Page 62 of Unbreak My Heart

“Open the door,” she urged.

Still looking at her strangely, Simon did as asked and pushed one of the heavy doors open, it having been left unlocked on purpose.

The door opened opposite an inbuilt double cupboard, for storage of coats and shoes, a white console table to the left beyond the second door, holding a vase with some seasonal flowers. Tasmanian oak floorboards stretched away into the open-plan living and dining room, the wide kitchen beyond that to the far left.

Simon stopped dead in the entryway and simply stared.

Eva couldn’t tell if the blank shock on his face was good or not. As if poked, he stumbled forward, looking around him in a daze.

Max had asked her to help Darby style the apartment to what they hoped would be his taste. From the expression on his face, she wasn’t sure they’d got it right. He moved further into the room and touched the plush Hamptons-style sofa with trailing fingers as he walked past. The silence stretched and Simon moved off toward the open, wide area that led to a short hall on either side.

The bedrooms.

Turning to his right, he opened doors, glancing into the rooms as he worked his way back toward her, standing in the opening to the living room.

Simon didn’t look at her as he moved past, still touching things gently, almost reverently, as he walked to her left, heading for the office, then slightly further on, the master bedroom.

The walls were painted in muted pale blues and greens. A hint of colour along with the white trims and doors. Paired with pale floorboards, the atmosphere was that of functional beauty.

Simon opened the master bedroom door, stood there a moment, then disappeared inside. Eva followed. He hadn’t gone into any of the others.

She stopped at the doorway and saw him looking into the ensuite bathroom, hands braced on either side of the open doorjamb. Simon sighed, a great heaving of his shoulders as the air left his lungs.

He straightened and turned, looking right at her for the first time since entering the apartment. His stare burrowed down to her soul.

“You did this?”

A quiet question. Three measly words.

“Yes,” she whispered, still uneasy and uncertain what he actually thought of the place that was nowhis. “Surprise?”

He surged toward her and grabbed her in a tight, breathless hug, squeezing all air from her chest.

“Simon? What is it? If I got it wrong, please tell me. If we messed up somehow—”

He pushed back from her and held her at arm’s length, his expressive eyes wide, glittering with unshed emotion in the soft lighting of the bedroom. “Wrong? You think this is wrong?”

Before she could answer he held out his arms to the sides. “Eva!” He shoved a hand through his hair. “This is freakin’ amazing. I’ve never seen a place so damned beautiful. I-I don’t know what to say. I don’t know how to feel because I never expectedthisup here. I thought it would be exactly the same poky room, the same tiny bathroom and lounge, not a freakin’ dream house! Everything you’ve done is as if you plucked it right out of my head and plonked it”—he gestured around them—“here.”

Happiness threatened to overwhelm her with his words. Relief almost exceeded the happiness. The grin that burst out was full and uncontrolled.

Laughing, Eva shook her head. “You scared me! I thought you hated it. Darby chose most of the furnishings, I just went along to help with some of the styling. Max and I nutted out the floor plan to what would be the most useful for you. He told me what he wanted, and we went from there.”

He stepped forward and cupped her face between both his hands. “You areincredible. I have no words for how amazing this is. It’s truly mine?”

He said those words as if not actually believing it.

“Yes. Max did this foryou. He never had any intention of moving back here. It’s all in those documents he gave you downstairs. Legally, this apartment and everything in it is one hundred per cent yours. It’s your home.”

“You guys are beyond…” Simon bit his lip and shook his head, then narrowed his eyes. “There’s no damned dry shirt up here, is there?”

Eva laughed so hard tears stung her eyes. “That’swhat you’re focused on?”

Simon plucked at his still-wet shirt. “I kinda need one.” His face softened and he lifted her chin with a finger. “I can’t believe he did this for me. It’s a little overwhelming. And you built it. That’s fucking awesome, Eva.Youare fucking awesome.”

Heat flushed her cheeks. She didn’t think she’d ever get used to him saying things like that about her. And he said them all the time. Was always complimenting her. Supporting her. Championing her.

“Well, I had help,” she muttered.

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