Total pages in book: 95
Estimated words: 90642 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90642 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 453(@200wpm)___ 363(@250wpm)___ 302(@300wpm)
“I need to talk to you.” He seems serious and that sets off some warning bells in the back of my head. “No, don’t make that face, it’s not a huge deal but it’s something we need to figure out.”
“How about you just spill it before I start throwing things?”
“Baby, we can’t live in the oasis forever.”
I let that sink in. He pauses as I turn from him and my hand grips my knee. I don’t speak, because that’s really not what I wanted to hear, even if I know he’s right.
Brody’s the head of his family. He can’t live on another family’s territory—it’s bad enough we’ve been there for the last few weeks, but there’s no way we could stay forever.
I knew this was coming. Only I hoped I could keep on pushing it back, maybe forever, because the thought of leaving the oasis is almost as bad as losing one of my limbs.
“I grew up there,” I say very quietly and he puts a hand on my thigh.
“I know, baby, and I wish it didn’t have to be this way.”
“Everything I know is there. Everyone I love is there. My best friends. My family.” I blink back tears and hate myself a little bit for my reaction. It’s completely selfish and I know it, but I can’t help how I feel. “I’m sorry. I know you’re right. It’s just—”
He leans over and kisses my neck and hugs me against him. “It’s okay to feel like this. I understand what you’re going through. The oasis is a part of who you are, and you don’t want to give that up. But you know I can’t reasonably run my family while living on your family’s private block. It’s just not realistic.” He hugs me tighter. “But that doesn’t mean we have to move back to my neighborhood.”
My eyebrows raise and I wipe tears from my eyes. “What do you mean?”
He nods at the house and I follow his gaze. “We’re halfway between my mother’s place and the oasis. It’s a five-minute drive either way and totally walkable if you wanted. We’d have protection from either direction if we needed it, and my people would have easy access to me. And there’s no reason that you’d have to give up your house back on the oasis.”
I stare at the big, beautiful old Victorian. I can start to see where he’s going with this. I can imagine buying it, fixing it up, living in there with our own little family, while splitting our time between our worlds. “You’d really let me keep the other house?”
“I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to stop you even if I wanted to.”
“You’re right, you couldn’t, but I’d at least pretend like I’d listen.”
He laughs softly and kisses me again. “Do you like it? This house, I mean.”
“I think it’s perfect.”
“The inside’s a mess. We’ll have to gut the whole thing.”
“I’m sure we can find someone to do the work.” I try not to smile. The Bianco Famiglia has deep ties to the construction industry—there will be at least half a dozen different reputable contractors all begging to get involved.
“Good. Then you won’t mind that I already bought it.”
My eyebrows shoot up. “Seriously?”
“I figured if you didn’t like it, I’d just quietly sell it and get you something else. But it looks like I made the right choice. Want to look around?”
I should be annoyed. I mean, he bought a house without my input. But he lucked out because the interior is just as lovely as I figured: original hardwood and lots of old details, most of it kept in decent shape. He’s right, it’ll have to be modernized, but I’m already furnishing the place in my head.
We stand together in the old living room in front of the ancient fireplace. It’s soot-stained and well-loved with a mosaic of old tiles across the mantel.
“You’re serious about this, aren’t you?” I lean against him as he wraps his arms around me.
“I’m absolutely serious. And I really I’ll sell it and get something else if you don’t want this place.”
“Not the house.” I shake my head and look up at him. “You’re serious about us.”
His expression softens and he leans down to kiss my lips. “At first, I wasn’t sure how to feel. I thought you were the most beautiful woman I’d ever seen in my life the first time I saw you, but I was so obsessed with keeping my emotions to myself and not getting too wrapped up in you. Then you wore me down.”
“Wore you down?” I laugh and hit his chest with my palm. “Please, more like you couldn’t keep your hands off me.”
His lips quirk into a smile. “Well, that too.”
“And now you want to spend the rest of your life with me.” I waggle my eyebrows at him. “You want me to have your babies.”