Page 64 of Hat Trick Holidate

“With you?”

Shrugging, I say, “If you want. I’m not opposed, but I’mnot sure what the rules are. But there are three other guest rooms, so one of them can be yours for whenever I need to be gone at an ungodly hour or will be home late.”

She takes a glimpse of Jolie. “I can stay… tonight… in the guest room. We can date secretly, but I still think we should have some boundaries.”

As she agrees to stay the night in the guest room, a satisfied warmth engulfs me. Having her in the adjacent room means, with ourget-to-know-youagreement, the thought of falling asleep and waking up with her in such close proximity is enough to make my heart race. I don’t want to lose her, so I’ll show her brother I have nothing but good intentions.

While Roman and I are grabbing luggage, I explain to him that I want to help Emmaline get the house ready. He stares at me with his face drawn in. “Why?”

“She’s the reason Jolie’s speaking, and there’s no way she can do all of this by herself by Thursday. I’ve talked her into staying with me tonight so I can get to her house by five in the morning and work for several hours before practice.”

“Whoa.” He glances at Emmaline holding Jolie on the bench. “Sleeping at your house wasn’t part of the job description. That’s crossing the line.”

We’ve crossed that line, but he can’t know… yet. “It’s important to her. You should have seen the disappointment in her face when she told me. Are you going to help or not?”

After a few more glances at his sister, he huffs and says, “I’m in. It’s the least I can do since she moved here for me. I admit I’m not very handy.”

“I’ve texted the company that designed my place, so I’ve got contractors meeting me there. We’ll get it done.”

“I’ll take her there so she can see the damage and grab some clothes. Then, I’ll drop her at your place.”

We sling the suitcases off the conveyor belt and meet Emmaline. “Hey, Roman is taking you by your house to get some clothes and so you can see the damage, then he’ll bring you to my house.” I turn my body so that Roman can’t see my face and wink. “One step at a time.”

chapter 27

EMMALINE

“Bryce, my house is destroyed,”I sniffle, and he opens his arms, wrapping me in the most comforting hug. His large hands stroke my head and through my hair.

“It’s just a house, and the damage can be fixed.”

He doesn’t understand how bad it is. “The floors were from the original house built in the 30s. I can’t get them back.”

“We’ll figure it out. Do you want some hot tea?” he asks. “Maybe you can show me what your dream cabinets look like.”

I lift an eyebrow, and he says, “Part of the get-to-know-you phase, right?”

“Right. I’ll take my tea with a smidgen of milk.”

“Learning something I didn’t know already. You should just move in, and it’ll make this phase shorter.”

The thought sends my stomach into a double somersault. Is that what I want? Would I give up my house to live here with him and Jolie? So many questions I can’t answer.My mind is all over the place. Instead of responding, I grab the mugs and suggest, “Let’s go on the patio and light the fire.”

We sit on the couch in front of the hot coals, generating the perfect amount of heat on this deep fall night. He insists on seeing my Pinterest board with the inspiration for my house.

“Blue cabinets?” he asks.

“In person, they’re more like a gray blue. They’ll be striking against the granite countertops that have gray veins running through them.”

“Veins?”

“You know the streaks of color. Gray and tan streaks with brass lanterns over the island. The perfect kitchen,” I say in a wistful tone.

“So, my kitchen isn’t good enough, huh. I thought it was expensive for a kitchen.”

“It’s a little sterile. My mom always had lots of stuff and made our big house feel cozy. I had a huge bedroom, but I had a reading nook and a corner with a half wall where I would study. I’ve always liked to feel… enclosed.”

He shakes his head. “I can see that about you. What else is important to you in life?”

---