Page 69 of Love Lies Bleeding

My breath catches when the house comes into view and I wonder who he knows that owns such a stunning period property. White with a blue trim, the wrap-around porch is to die for and then when I look up and see the same on the second floor I almost swoon.

“Wow.” I pull the helmet off and shake my hair out but my gaze never leaves the stunning home in front of me.

Jake helps me off the bike and keeps hold of my hand as we walk forward. To the left of the magnificent home is a huge pond with a white fence around the edge and huge, established climbing roses in pink and white cover the entrance.

“It’s pretty special, huh?”

I drag my gaze from the house to Jake and find him watching me. A blush colors my cheeks but I drop his gaze and focus on the house. “Who does it belong to?”

“Me.”

“What?” I spin towards him, my mouth hanging open in surprise.

Jake chuckles and closes my mouth with his knuckle, mumbling something I probably don’t want to hear.

“You bought this place? Why? When?”

“I bought it a few weeks ago. I wanted somewhere closer to where Mac and Lexi will be with Theo and I know they bought somewhere a few miles from here. Plus, Hank and Vivian are close and I want to be where my family is. I want something different from what I have.”

“Well, this place is absolutely gorgeous.”

“Want to see inside?”

“Try and stop me.”

Jake leads me inside and I ooh and ahh over every single detail. The rooms are huge, with hardwood flooring. The back of the property houses the huge kitchen and dining room, that leads to a den on the left and a formal living room on the right. Out the back, the previous owners had added a pool and lush green lawns.

“How many bedrooms?”

“Why? You want to try them out, Blossom?”

Jake waggles his eyebrows and I fight not to find it endearing. “In your dreams.”

“Every night, baby.”

My gut clenches at the familiar words he’d said to me in college. The lines between the Jake of then and now are blurring until I have to squint to see the difference.

“Ha-ha. Show me the rest.”

Jake leads me upstairs, his hand on the base of my spine, as we ascend the double-wide staircase that curves around to the second-floor landing.

“It has six bedrooms and eight bathrooms, but as you’ve probably noticed, it needs a fair bit of updating.”

“It has great bones though and a lot of the original features are in really good condition.”

“Yeah, I liked that about it.”

As we tour each room, I hate the stab of jealousy that knots in my stomach at the thought that one day, some lucky woman would get to share this with him. That eventually, he’ll give up on me like every other man before him, and in a lot of ways, including him, and he’ll move on. Meet some lucky bitch and have a horde of gorgeous kids running around this house.

“Who do you have in mind? I can recommend a few great contractors who can handle something of this scale with the finesse it deserves. Just make sure your designer works with them.”

Jake shoves his hands in his pockets and tilts his head to look at me. “Actually, I was hoping you’d be my designer.”

“Me?” I pointed at myself like an imbecile, my eyes going wide.

Jake chuckles and nods. “Yes. You have an amazing talent for this stuff and I trust you to do right by this property.”

I hadn’t expected this and don’t how I feel about his proposition. I’m not dumb enough to think this was because he thinks I’m the best, although I’m damn good. This is likely a ruse to spend time with me, but as I look around the property, I know I won’t turn down this chance either. “What if I turn it into a bright pink Barbie dream house just to fuck with you?”

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