Page 164 of The Rebel

“I picked out a twenty-five-hundred-square-foot home, which is plenty big for three adults and a baby. You trump that with probably around, I’m guessing, five thousand square feet. With more rooms and extras than we’ll ever need.”

He stopped in the center of the kitchen, a room designed in white and cream and stainless steel, wrapped in a modern farmhouse feel. “You’re saying you don’t like it?”

“Iloooveit.”

“I knew you would.”

I released his hand to hold his arm. “Show me more.”

He led me through the large, comfortable living room with its oversized couch and fireplace, the beams continuing throughout, past an office, dining room, the decorations becoming more intimate as we entered the primary suite.

“Wow.” I left his arm to walk to the whole wall of windows, spanning the entire back of the bedroom, the view of the Rocky Mountains absolutely spectacular. “Cooper, I’m not going to hate waking up here every morning.”

His arms surrounded me, his hands clutching my stomach.

“It’s so pretty, it almost doesn’t even look real.”

“There’s still a lot of house to show you. Four bedrooms upstairs. A gym. Theater room. Wait until you see the pool and guesthouse.”

I slowly turned around to face him. “A guesthouse?”

“For the nanny.”

My head tilted. “You don’t want her to live upstairs in one of those bedrooms?”

“I want my wife to feel comfortable walking around naked if that’s what she decides to do.” He leaned into my neck, kissing just below my ear. “I want to be able to taste you on everycounter in this house whenever I want.” He straightened his back, towering over me again. “I realize she’s going to be here all the time, but her having her own space will give us some needed privacy.”

Wife was a title he’d been using more often when the two of us were alone.

A title that didn’t come with a ring or marriage.

It didn’t have to.

In my mind, I was already married to Cooper.

But that wasn’t the reason I was grinning.

“It’s going to be a while before we move in here, correct?” I confirmed.

His eyes narrowed. “Correct.”

“So, you’re telling me there aren’t any tenants who are renting it in the interim.”

He chuckled. “Why are you asking that?”

I glanced to my right, confirming what I’d seen when we first walked in. “Because there are some awfully familiar paper cranes and a wooden bear on the nightstand. Unless you’re going to tell me the owner or tenant has the very same ones that we gifted to each other?”

He surrounded my face with both of his hands. “You don’t miss a thing.”

“You bought this house, didn’t you, Cooper?”

“You love Banff.” He swiped my cheek with his thumb. “We’re going to be spending a lot of time here. Why not make it feel like home?”

“You got me a house in my favorite town. You even brought those gifts, which you know mean everything to me, to decorate the nightstand with. How do I even thank you for this?” I kissed him, fingering the bottom of his shirt.

“It’s our favorite town, and you’re giving me a baby. I don’t need a thank-you.”

I peeked over my shoulder at the view. “You know, it does make sense that our daughter should fall in love with the place where she was conceived.”

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