After Emily set me straight, I left the mansion to go back to the hotel. I wanted to find Laura so we could talk right then and there. I didn’t know how much damage I’d done with my behavior, and I felt like I needed to fix it as quickly as possible.

But when I got to my room and picked up the phone to call for the cleaning department, I paused, knowing this would only make her even more annoyed with me. So I put the hotel phone back down, then wandered around my apartment.

“Why am I still living in a fucking hotel room?” I muttered to myself.

Initially, I’d moved into the hotel instead of the mansion for a couple of reasons. One, it would be more convenient to be closer to work. The second, and the biggest, reason was that I didn’t think I could behave, and I didn’t want to expose my mom and my sister to that side of my life. Not to mention I didn’t want to be too close to Dad’s scrutiny.

It was always meant to be temporary though. After all, even though I had to move around for the sake of my work, I still had someplace to go home to. Not the mansion, no. I visited, but I’d stopped thinking of it as home a while back. I couldn’t live with my parents forever, no matter how big their place was.

I’d bought my little space ages ago, where I lived on my own and no one, not even a member of my family, had ever stepped a foot in it. It was out of the state though.

Maybe I needed some place closer?

With that thought in mind, I went to take my laptop out of my things in the bedroom. The hotel had Wi-Fi set up for all the rooms, and I moved with the laptop to the couch, turning it on.

I made a quick search of possible houses for sale. I narrowed down a few locations in my price range. I ignored the pricier, larger places. I had funds in my own account that I’d use to pay for the house, and while I could afford something bigger, it was the last thing I wanted.

Then, I found it. I was just browsing around on this realtor’s website when I saw the picture, and it made me freeze. I clicked on it and fell in love instantly. I checked the information and decided I wanted to see it in real life. I was done with work for the day, so there wouldn’t be anything to hold me back. Just in case, I sent a message to Laura to tell her I wouldn’t be taking her home later. I didn’t do it every day, and she insisted it was safe enough that I’d stopped nagging her about it.

On my way out, I made a call.

“Hello? I’m calling to get some more information about a house…”

I was done speaking by the time I got into my car to head out. I’d transferred the information from the website to my phone already, and I input the address in my car’s GPS, though I already knew the general direction I was supposed to head toward.

The drive wasn’t too long, just under an hour at average speed. If I went faster, skirting the speed limit, it could be faster. As I got near, I looked at the surroundings and decided it was just as perfect. There wouldn’t be any neighbors too close…

The house was on the outskirts of Charlotte, away from the bustle and much closer to the foothills, in the area where the flatlands met the mountains and it got a bit hilly. I’d already got permission to look through it without someone present because I’d only be checking out the outside. If I didn’t like it inside, it could be remodeled.

“Perfect,” I murmured.

It was simple. A one-story house, clapboard and painted white with blue shutters. The house was private, it even had a picket fence, and there was a tire swinging in a tree in the front yard. There was an area for a garden, a garage to the side of the house. Pretty much everything one would need for a simple life.

“I’d need to check out the backyard,” I said to myself. “Add some improvements, check the inside and see if I need to remodel anything…”

Different plans whirled around in my head. This was different from the last time. Before, I’d had a professional realtor take me around, and I picked a place with just enough space for me and was private enough while staying secure. I’d paid for it, and that was that.

This time, it wouldn’t just be me staying here because I knew it was just the perfect place to build the life I wanted, one with Laura in it. The house looked big enough from the outside to house more than two people. There might be children in the future, there might not. I didn’t know if I even wanted to be a father, if Laura could even have kids. Or maybe we could adopt if Laura wanted to, a kid that already had potty training, if we were going to go that route.

All of this, though, was exactly what I’d been missing in my life. I had an okay family. I loved my mom and sister especially, and I was closer to Kevin and still somewhat distant with Dad and Trent. The fact that neither I nor my brothers wanted to live too close to home spoke volumes, and I’d always thought when I was growing up, if we didn’t have so many riches, I could have been happier. As long as we were comfortable. To have an understanding father instead of a demanding one would have been nice too.

We were a family, but not as close as other families I’d seen, and not just on TV. Normal families where everybody sat together to eat, not because it was mandatory, but because it was tradition, and they wanted to. This normalcy, with a loving home, and a woman that loved me…

I could practically picture it, and it was beautiful.

Once I felt satisfied with what I’d seen, I got back in my car to drive back to the hotel.

I wanted to marry her.

I’d had the thought for a while now, but it had never been quite so strong before. I was a decisive kind of guy though, and I didn’t hesitate with what I wanted, so if I was going to buy a house for the two of us to move into, I wanted us to be married or at least engaged when I asked her to move in with me.

How would I break this news to her? I had no idea. It would take some serious planning because I wanted the proposal to go off without a hitch. Maybe have a key at the ready, instead of a ring, or both, when I asked? I thought up and dismissed, considered, and readjusted several ideas.

More than anything, I wanted to be what Laura deserved. I wanted her to be happy when she was with me because she’d made me the happiest I’d been in years.