Page 113 of How to Love a Rockstar

“They’re closed.”

He moves behind me and removes the blindfold. “Ta-da!”

I open my eyes to discover we’re standing in front of a house. It’s a Colonial on the same street Indigo lives on.

“What are we doing here?” I can hear people in the backyard. “Is there a party? Did you throw me a surprise party?”

“There is a party, but the party isn’t your surprise. The house is.”

I gasp. “What?”

“I bought this house for you. For us. For our family.”

This can’t be happening. I must be dreaming. I pinch myself. “Ouch!”

“This isn’t a dream, my love. This is real. I know the thing you want most in the world is a house of your own.”

“Not a house. A home,” I correct.

“A home.” He clears his throat. “But I don’t want to pressure you. The house is in your name. If you don’t want me to live here with you, I’ll understand. I’ll do everything in my power to change your mind, but I’ll understand.”

I whirl around to face him. “Why wouldn’t I want you to live here? Do you leave the toilet seat up? Do you throw wet towels on the bathroom floor? Do you leave hair all over the sink after you shave? Do you leave the empty toilet paper roll on and not change it?”

He scratches his chin. “I don’t leave the toilet seat up. I can learn to pick up the towels. I know better than to not change an empty toilet roll. There’s a slight chance I leave hair in the sink when I shave.”

I sigh. “You were this close.” I hold up my hand with my index finger and thumb an inch apart. “And then you blew it at the end.”

“What if we have his and her sinks in the bathroom?”

My eyes widen. “There are his and her sinks in the bathroom?”

“Not yet but the bathroom off the main bedroom needs a complete gut job.” He clears his throat. “Actually, the house needs a ton of work. The bones are good, though.”

“The bones are good, though,” I repeat.

He holds out his hand. “Are you ready to view your new home?”

“Only if it’sournew home.”

He palms my neck and draws me near. “Are you serious? No more break?”

I snort. “I think the break was over when I undressed for you half an hour ago.”

“Technically, you still had your pants on.”

I take his hand. “Do you want to discuss semantics or do you want to show me our new home?”

“Is this a trick question? Show you our new home.”

As we’re walking up the sidewalk, the door flies open and Indigo bursts out. “You have to get in here now.”

“We’re coming,” Dylan says.

“Not you. Virginia.”

“What’s wrong? Is there a leak? Do we have mice? We can’t have mice. Harry will be terrified.”

Indigo rolls her eyes. “Doomsdayer. There’s no leak or mice, but there is plenty of drama.”

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