Page 111 of Moon's Promise

“Helped that it was a cash offer.”

“I imagine.”

Moon turned onto the street of the home he had bought, and as the house came into view, all she could think about was how in the world he had been able to come up with the cash to pay for the expensive home.

As if sensing what she was thinking, Moon glanced in her direction. “Don’t worry; I didn’t get the money from doing anything illegal.”

“I wasn’t—”

“You were … but that’s okay. I’ve worked long hours for most of my life. Never really been into buying expensive toys or wasting money. I work too hard for my money to spend it on something that would just end up in a garbage dump or a scrapyard.”

“Not a lot of people think that way.”

“Maybe not.” Moon brought the car to a stop. “But most people haven’t been as poor as I was.”

“You had a rough childhood?”

“Could have been better, could have been worse.” Moon’s hand went to the door handle. “You want to make us something to drink while I unload the boxes?”

“Okay.”

Moon unlocked the front door before going back to the SUV.

When she walked into the house, she came to a stop when she saw the front room was already filled with furniture.

“Excuse me.”

She moved out of the doorway and managed to play off her shocked surprise. “Wow. This is stunning. Did you have a furniture store on speed dial?” she joked while inwardly fighting the panic filling her at Moon being able to accomplish so much in such a small window of time.

Clearly, she had underestimated him, believing he was equal to her on what she could offer their child. There was no way she would be able to afford a home this size, much less afford the sleek furniture filling the massive living room.

“I wish.” Moon started up the stairs, carrying the box containing the crib. “Sasha took care of it for me. She’s a friend of mine. She loves decorating. If she likes a piece, she’ll buy it then store it to use for when she gets a design job.”

“That’s smart.” Larissa laid her hand on the back of the taupe sofa, appreciating the feel of the material. “She did a good job.”

“I’m happy with how it turned out,” he said, going back outside.

She left the living room and went into the kitchen to make their drinks. After pouring herself a glass of orange juice, she fixed Moon a glass of iced tea.

She stood in the kitchen while she sipped on the orange juice, listening as Moon made several trips to the car. When she heard the sound of the door closing, she expected Moon to come into the kitchen. Instead, she heard his steps going up the stairs.

Placing her empty glass in the sink after rinsing it out, she carried the iced tea into the living room, expecting Moon to come back downstairs. When he didn’t, she went upstairs and found Moon was measuring the room he had mentioned would be the baby’s room.

“What are you doing?”

“Sorry, I got distracted trying to decide which side of the room to place the crib. I didn’t mean to hold you up. It took me longer to find the measuring tape than I thought it would. Sasha borrowed it and didn’t put it back where it belongs.”

“No worries. I’m not in a rush,” she assured him.

Larissa didn’t miss the yearning way he looked at the cardboard box.

“You’re dying to put it together, aren’t you?” Handing him the iced tea, she laughed at the abashed look he gave her.

“I wouldn’t exactly say dying, but pretty close,” he admitted.

“Have at it. Like I said, I’m in no rush.”

“Are you sure?”

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