Page 98 of The Drummer's Heart

“I do.”

“You know, you’ve only ever seen the outside. How do you know you’ll like the inside?”

“I can’t imagine it’s not nice on the inside if they take such good care of the exterior.”

Atticus slowed his pace. “I wonder if the owner would let us see it.”

“What good would that do? It would just make me want it even more.”

“I still think we should ask.”

I shook my head. “That’s totally weird and rude, Atticus. I could never do that.”

“Seriously…ask him.”

“How do you know it’s a man? You know him?”

“He’s standing right here.” Atticus stopped suddenly and gestured toward himself. “Ask him.”

My jaw dropped. “Are you trying to tell me something?”

“Ask me to see the house, and I’ll let you know.” He smirked.

“Can we…see the house?” I asked, my heart pounding.

Beaming, he reached into his pocket and took out a key. He tossed it in the air and caught it. “Sure. Let’s go.”

What is happening?I followed Atticus as he led me into the house.

Wandering around a bit, I realized the insidewasjust as beautiful as I’d imagined—a combination of dark, rustic wood and weathered pieces, vintage-looking but not old. The furniture was beautifully upholstered, and the place was impeccably clean.

“I don’t understand,” I told him. “Explain this to me.”

“Okay. Well, when we were here taking care of Mimi, I made the owner an offer he couldn’t refuse. He agreed to sell it to me. The guy and his wife were thinking of downsizing anyway. So it was perfect timing.”

“You’ve owned this house since then?”

“Yeah. I’ve been holding onto it and having work done.”

“Was the inside already decorated like this? Because this is exactly how I pictured it.”

“Not entirely. Some of the stuff is theirs. But I know your taste, and well, I have access to your Pinterest boards. Tina has a key and has been coming over the past few months to help set it up. I gave her my credit card and told her to go to town.”

“Oh my God.” My mouth fell open. “When were you planning to tell me? This trip wasn’t even planned.”

He shrugged. “I wasn’t sure when I was gonna tell you. It’s not completely ready yet. I wanted it to be a surprise, and I was going to give it to you whether you wanted to be with me or not. You’ve never taken anything from me, but I wanted you to have your Monksville dream house. The way you looked at it last time we were here, I knew it still meant a lot to you. The only thing that would make it a dream formewould be to share it with you. But that part’s up to you. Ultimately, this will be your house.”

I continued to walk around in shock. The same beautiful purple violets that filled the baskets out front were arranged in various vases throughout the place. “Tina put these flowers here, too?”

“Well, you always talked about the purple flowers out front more than anything, so I told her to add more inside. They’re silk, though, so they won’t die.”

“I don’t know what to say…”

“I’m not gonna lie. I’ve worried about your reaction a little. I never want you to think I’m trying to buy you or buy my way into your life. That’s not what this is about. But honestly, the way you stood up for me with your mother today? This felt like the right time to let you know about it. For the first time, I’m feeling encouraged that I might get to enjoy this housewithyou.”

“I wouldn’t let you gift me a house unless you were living in it, too.”

He took my hand and smiled. “Let’s tour the rest of the place.”

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