Page 72 of Spite Crush

Six Months Later…

I pulled up in front of the eighth house I’d scheduled to look at in two weeks and prayed that this would be the one.

Kellen had made me the appointment with the realtor, then once again was too busy working to accompany me on the viewing. And I couldn’t even be angry at him, because he was so excited about thisnew project, that it made me happy watching him be so happy.

We’d both already sold our places and moved into a rental condo after the Panthers picked up my contract. It had been bittersweet leaving the Inferno, but the idea of a fresh start with Kellen was too tempting to turn them down.

And they’d been nice enough to let me keep my number thirteen, which had been important to me and to Kellen.

As I walked into the main entrance, I got an immediate goodfeeling. It was open and spacious, with lots of windows looking over the huge front yard. There was plush white carpeting, which was an anomaly apparently because every other house I’d looked at had nothing but hardwood throughout.

Didn’t anyone like to sprawl on the floor anymore?

“Mr. Dempsey, how nice to see you again.” Kate, our realtor, stepped out from the hallway and reached out to shake my hand. “I think you’re going to love this one.”

“I hope so,” I told her, following her through the living room to the kitchen.

“It has an enclosed pool out back, six bedrooms plus two offices, four bathrooms, a finished basement that Mr. Fox could easily convert into a studio, and an attached four car garage.”

The studio had been the biggest sticking point for us so far. Kellen had to have a space that he could use for recording, and none of the other houses had quite the right fit.

As I looked up over the stove, I frowned at the lack of cabinet space. I guessed we could have some built, but I didn’t want to have to delay moving with a bunch of construction on a new place.

“What’s wrong?” Kate asked.

“There’s not much storage space,” I admitted.

She smiled and grabbed my shoulders, turning me around to face the other wall, which was covered in open cabinet shelves.

“They don’t use open cabinetry by the stove because the grease willget on everything,” she explained, walking further into the kitchen. “Plus this is a full-size pantry here and there is additional storage in the dining room for dishes and flatware if you need it.”

I knew I needed to see the basement before I committed, but the idea that Kellen wouldn’t have to worry about closing cabinet doors anymore had already sold me on this place.

I’d lost count of the number of times he’d apologized as I walked into the kitchen in the condo andstarted shutting doors that he’d left open. I couldn’t have cared less, but it bothered him. So this was an excellent way to avoid the issue all together.

“I’ve never seen anything like this before,” I admitted to her. “Can I see that basement?”

****

When I got back to the condo we were renting, Kellen was sitting on the floor of the living room, two laptops open on either side of him and the original Star Wars playing on the television set.

“I thought you were too busy working to come look at the house,” I teased him as I dropped onto the sofa behind him and started rubbing his neck.

“I am working,” he insisted, motioning toward the computers. “Star Wars helps me think.”

“Well, I can understand that,” I said, watching as Greedo forced Han to sit down. “Oh, this is my favorite part.”

Kellen stiffened slightly and I glanced down at him, but his gaze was locked on the screen.

“You know, Disney changed this scene on their streaming service,” I said, digging into his suddenly tense shoulders.

“I know,” he said. “That’s why I keep all my DVDs.”

Han fired and I froze, wheels turning and suddenly clicking into place in my head.

“Oh. My. God.” I shoved him forward as I burst out laughing. “You’re fucking kidding me, right?”

“What?” he asked, clearly fighting not to smile as he got to his feet.

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