed to have their own secrets—I would know.
“So… this is your place.” I steal a look at the dogs running outside through the window. When I turn to Travis, his eyes are already on me. “It’s beautiful.”
I cross my arms, glancing away from the first man I’ve ever felt completely safe around.
Would it really be so bad to say yes? I’d have my own bedroom and bathroom, and I’d sleep soundly every night knowing Travis is just down the hall and two massive dogs protect the property at all times. There’s no way anyone would even dare think of breaking into his place.
Maybe hiding out in the lair with the big bear is exactly what this scared rabbit needs.
“What do you say?” Travis stands tall and imposing. My eyes land on the green beads around his wrist. “Do you want to move in with me?”