23. Andrea
Iwalked behind the real estate agent as she toured my house and took notes for the listing. I imagined all of my hard work in designing it would be summarized to something clinical like “newly remodeled kitchen with granite countertops and chef-grade appliances.”
Jeff had moved out a week ago. I was thankful, but once he’d signed off on the division of assets, taking his car and frequent flier miles with him, he’d checked out of the process altogether, leaving all the logistics of the situation to me.
Last I’d heard he was overseas filming some competition show. The tabloids reported that he and Paula had broken up.
I didn’t care. And it felt so freeing I no longer had to.
Switching my attention to what the agent was saying, I was surprised to hear she’d be ready to put it on the market the day after tomorrow.
“I will only accept private showings, but those will go better if you could go stay somewhere else with your dog. That way the bowls and beds are picked up, and things stay neat and tidy.”
She was right. It made sense to move out temporarily while they showed the house. I’d already boxed up a number of things and moved them to storage in order to keep the surfaces clean.
My thoughts drifted to the keys to his house that Deacon had left me. I hadn’t intended to use them, but I found myself missing the connection we’d shared and wanting an excuse to be close to him, even if the only way of doing so was by staying in his house for a few days until I could make other dog-friendly accommodations.
I wondered, not for the first time, how he was doing. Aside from texting me his gate and house codes on the first day, he hadn’t communicated with me. Then again, it wasn’t like I’d reached out either. Maybe staying in his house would give me an excuse to start the conversation. After all, we were friends, and friends reached out.
Turning to the agent, I asked, “How long do you think it’ll take to get an offer?”
She smiled confidently. “In this hot market, I expect to have multiple offers within a week.”
“All right.” Might as well get used to living elsewhere since the place wouldn’t be mine much longer.
Selling this house was like closing a chapter of a book I no longer wanted to read. The question, of course, was which book I would pick up next. Perhaps I’d take a vacation. Find my own oasis to recharge and plan my future. The thought of getting out of LA and spending time off-grid held a lot of appeal.
I was quiet and deep in thought the next morning with Ollie in the passenger seat and my beloved dog in the back seat of my new Honda. I’d traded in my luxury car for something much more practical a few days ago and couldn’t be happier with it. Meanwhile, Ollie had been nice enough to accompany me over to Deacon’s house today and help with my suitcases. He’d even brought some travel books for inspiration.
“I texted Deacon about staying here, but he didn’t answer.” It felt strange to just show up without letting him know, but in reality I hoped this act would provide an excuse for us to start talking again.
Ollie smiled. “I’m sure he’s deep in his writing cave and just hasn’t had time to respond yet. He’ll be happy to hear you’re using his house.”
I hoped he was right.
I pulled in front of Deacon’s gate and typed in the code wishing he would’ve responded to my text so I didn’t feel like I was imposing.
Once I parked at the top of the driveway, I got out of the car on shaky legs, a host of memories flooding back.
Ollie got out with Callie on her leash. “I’ll walk her around and grab some stuff if you want to go in and turn off the alarm.”
“Sure.” Once again I had second thoughts about being here, but reasoned Deacon wouldn’t have given me keys if he hadn’t meant for me to stay here.
What I wasn’t prepared for was how emotional it would be stepping through this door as if I was reliving our weekend together by being in his space. Dammit. It even smelled like him.
Maybe this wasn’t the best idea after all. But as I was about to type in the security code, I realized the alarm wasn’t set.
The sound of acoustic guitar chords suddenly started. Soft and steady, I followed the notes into the living room, finding none other than Deacon sitting on his couch strumming his guitar.
He stopped and looked up at me with a sexy smile. “Hi, Andi.”
“You’re here.” And he hadn’t told me he was in town.
He stood up, putting his guitar to the side, looking sexy and calm. “I am.”
“I didn’t know. I’d only meant to use the house a few days, but I’ll go.”
“Andi, no, I knew you’d be here I came here for you.”
“You did?”
“Yes. I was going to tell you, but then you texted you were coming to the house, so I thought to surprise you.”
He ran a hand through his hair, and I noticed the bags under his eyes for the first time.
“Are you all right?”
“Not really? Do you know why?”
I shook my head slowly while he framed my face with his hands. Hands I’d missed touching my skin.
“Not even an hour into the flight I wished I’d invited you with me.”
My eyes went wide. “But you made it clear you didn’t want me there.”
He stepped back, but took my hand. “I know and I’m sorry. I wasn’t prepared for this.” He motioned between us. “I’ve never wanted someone in my space before.”
I hadn’t allowed myself to hope he might want more than our one weekend together. “What about your songwriting?”
“I had total writer’s block for the first time. My inability felt like a message letting me know I was missing you.” His thumb stroked over my cheek. “I figured I’d stay in LA for as long as you need to be here, what with selling the house and all. But once you’ve taken care of all that and are ready, maybe you could come to my house in Australia. I could show you around there.”
He wasn’t done with his pitch. “You could bring Callie with you. And if you can only spend a few days, that’s fine. We can fly back here whenever you want or need to. I know you have a lot going on.” He blew out a nervous breath. “I just want a chance to get to know you better, you know, have you see my place, and take you out on a proper date.”
Unlike my ex, Deacon didn’t minimize what I had going on in my life or try to manipulate my decisions. He’d proven again and again that I could trust him. “Callie and I would love to join you in Australia.”
He dropped his lips to mine. “I know this sounds crazy, but I don’t care. I fucking missed you, Andi.”
The way he said my nickname would never get old. “I missed you too. And this can’t be any crazier than our first kiss happening in front of a crowd of thousands at a concert I almost didn’t attend, or my pretending to be a couple for a weekend in order to deal with our crazy exes.”
He flashed a lopsided smile. “Imagine time together that doesn’t include thoughts about our exes or the idea of faking it.”
I returned his smile, the thrill of spending time together for real starting to sink in. “What would we possibly do with all that extra time?”
“I have lots of ideas.” He captured my lips in a searing kiss.
While his mouth migrated to my neck, I ran my hands through his hair. “As much as I love the direction your thoughts are obviously taking, Ollie is outside with Callie.” I paused, realizing he’d been out there awhile. “Did he know you were here?”
His smile got sheepish. “I might’ve given him a heads-up I was coming back.”
“How soon could we leave for Australia?”
He pulled back to lean his forehead against mine. “Say the word.”
“My luggage is in the car, and my passport’s in my purse, so is tomorrow too soon?”
He kissed the sensitive spot below my ear, murmuring, “My brave girl.” Then he stepped away to grab his phone. “How about I schedule the trip while you invite Ollie inside?”
Later that night after Ollie had said his goodbyes, Deacon and I sat outside on his deck overlooking the city, a delivered pizza on the table between us along with a bottle of red wine.
He shook his head in a slow, sexy way. “This doesn’t count as our first real date.”
I took a sip from the glass he’d poured. “Do you know how I like my first dates?”
A smile tugged at his lips. “Tell me.”
“I like my first dates with a taste of red wine, the smell of pizza, a gorgeous view, and your company.”
His gaze locked on mine. Taking my free hand from across the table, he kissed the inside of my wrist. “This is the best date I’ve ever been on.”
The sincerity in his voice left no doubt he meant it. Setting my glass down, I got up from my chair and moved to his lap, loving the way he set his own glass down and put his arms around me.
“Prepare yourself; it’s about to get better.”
He nuzzled his face into my neck, breathing deep. “It already is.”