Chapter Twenty-Six

Garrett

“So?” He waited her out as she looked around the open floorplan of the living room and kitchen.

It was a week since they had returned from Big Bear, and she had thankfully given in to his request of slowing down, now only working at the bar. Now, he was working on solving their living situation.

“So, it’s… nice,” she mumbled as she walked around the condo, her hand gliding along the finishes as she looked up at the high ceilings. He frowned. The place was better than nice. It was perfect for them.

“Nice?” The condo was a new development with high-end finishes and upgrades. It had tons of natural light, which he knew she loved. An open floor space, so they could always be in the same space without walls separating them, and a nice patch of green space outside, perfect for the next surprise he had in store for her. Not to mention the amenities the complex came with.

“It would be great for you,” she muttered, making his forehead bunch up.

“For me?” He took a deep breath before rolling his neck and walking over to her. “This would be for us.”

“I can stay where I am,” she groaned, and he rolled his eyes.

“You’re not going to live above a garage,” he snapped and saw her eye twitch and her lips turn into a pout. She was trying to keep her cool when she was obviously irritated with him, which only made him fall harder for her. Fuck, she was cute.

“I know that. But for now, with classes about to start, maybe I should.” He took her hand and dragged her to the wide kitchen with white cabinets and black subway tile backsplash. But before she started to argue with him, he sat her on the white quartz countertop and slid in between her legs.

“This place is closer to school.” An only ten-minute drive to campus would make it easier for her to commute and stay focused. He would do anything to help her achieve her dreams, because in doing so, seeing her happy made his come true.

Funny, when you’re a kid, you think happiness can come from a job or a thing. If he were able to tell his eighteen-year-old self, he would be afraid of smacking him upside the head and warn him about everything that would one day happen. But then again, everything that happened, everything he went through, big or small, had led him to her.

Who would have thought getting drunk and letting some idiots he could have taken out without any effort kick his ass would be the best thing to ever happen to him?

“I know that,” she sighed.

“I love you,” he said, brushing a stray hair from her face. Fuck, he loved the way her face softened and her eyes warmed up whenever he said those words.

“You know I love you too, but this is too much.”

“Nothing will ever be too much for you,” he sincerely told her.

“That’s really sweet, babe, but—”

“No buts.” He winked. “Babe, you know Kip would have a shit fit if I stayed the night with you, and as far as I’m concerned, we’re done not sharing a bed at the end of the night for the foreseeable future.”

“What about when you have to go out of town for a stunt job?” she smarted off, and he rolled his eyes.

“You know what I mean. And as cool as it is to have someone make your bed every time you leave, living in a hotel isn’t for me. We need a place of our own.”

“I know,” she sighed, melting into him, her hands at his shoulders,

“So, do you like it?”

“I do,” she whispered, and he saw it in her eyes. She fucking loved the place.

“Can you see us here? Living here, making a life?”

“Making a life?” Her eyes widened as she repeated his words. “When I lugged you into my car that night, I had no idea I’d get this lucky.” His hands tightened and pulled her close. Fuck, the woman knew how to bring out his inner caveman. Listening to her be sweet made him want to slam his dick into her and claim her all over.

“You can’t be sweet like this right now.”

“Why not?”

“Because there’s is a real estate agent walking around who I’m sure wouldn’t be too happy with us if we started to christen the place,” he gritted through his teeth, and she giggled.

“How did this become my life?” She held his face with both hands. “If we get this place, we would need a crap load of furniture, mister. My stuff would look tiny here,” she wearily shared. He just smiled bigger.

Him. Garrett fucking Wright, king of the assholes, was smiling freely and without thought and about to suggest what would send most men into hives.

“Then I guess we gotta go shopping, don’t we?” he joked, excited at the idea. Glancing at the living room, he could picture a dark oversized sectional with a chaise on one end, where he could lie out and she could sprawl out next to him as he watched a game, her nose buried in a book.

“I can help with the down—” she started to talk, but he stopped her from saying another word by placing a chaste kiss on her lips. He knew this was something she was going to bring up, and right now was as good a time as any to set everything straight.

“Are you mine?”

“Yes.”

“Let me give us this.”

“Give us this, huh?”

“Yes.” He kissed the tip of her nose. “Please?” When he moved away, she hoped down from the countertop.

“You can be pretty charming when you wanna be, Mr. Wright.”

“As long as you think so, that’s all I care about. So?”

“Okay. Let’s do this.” She grinned. He took her in his arms and spun her around in excitement.

Stefanie

Escrow takes the normal person thirty to forty-five days to close and get handed keys.

But when you’re impatient Garrett Wright, it takes two long weeks from the moment you put the bid in to the moment the last box is unpacked and tossed into the recycling bin. But looking at him from the kitchen, a smile on my face as he was watching a game from the couch in the living room, I couldn’t be too mad at him for making our poor real estate agent’s life difficult.

There were a lot of things I was discovering about Garrett as time went on. Little things that made my eyes roll while others filled my heart with so much love I thought I might implode. Love I never thought I’d be given, especially not as freely as he had. The last two months since he’d handed me the key to his heart with that notebook had been incredible.

Classes and the odd shift here and there at the bar mixed in with Garrett’s stunt jobs and family get-togethers had somehow all meshed in easily. I’d had a girls’ night in at Valerie’s place, where Mrs. Wright, Nicola, Grace, her sisters, and little Lexi had been over. We’d gorged ourselves on desserts and laughter while we followed the instructions of an art teacher who taught us how to paint a beach scape.

“I have to leave early today,” I reminded him.

“Aye,” he grunted.

“It’s Thursday,” I reminded him. He leaned his head against the back of the couch and looked at me.

“Are you going to hurt those poor people again?” he teased playfully.

“I don’t hurt them!” I laughed and shook my head. “It’s fun. You should try it.”

“No thanks,” he mumbled, looking away.

“One day.”

“Nope.”

I threw my purse over my shoulder as I rounded the breakfast bar and walked to him to give him a kiss good night.

“If you change your mind…”

“I highly doubt it. My ears still hurt from last week,” he teased as he pulled me onto his lap.

“You’re lucky you’re hot,” I told him, placing my lips on his. Lightly moving over his, barely taking his top lip into my mouth before he took over and had me pinned beneath him on the couch.

“You sure you have to go host this thing?” He groaned against my mouth, his taste filling my senses. “I miss you.”

“You just had me, like, two hours ago.”

“Two hours? That’s forever,” he whined, and I laughed.

“You’re crazy.”

“About you.” He kissed me hard before pulling away and helping me up. I adjusted my clothes and the necklace around my neck and didn’t miss the way his eyes flared up just like they did anytime they caught the cactus charm around my neck.

“I better go.”

“You should, before I tie you to our bed and take my time with you until you’re begging me to stop making you come.” The image flashed in my head, and I bit my lip only to hear his deep groan. “You’re picturing it, aren’t you?”

“I better go before you convince me to stay.” His laughter filled the air as I walked out of our place and headed to the bar with a smile on my face.