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The one-story ranch-style house is the same one Elsie and I drove past all those months ago. Not just the same kind of home I told her I could imagine building our lives in, but the exact home I pointed out.

Outside, on the front porch, sits Elsie, looking radiant in a light summer dress and her hair in perfect curls.

Goddess, I missed this woman.

The sight of her alone has my cock standing at attention and my heart thundering in my chest.

Getting out of my truck, I slowly approach where she stands in front of the house.

“Elsie,” I say, greeting her cautiously.

“Marshall.” She sighs with a smile. “Thank you for coming.”

“Your message was rather cryptic. I couldn’t resist the mystery.” I shrug. “But what are we doing here?”

She glances down at her shoes as though she doesn’t quite know how to do this, but then I see when she gathers her courage and straightens to look at me head-on.

“Can we go inside?”

“Do you have a key? Because I’m pretty sure it’s still a crime to break into someone’s house.” I joke, trying to get some of the tension in her shoulders to dissipate.

“The door is unlocked.” She says simply.

“Oh. So, you’ve done this before?” I chuckle, following her as she waddles her way into the house.

“The first time was today, actually.” She jokes back, and my shoulders soften at the banter between us.

The house is exactly as I would have hoped: old.

Everything inside the house is exactly as it would have been when it was initially built. The plush carpet is worn down in all the areas that are heavily trafficked, leaving spots on the floor where you can tell someone has positioned furniture.

The house even smells its age with a slight scent of tobacco that’s woven itself into the walls.

“Is it what you hoped?” Elsie asks.

“What do you mean?”

“When you saw this house...” She pauses, seeming to gather her courage. “Is this where you saw our lives together?”

“Elsie....”

“No. Marshall. I want to talk about this now. I’m ready to talk about it. Please.” She says sternly, and I can’t help but smile at the furrow that’s settled itself between her brows in her determination.

“Okay. Let’s talk then.”

“Answer my question.”

When I don’t respond immediately, she gestures with her hand in a forward, rolling motion to prompt me to speak. “Did you see a future for us in this house?”

“I mean...” I start. “Yeah. I’ve seen a future with you in a lot of places. But this house is pretty cool.”

She rolls her eyes before returning to her serious look again. “But you like the house.”

“Yeah, Elsie. I like the house. What about it?” I ask, my frustration mounting alongside my curiosity.

“I bought it.” She says plainly.

“You what?”

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