Chapter 39
CHAPTER 39
I THOUGHT YOU DIDN’T LIKE DOGS.
Blair
The nerves from hours ago are now a distant memory as we ride the dirt road back to Barlow Drive. I don’t even want to think about what I would be feeling right now if things didn’t go the way they did. If he didn’t believe that I was staying.
Turning onto our road, the sky transforms instantly from day to night as a soft glow from the setting sun illuminates behind the mountains in the distance. It’s magical how the sky can transform in an instant here.
Griffin pulls into my driveway, exiting the truck without turning it off and quickly rounding the hood to open the door for me.
Confusion washes over me as to why he didn’t turn it off.
I stand there, wondering what his plans are.
Grinning and taking my hand in his, he lifts it to his mouth and presses a kiss to the back of my hand. “Get your stuff,” he says.
My eyes narrow. “What stuff?”
“Whatever you want. All of it. Load it in the truck,” he rattles off in rapid succession.
“Are you sending me a text message?” I laugh .
“A what?”
“It means you’re making no sense, the way your texts make no sense.”
He barks out a laugh.
I will never tire of hearing this man laugh. From believing he was just my grumpy next-door neighbor to this. It’s a total one-eighty I will never get used to but crave. I want to hear him laugh, watch him smile, and everything in between.
Stepping closer to him, I keep my hand in his and bring my other to his chest as I lift my head to keep our eyes locked.
“I love you,” I tell him again. It feels so good rolling off my tongue.
He leans down, pressing a kiss to my lips. “I love you too, sweetheart. Now go get your things.”
“I’m still not understanding. Are you asking me to grab a change of clothes because you want me to stay the night at your place?”
His features soften as he removes my hand from his.
Cupping my cheeks, he angles my head higher to really look at him. His eyes bounce between mine as if he’s making sure I understand whatever he’s about to say.
“I want you to grab all your clothes, all your things.” His thumb caresses my cheek. “I don’t just want you to stay the night. I want you to stay for good.”
I take a step back out of his hold, shocked at what he’s saying right now.
“But my tiny home.”
His smile widens. “We can keep it as it is, or we can ask Nan to put it back on the market.”
“But—”
“I know this is rushing it. It feels weird for me too,” he cuts me off. “But, Blair, listen to me closely when I say this…” He pauses, erasing the space I just put between us. “I love you. I know with certainty that I want you in my life until it’s time to pu t me in the ground. I want you in my bed with me every night, because I want you close. I need you close.”
My stomach surges with warmth and emotion.
Griffin has turned into everything I never knew I wanted.
He loves loud and bold with his whole chest.
“There’s no way in hell you’re living here, and me there,” he says, gesturing with his head behind him at his house.
Looking over his shoulder, I take in his house.
This feels real. It feels…right.
“Yes,” I finally say. “But there’s just one thing…”
He raises a brow in confusion.
“Reginald.”
The moment his name leaves my lips I hear a bark come from inside my house and we both turn our heads. It’s as if he heard us talking about him.
Griffin laughs before turning his attention back to me.
“You think I’d ask you to live out your future with me and not include him?”
Shrugging a shoulder, I bring my bottom lip between my teeth. “I thought you didn’t like dogs.”
“I don’t,” he scoffs. “But that one’s grown on me, and I kind of like having him around.”
My eyes widen briefly before schooling my features.
Only Reginald can make a man who dislikes dogs…like them.
I press my body into his, placing both hands back on his chest. I feel his heartbeat thunder under my palm, forcing mine to pick up speed. Being around him just does that to me. It happens all on its own. It’s confirmation that this is what love is supposed to feel like. Knowing you’re with the person who will always protect your heart, wipe away your tears on the bad days, and laugh with you on the good ones.
A person who’s been through what I have should have trust issues. I should question this and be weary of the cycle repeating itself. But there isn’t a doubt in my mind that Griffin would do that to me. Looking in his eyes I see an honest future. I swear if hearts coming out of someone’s eyes were a real thing, he would see it in mine.
“You really love me, huh?”
He leans down, lips brushing mine. “I think I loved you when your dog first peed in my rosebush.”
I laugh against his mouth before lifting myself up to crash my lips to his in a searing kiss. Knowing I could, and would, kiss this man for the rest of my life and be the happiest woman in the world.
Bluestone Lakes not only helped me find myself.
But it’s changed everything for me.
I’m a different person from the very first drive into town. A woman who was nervous about what the future would hold in a town with no friends and no family.
“Can we keep the tiny home for now?” I ask. “It holds a special place in my heart.”
“Whatever you want, sweetheart.”
He wraps one arm around my shoulder, guiding me into the first place that was all mine. I grab whatever I can and stuff for Reginald before we load his truck and make our way back to his place.
Once I cross the threshold, a new feeling overwhelms me.
It’s large and spacious.
Even though it’s not my first time here, it feels like it is. Because this time, I’m entering and staying.
Finding a new home with Griffin Barlow.
And it feels really fucking good.