Chapter 27
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Bellamy
“Well, this isn’t my best look.”
Brownie batter stains the front of my shirt. I wipe my finger between my boobs and scoop it off. Then, after considering that the shirt is freshly laundered, I shove my finger in my mouth.
There’s no sense in wasting good brownie batter.
The door squeaks open in the living room. I bend my neck to the side to see who it is.
“Hey,” Larissa says. “What are you—ooh, Bells. Let’s not.”
I pull my finger from my mouth. It makes a popping sound just as Boone comes around the corner.
“What?” I ask.
“That’s … a look,” Larissa says, making a face. She takes the bowl away from me, tugging at it when I try to resist. “Gimme.”
I pull it toward me pretty hard. When I release it, it sends Larissa stepping back a few paces.
I grin. “Serves you right.”
“Someone is hateful.” Boone sticks his finger in the bowl. “But this looks good.”
“You two are disgusting,” Larissa says.
Boone nods, licking the remnants off his hand. “Damn good.”
“Thank you,” I say, nodding back at him. “I didn’t use eggs, so that’s why it’s a little heavier than usual. Figured there’s no reason to torture myself with salmonella too.”
“I’ve seen the men you sleep with. Salmonella is the least of your concerns,” Larissa says, scraping the batter into the garbage disposal. “Now, go get yourself cleaned up.”
“Why?” I ask.
“Because I have to go to a couple of consultations today, and Hollis thinks I’m going to die,” Larissa says, looking at me over her shoulder. “I promised him I wouldn’t go alone.”
“Take Boone.”
“I’m going.” Boone looks unamused. “Not happy about it.”
“Then why do I have to go?”
Larissa sighs. “Because Boone can only go to the first one. So I need a rider for the second. And …”
“And she’s dropping me off at the office on the way back through,” he says.
“And that’s near the second stop.” Larissa dries her hands as she looks at me. “So it makes no sense for me to drive across town to get you. Just come now.”
She looks pleased with herself.
“That just gave me a headache,” I tell her.
“But I need to be there in like twenty minutes,” she says. “So hurry, please.”
I lean against the counter. “But what if I had plans today?”
“You don’t,” Larissa says.
“I did, but here I am,” Boone says with a sigh.
Larissa rolls her eyes. “Anyway, just hurry up so we can get this over with. Okay?”
“Fine.”
I pout as I walk to my room.
I intentionally avoid my bed just like I did last night when I slept on the couch. I might never sleep in it again.
Throwing on some sweats and an oversized sweatshirt, I slide into my sneakers to complete my cozy ensemble. I decide my messy bun looks messy, and that’s the actual definition of the updo, so I head back to my friends.
Boone laughs.
Larissa’s eyes go wide. “You could’ve … tried.”
“Excuse me? Are we going to a fashion show?” I hold my hands out to the side. “Either take me like this, or I’m turning on Bravo, and you can tell Hollis to buy you a GPS tracker.”
“Why are you so difficult?” Larissa sighs. “Can you put on jeans?”
“I hope the Housewives are on,” I say, heading to the couch.
Boone chuckles and grabs the remote before I can. “You look fine. Let’s go, Riss, before we lose her to reality television.”
I pat him on the shoulder as I head for the door. “You’re a smart one, Boonie.”
“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” he mumbles.
We pile in Larissa’s car. I wave to the nurse who’s switching out shifts as we back out of the driveway.
The sun is bright for so late in the evening.
Larissa hits the highway, and we head out of town.
“What’s this design like?” I ask, using my hand as a visor.
“I’m not sure,” she says. “The first one is a … I have to modify my plan for a job I was hired for. It doesn’t fit the new requirements, and the owner wants something completely different.
The second one is for class. I have to check out this old hotel and just sketch something for a grade. It’s not a big deal.”
“Sounds like the first one is a dick,” I say.
Boone laughs.
Larissa giggles too. “Not really. Just … specific. It needs to be perfect.”
“I was thinking today that I might see about being a realtor,” I tell them. “I enjoyed that the other day, and I was pretty good at it if I do say so myself.”
A song comes on the radio, and Boone turns it up. I could have a conversation with them if I almost shouted, but I don’t bother.
I rest my head against the window and think about Coy.
I should’ve texted him back today. It was wrong not to. But I just needed a little space before I reengage with him. Otherwise, Lord knows what I would do.
Probably get on a plane and head to Nashville.
The thought makes me smile, even though it’s impossible.
