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LIBBY
It’s completely finished. I moved my stuff out over the weekend and so did Carson—which means I haven’t seen him in a few days.
I thought he might have come to the open house yesterday, just to see the kind of interest we had, but I didn’t see him.
Which killed me. I thought I’d be okay. I thought I could be tough and move on, but I didn’t realize how hard I’d fallen for Carson. Or how big of a mistake I might be making.
He seemed sincere about Kyle and the whole situation. Yeah, he lied to me, and that pisses me off.
But I’m beginning to think he only lied about Kyle. Not the house, not about caring for me. In fact…I think he might have been about to tell me he loved me.
When we stood in the kitchen, I swear those words were on his lips. And they were on mine too, because even though he hurt me, I still had feelings. Strong ones.
Just as I’m about to call him, to see if we can talk to at least clear things up, the doorbell rings.
I open it to find Cheyenne standing on the other side, a bouquet of flowers in one hand and a bottle of champagne in the other.
My heart leaps. She must have good news.
“You know why I’m here,” she says with a smile.
“We got an offer on the house.”
She passes over the champagne. “No. We got three offers on the house.”
My mouth drops open as she walks inside. “Three? But…we just had the open house yesterday. No one else has even come to see the house.”
“Doesn’t matter. The place is fabulous and the market is great for sellers right now. This is a good thing! Let’s celebrate and then make a decision who you’re going to sell to!”
We walk to the kitchen and I find the only two glasses we have available. We pop the top and pour the champagne, while Cheyenne prattles on about the offers.
“I should probably talk to Carson,” I tell her. “It’s his decision, too.”
She gives me a confused look. “What? You mean you guys didn’t talk about this?”
“Talk about what?”
“He called yesterday after the open house and met me for coffee. I thought—I thought you knew he was coming. I mean—”
“What, Cheyenne? Just tell me.” But my stomach is already in knots. This doesn’t sound like something I want to hear.
“He said you deserve all the profits on the house and you were going to make the decision on who to sell it to and when to sell it,” she says. “I figured it was something you talked about.”
“No, no, no…” I sink into a chair. He can’t do this.
“Libby, what’s wrong? This is a good thing, isn’t it? I mean, yeah, he did a good job and I’m kind of surprised he’d give it all up—”
“I know,” I whisper. “Doesn’t sound like a guy who was trying to screw me over, does it?”
She shakes her head. “Not really. I was surprised, too. I was ready to rip him a new one. But then he told me you were getting all the profits and he gave me his key to the house, and I…well, I couldn’t be too mad at him after that.”
I wrap my arms around my stomach. “He tried to talk to me, but I wouldn’t listen.”
“Maybe things are better off this way,” she says, but then peers closer at my face. “They aren’t, are they?” When I don’t answer, she sets her hand on my shoulder. “You love him, don’t you?”
I nod. “I do.”
“Then you have to talk to him. Tell him.”
“But…” I pull out my phone. “I’ll call, see if he’ll come here.”
I let the phone ring and ring but he doesn’t answer.
“Try again,” Cheyenne says.
I do, but I still don’t get an answer. Voicemail doesn’t even come up. What? Did he change his number? Is he trying to avoid me?
I guess I would if I were him. He’s trying to move on. I should let him. But now…I can’t.
The doorbell rings and I stand immediately.
“You think it’s him?” Cheyenne asks.
I jog to the door, hopeful, while she follows me. When I yank the door open, I’m confused for a moment.
Carson isn’t there. But my dad and Dustin are.
“Hey, sweetheart,” Dad says.
He steps in and I give him a hug automatically.
“You weren’t kidding,” Dustin says, looking around. “This place is huge. Sorry we didn’t make the open house.”
“The open house?” I shake my head, still confused. “What are you doing here?”
“We couldn’t make it yesterday,” Dad said because we had to work, so we’re here now. “This is a big deal, Libby. Your first place. I bet you already got an offer.”
“Three,” Cheyenne confirms.
“Hot damn,” my dad says with a grin at me. “That’s my girl.”
Warmth spreads in my chest. They’re here to support me. Even though they didn’t believe in me before, they’re here now.
“You want a tour?” I ask.
“Absolutely.”
I show them all the bedrooms upstairs first, stopping in the door to the one I stayed in. The one where Carson and I stayed most of the time. I can’t help but think of the hours we spent in bed together. The way he touched me. The conversations we had.
The words he almost said to me in the kitchen.
I swallow hard to keep the emotion at bay, and check my phone discreetly. Nothing. Shit. Where is he?
“What else?” Dustin asks, looking eager to see the rest of the house.
I take them back downstairs and to the kitchen. From the windows in there, they can see the gazebo out back, and the perfectly landscaped lawn.
And the spot where Carson would work with his saw. Shirt off. Grinning at me or waving when I peered through the window.
“It looks great,” Dad says, standing by the window. “The whole house is just right. I bet you took down a few walls and moved around this kitchen, too.”
“We did.”
Dad nods. “Yep. Just right. Hell—you and that contractor of yours did a good job.” He chuckles. “Maybe he should come work for us.”
I laugh with him, wholeheartedly agreeing. Carson deserves it. Anything I can do to help him out. And pay him back the money I owe him.
“We already broke ground on the Riverside project,” Dustin says as I walk them to the door. “But you let us know if you want to hop on board now that you’re finished here.”
I nod and hug him and my dad. “I have one more thing to deal with, and then I’ll let you know.”
They leave, and I stand with Cheyenne by the door, watching them drive off.
“One more thing?” she asks.
“Yes. I need to find Carson.”
“How?”
“I have an idea.”