Epilogue Sam
Three months later…
“Why did you want to meet out here?” I asked Livi as I got out of my truck. “I’m pretty sure they’re staging for the sale.”
I looked around, feeling pride as I saw the Victorian again.
We’d done good work rehabbing this place and restoring it to its former glory, and now that the landscaping was in and the gravel road was paved, it looked like something out of a postcard.
Hands down this was my favorite of all the many properties I’d worked on.
Livi looked excited, practically bouncing around on the shoes that looked like nothing special but had probably cost her a thousand bucks.
We’d been together for months now, so I’d gotten used to her expensive tastes.
It was still a constant battle trying to convince her not to spend scads of money on me though.
Other than that, things had been good between us. More than good. We’d slipped right into a serious relationship without a lot of fanfare, and now we were talking about moving in together. Maybe it was too fast, but it felt right for us.
I’d brought Livi to meet my father, and they’d bonded immediately, probably because she was much more versed in the finance world than I was.
Livi’s parents were a little harder of a sell.
Her father was quiet and difficult to read, but Livi assured me that he liked me and was happy for us.
As for her mother… well, she was slowly coming around.
“Remember how we were talking about finding a place of our own so we could move in together?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
It seemed like Livi had looked at just about every house in the state of Washington over the last seven months, but she hadn’t liked anyone of them. I was starting to think we’d spend the rest of our lives in my little apartment.
She pulled something out of her pocket and dropped it into my hand. It was a Laurent Industries keychain with two keys and a fob.
“I don’t understand.”
“I bought the Victorian!” Livi screeched, jumping up and down.
I’d never seen her look so happy.
“You bought this place?” I confirmed, my heart picking up speed. “It’s yours?”
It was on the market for well over seven figures, but then again, that was pocket change to Livi.
“For us,” she said. “I bought it for us.”
I just stared at her. I’d dreamed of living in the Victorian ever since I saw it for the first time, but never once had I considered that it could be a possibility. Of course I knew she loved it as much as I did.
“This is our house now?” I asked.
She nodded, her face getting serious. “Please tell me you’re not mad that I did this without talking to you. It’s just that we both love this place so much and it’s where we met and fell in love and…”
Her words dropped off as I raced forward to pull her into a tight hug.
“I know I told you to stop buying me expensive gifts, but I’ll make an exception for this place. I love it! And I love you. I can’t wait for us to spend the rest of our lives here together. With Leo of course.”
Our lips met in a kiss that left us both breathing heavily.
“How would you like to go to the dining room and recreate our first night together?” she asked. “I brought beer and Snickers.”
“I’ll grab the blanket from my truck.”