Chapter 33 #2
He sits up straighter, and it’s the only hint he gives that he’s heard me at all.
Good thing I don’t need him to say anything in order for me to get my feelings off my chest. I tuck my hands in my lap, send up a silent plea that this won’t end in total disaster, take a deep breath, and then I let it all out.
All of it.
“I don’t know what I was looking for when I moved here.
I thought I was coming for a fresh start.
A chance to forget all my problems with the help of a new town and a few home improvement projects.
I hoped for a few new friends and a cute cowboy or two to look at and thought that would be enough.
Anything other than the constant grief of home would’ve been fine.
” He’s still not giving me anything, and I force myself to hold his gaze as I say this next part: “Then I met you and all thoughts of fine vanished because you made everything better than I ever thought it could be.
“You snuck into my life and turned the dial so that my world was so full, so bright, I couldn’t even remember what fine felt like.
It was like you cracked me in half and everything I’d been burying for years came tumbling out.
My joy ran deeper, my laughter was louder, my love was stronger.
I felt safe enough to feel again, but after years of being numb, I forgot that pain and fear weren’t things I needed to run from.
The second things got scary, I did what I’ve done my entire life.
I was stuck with that pain and I was the cause of yet another mess, but I thought if I left, at least you would be free of it all. ”
“I never said I wanted to be free of it.” His deep voice cuts across the room like a shot, and my body recoils at the sound of it. “You made a decision for me without thinking to ask what I wanted.”
My heart is in my throat, and I’m afraid the words I have to say won’t have enough room to come out.
“I know. I was wrong.” Tears sting my eyes and regret pricks at my skin. “I wish I could take it back, but I can’t. All I can do is tell you how sorry I am and, if you let me, I promise I won’t run again. I promise that I’ll stay.”
Something flashes in his onyx eyes, but it’s gone almost as fast as it came. His full lips are still pulled into a straight line, and even after I’ve said everything I wanted to say, I’m still not sure if he heard me. Or worse, if he did and he just doesn’t care anymore.
He stands up and my heart leaps. For one wonderful moment, I think he might come to me. But instead, he turns his back to me, opens the door, and calls for Patricia to come back.
Patricia joins us in the room again, and my head swims as I try to keep my breathing measured. I don’t know if I want to scream, throw up, or both. Both, actually.
Definitely both.
I can tell Patricia is uncomfortable as she takes her seat, but ever the professional, she paints on a smile and ignores the silent stream of tears falling down my face.
“So.” She grabs a sheet of paper and looks it over, her eyes studiously trained away from me. “It looks like before Mr. Jacobs puts an official offer on the house, he has a few concerns to go over with Miss Starr. Is that correct?”
“Not concerns,” Tate says. “More like conditions.”
I didn’t think my heart could sink any further, but it does.
“Okay.” I nod, swiping away my tears. I knew things could end up this way. It’s time for me to deal with the consequences of my own stupid actions. Have I mentioned how much I hate being a freaking adult? “I’m ready. Whatever you want.”
“Great,” he says. “I’m glad we’re on the same page.”
He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone. Seconds turn into centuries as he taps on his screen, and I wait to hear what he says next.
“Number one.” He looks up from his phone, and if I wasn’t so distracted by dread, I might’ve noticed the way his full lips turn up at the corner and his onyx eyes have gone soft.
“In order for me to go through with this purchase, it must be understood by all parties involved that not a single item inside the house should change. Not the pink cabinets in the kitchen, the loud floral wallpaper, or even the ridiculous Pink Chicken Club in the back.”
I forget how to breathe as a tendril of hope, that stupid little feeling I know damn well not to trust, starts to unfurl from somewhere deep inside of me.
“Two.” He puts the phone down on the table in front of him and looks directly into my eyes.
“If updates are to be made, they must be done entirely of Miss Starr’s volition.
Every design decision must be attributed to the countless Pinterest boards, TikTok videos, and Instagram posts she has made me watch to understand her ‘vision’ for the house. ”
“Tate.” His name comes out as a sob, and not even I can tell if it’s from laughing or crying. I don’t need a mirror to tell me I’m a snotty, blubbering mess. “I—”
“No.” He shakes his head. “I’m not done yet.”
The fear that I’ve misread this comes rushing back. I’m going to need a massage from the emotional whiplash of it all.
“This one is the most important, so I really need to make sure you’re listening.
” He stands up, and before I can even register what’s happening, his long legs have made quick work of the small space and he’s standing right in front of me.
The smell of his cologne wraps around me, and my fingers itch to reach out and touch him.
“Number three. Ms. Starr is the only person who can ever live in this house again. It’s her home.
It’s where she belongs. And if, on the off chance she were to ever be in need of company and has the patience to deal with a bulldog and an occasionally grumpy football coach who loves her, she might allow them to move in too. ”
I lost control of my tears eons ago. They fall with abandon as my hope crescendos and visions of a future with Tate at my side flash before my eyes.
“You were going to buy my house for me?” I reach for him, and when his strong hand wraps around mine, my heart begins to soar. I’ve missed everything about him, but I might have missed his touch—and the way it makes me feel so alive—most of all. “You know that’s crazy, right?”
It is, but it’s also beautiful and romantic and every good thing I never imagined I could have in my life.
“Maybe.” He shrugs, pulling me until the only thing separating us is the fabric of our shirts that I can’t wait to rip off. “But when it comes to you, Luna Starr, there’s nothing I’m not willing to do. Do you know why?”
The answer dances on the tip of his tongue, the implications and the promise almost too impossibly big for me to say…let alone believe. But if the man in front of me has proven one thing, it’s that anything is possible. Especially when it comes to him.
I take a deep breath and gather the courage to say what I know deep down in my bones is true.
“Because you love me?”
“Yeah,” he says. “Because I love you.”
“What luck.” I wrap my arms around his neck and pull his face to mine. “Because I love you too.”
I don’t know Patricia’s stance on public displays of affection, but I couldn’t make myself care even if I tried.
Tate Jacobs loves me and I love him too.
I’ve loved him from the moment I lay beside him, staring at the stars, but dreaming about him.
Now, tucked in the back office of Moonlight Realty with Tate’s mouth on mine, in the little town of Celestial, Texas, I’ve just been handed the entire world.