Page 101 of Second Chance with Seth

“I know, and that’s the point. I want you to be back properly. Living apart isn’t the same as being together, and that’s what I want. I want you here… like it used to be.”

He shakes his head, and I chill to the bone, pulling away from him. “Where are you going?” he says, sounding scared.

“You don’t want this, do you?” I’ve read it all wrong… although I don’t know how.

He grabs me, pulling me back. “Yes, I do. I want this more than anything… except you. I’d have moved into a rented place if that was what you needed, but if you want me here, then I’m here. This is where I belong, babe.”

“Then why did you just shake your head?”

“Because I was gonna say I want it to be better than it used to be…” His voice fades and, with a twinkle in his eyes, he rolls over on top of me. “I like it here,” he whispers, parting my legs with his, and bending his head to kiss me.

“Right here?” I ask, smiling up at him, grateful that moment of misunderstanding has passed and we can get back to normal.

“Right here is pretty damn perfect,” he says, flexing his hips, his arousal pressing into me. “But anywhere you are is just fine with me.” He kisses me once more, although he doesn’t linger, and instead, he leans over the edge of the bed, grabbing his jeans and pulling out his phone.

“What are you doing?” I ask.

“Showing you something.” He turns us both, so we’re lying face-to-face, wrapped in each other, and he looks down at his phone, tapping on the screen a few times before he turns it to face me.

“What am I looking at?” I say, glancing down to see a list of properties on the screen. They’re bigger than the ones he showed me earlier and I raise my eyes to find he’s smiling down at me, trying not to laugh.

“As well as looking at places I could rent, but which I honestly hoped I’d never have to move into,” he says, putting his arms around me and holding me close to him, “I also searched for these.”

He nods toward the phone and I look back at it, studying the list more closely.

“These are for sale, not for rent,” I say, frowning and shaking my head.

“I know.”

I scroll down. “They’re all here in Hart’s Creek.”

“I know that, too. It wouldn’t be logical for us to live anywhere else.”

“You’re suggesting we buy one of these?”

“Yeah, I am.”

“But I thought we’d just agreed that you’d move in here.”

“We did. And in the short-term, that’s fine. In the long-term, it’s not very practical.”

“Why not?”

“I have two excellent reasons.”

“Okay. What are they?”

“First, I don’t think we should rule out giving River a brother or sister one day, do you?” I can’t help smiling, and he smiles back. “Do you?” he says, clearly wanting an answer.

“No,” I whisper. “Just give my body a chance to recover from having her… and maybe let us both get used to sleeping all night for a while.”

“Whatever you say,” he murmurs, leaning in to kiss me.

“What’s the second reason?” I ask.

“I need somewhere to work,” he says, taking the phone from me and turning it so he can see the screen. “I toyed with the idea of renting an office somewhere close by, but I don’t think that’s very sensible, especially not if I’m gonna be looking after River, and maybe her brother or sister, too… one day.”

“No, probably not.”

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