Page 2 of Forever, Finally

“The stripping is fine. I’ll be using a steamer. As for painting…” She let her voice trail off and looked at him from under her lashes. “It could be difficult.”

Jake groaned. “Let me guess. You thought I could pitch in and help.”

She blinked. “If it’s not too much trouble.”

“Great. So you expect me to paint the place.”

“Just the inside. I’m hiring a crew to do the outside.”

“Gee, thanks,” he grumbled. “What else?”

“I want to put down tile in the master bath. You’ve done that before, right? Maybe you could give me a few pointers.”

“Anything else?”

She beamed. “Not right now.”

Jake gave the sigh of the long-suffering. “I need to get my tape measure from the truck. I’ll be right back.”

While he was gone, Lily crossed to the bay window and stared out at the trees at the edge of her property and the way the yard sloped down to the river.

After four years of small apartments and student loan payments, she was finally buying her first-ever house. The fact that it was the old O’Malley place—a house she’d loved since she’d been a teenager—made the moment even more special. The pain of the past had finally faded. She could think about Michael Carson—wormy weasel dog—and not even flinch. She still had a little trouble when she remembered being all dressed up in her white wedding gown with no groom, but even that humiliation had faded a lot. She’d gotten on with her life, which made this a very good day.

She heard footsteps. Before she could turn around, she felt Jake’s hand on the small of her back.

“You okay?” he asked, his voice low and concerned.

“Of course. I’m excited about the house.”

“And Sam?”

She reached for his hand and brought it around to rest on the mound of her stomach. “I am not naming the baby Sam.”

“Why not?” he asked. “It’s the perfect name. Samantha if it’s a girl and Samuel if it’s a boy.”

“I see.” She smiled. “And I should listen to you why?”

“Because I’m always right.”

“I can think of several occasions when your judgment was called into question. There was your entire six-month relationship with a girl named Buffy, and she did not come close to living up to her television namesake.”

“She liked kickboxing.”

“There’s a recommendation.”

“You could solve the problem by letting them tell you the gender at your next ultrasound,” he reminded her.

“I know and I’m really tempted, but I want the surprise.”

“Fair enough.”

Jake rubbed her back for a couple more seconds, then stepped away. “I need to measure the rooms.”

“Have at it.”

Lily watched him walk into the living room and unclip the tape measure from his belt. In his worn jeans and work boots he looked like a sexy carpenter. The kind women fantasize about showing up at their door. He was tall, lean and good-looking enough to turn heads when he went out in public. He was also her rock.

“I owe you,” she called to him.

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