You told me that he’ll come back when you gave him your heart. You wouldn’t have done that if he didn’t deserve it.
He does deserve it. I deserve it too.
I toy with the phone in my hand and hover my thumb over his name. Every time I nearly go for it and text him, I wonder if he’s still in meetings. If Meadow got the images pulled. If they cleared up the rehab story. If the contract worked out. And then I pull my hand away and don’t text him at all.
He needs this time to get his life together. And I need to give him that.
Larissa flips on her turn signal, and I look up. Moss drapes off the branches of the trees on either side of the road.
I sit up.
“Hey,” I say, looking around. “This is that street we were on the other day.”
“Yeah,” Larissa says. “Bittersweet Court. Um, the first place we have to go—the one with the re-design, is the house you loved.”
“Didn’t they like your idea? Well,” I say, taking the blame, “I did spitball a bunch of stuff that day. I don’t have a clue about landscape design, but they seemed to like what I was suggesting, so I just went with it.”
Boone laughs. “Well, I guess you made some fucked-up suggestions, and now Riss has to go back out and get a better vision.”
“It was the kids thing,” she tells me, looking at me in the rearview mirror. “You brought up little kids, and now they want things to accommodate a whole gaggle of them.”
I sit back in my seat again. “Well, that’s good. That house was built to have a family.”
“Apparently, they agree,” Boone says as we pull up.
Three trucks sit in the driveway … next to Boone’s car.
“Why is your car here?” I ask him.
Larissa pulls to a stop. Seat belts are unfastened.
“I …” He looks at Larissa. “Oliver and I came out earlier. We wanted to make sure the, um, construction guys weren’t going to pose a problem for Riss.”
We climb out of the car.
“But isn’t that why I’m here?” I ask, confused.
“Yeah, because a couple of them didn’t check out,” Larissa says. “Anyway, let’s go.”
We head across the lawn and around to the side of the house. It’s just as breathtaking as I remember it. But with each step we take, a weird feeling comes over me.
I take in the backyard and all of the activity taking place. Four construction men with tape measures and pencils and paper stand near the back door.
Larissa and Boone wander off to a large hedge near where I said the pool should go, and I notice that there are little colored flags stuck in the grass in that area.
Wow. Herbie and Janet really took my advice to heart.
“What are you guys doing?” I say to the men. I keep my distance because I don’t know which one is sketchy.
“Building an enclosed porch,” the tallest one says. “Which was a great idea. Can you imagine this house with a big porch on it? And there’s going to be a real wood-burning fireplace too.”
I smile ear to ear. “It was my idea.”
“Good idea,” he says, grinning. “Do you know if we can put the trim from the kitchen in the garage? We’re supposed to use all of the original woodwork that we can. But with the new appliances and paint and recessed lighting, we’re going to have to pop a lot of the trim off and save it.”
My heart melts at the love that’s being put into this house. And a bit of pride comes in, too, that I had a part in that. Small, maybe, but at least I helped. That feels good.
“I’m sorry,” I tell the man. “I don’t know. This isn’t … my …. house?”
My jaw hits the grass. My eyes go wide before they fill with tears. My legs wobble as I swear my vision is playing tricks on me.
Coy breezes out of the house.
He’s wearing a black suit and tie. His chin drops, his eyes grow serious as he walks confidently across the backyard. His gaze fixes on mine in a way that only his can.
I try to speak, but it comes out as a squeak.
“Hey, baby,” he says, stopping just in front of me.
“You … what are you doing here?” I look over my shoulder at Riss and Boone. They’re smiling cautiously. “Coy? I don’t … understand.”
He grins. It’s soft and vulnerable and makes me want to jump and wrap my legs around his waist and hold on to him for the rest of my life.
I’ve missed him. I didn’t even realize how much until this moment.
“What happened today?” I ask him.
“A lot.” He grins again. “I woke up, fired Meadow, got a plane ticket home.” His lips twist together. “Bought a house.”
“You did? Where? I …. Oh, my gosh.”
The construction guys watch us like we’re on a soap opera. Larissa beams behind me. Boone just shakes his head with a cheeky grin on his face.
My head spins as I try to get a hold on reality.
“Holt told me where I fucked up,” he says. “I needed to show you that I’m serious. That we are forever. That you can’t run away from me, push me, tell me that it’s not time. But dammit, Bells—it’s you and me, or I don’t want it.”
“Coy …” I say, trying to catch my breath. “What did you do? Did you buy this house? How? How did you know?”