Page 20 of Embracing Trust

My eyes bounce around at the interior. We spent a lot of time making out in this front seat and a few times in the backseat. “Mark did a beautiful job on this. I’m absolutely speechless.”

“I’m super stoked.” He turns the key and Bella roars to life. “He did all the mechanical work himself and worked with friends on the body.” Ryan revs the engine, looks over at me and winks.

I let out a tiny squeak. This car. Not only have I always loved this car and thought it was hot. I also thought the sexy guy who drove it was hot as hell.

Ryan puts Bella into gear and pulls out of his parking space. I’m like a sponge as I soak in every detail of this car.

Ryan glances over at me. “So far, you’re the most excited of anyone I’ve shown.”

“Besides being a total classic, I know how much she meant to you…means to you.”

Ryan waits for traffic to clear and pulls out of the venue onto the main street. We travel in silence for a few minutes as we appreciate the steady hum of the engine.

Ryan sits a little higher in his seat.

“So, let’s hear more about the beach house.”

I rub my hands together. “Even though it may sound totally cliché…the beach house…it’s been a labor of love.”

I continue, “I don’t even know where to start. There’s been so much done with it.”

Ryan comes to a stop at a red light. “Like what?”

I sit sideways in my seat so I’m facing Ryan. “Hmmm…I wanted to stick with the original cottage feel. So many of the houses in the area have gone more modern and I didn’t want that.” I hesitate and lean my head to one side. “I was really careful with materials. You know, to make sure I was sticking with my design ideas.”

Ryan smirks.

“What?”

“You’ve always been such a planner about stuff. Especially when it comes to your creative side.”

I can’t argue with that. “The biggest change was an addition on the back. I tore out that old unusable patio area on the north end and expanded the family room.”

Ryan’s eyebrows shoot up. “Seriously? That sounds like a lot of work.”

“I also added a studio on that side too, which I love because I can work from home.”

“That’s great. You always talked about that.”

“I gutted the bathroom and redid all of that. I tore out kitchen cabinets and replaced those. Thankfully, the hardwoods were still in good shape, so those got refinished.”

“And outside?”

“Lots of work in the back. Like I said, the old patio got torn out and a new firepit area was built. An outdoor shower and storage area were added. New wood siding, new windows—that kind of stuff. A fresh coat of paint—inside and out.”

Ryan reaches over and squeezes my hand. He holds my hand a little longer than necessary and a chill runs down my back.

“It’s getting too late tonight, but I would love to see it sometime.”

He wants to see the house?

My breath catches. “Yeah?”

Ryan smiles. “I’m sure your grandparents would love whatever you’ve done with it.”

Although my sister Jaime and I loved our summer visits to the beach house, she didn’t spend as much time there as I did. I often convinced Grandpa and Grandma to stay at the house other times throughout the year like school breaks and holidays. With everything going on at home with my parents, the beach house was my refuge. Not only that, but my grandparents made my visits to this sanctuary special for me. Grandma taught me to cook and bake. During the summer, Grandpa and I would go for long walks on the beach and collect shells. We would eat a late-night dessert on the patio—normally something Grandma and I had whipped up during the day. During colder weather, Grandpa had a fire in the firepit.

Grandpa and Grandma would be proud of me.

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