Page 111 of His Rules

I was never letting her go.

CHAPTER 29

Kacey

“A housewarming gift.”

Stephanie pushed her way into my house as soon as I’d opened the door. “Wine and what’s this?”

“You’ll need to find out. After you open the wine.”

I laughed as she waltzed her way through the room as if she was the one living here. “Okay. I’ll find you.” She disappeared a few seconds later and I stood where I was for a few seconds shaking my head.

It felt good to have her in my home for a change. In the four weeks since Drake had been arrested, I’d managed while working twelve-hour days to hunt down a perfect home, my father providing the down payment, the closing occurring more quickly than I’d originally been told. The place was in total disarray, but it was mine. All mine.

Quaint and charming with a gorgeous garden in the backyard and a swing on the front porch. I headed into the kitchen, my thoughts drifting as always to Sebastian. He’d surprised me more than once during the arduous few weeks, his demeanor entirely different.

I’d expected him to remain surly after he’d realized the full extent of the betrayal, but it seemed as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

Plus, seeing him working with his father and brother had been enjoyable. I placed the present on the table and went to grab a couple of wineglasses. I’d unpacked those the night before in celebration. Sadly, the man I couldn’t seem to get enough of hadn’t been able to stop by.

And I’d missed him. Terribly.

I twisted the cutter on the wine bottle and noticed out the entryway my bestie was flitting from room to room. By the time she returned to the kitchen, I had the bottle open and the glasses poured.

“I love it. The best part is the stone fireplace. Gorgeous. Now, you just need a sexy picture above the mantel.” She sashayed toward the island, all smiles.

“Not until I get a new couch.” I pushed a glass over the granite surface and thought about how lucky I’d been to manage the financing. My credit wasn’t bad, it was just mostly nonexistent since I hadn’t owned a car or taken out a loan. And an apartment lease only went so far in the world of financing loans.

Plus, with the criminal allegations against the firm, everyone was being scrutinized and even penalized.

“Truly beautiful. I’m so happy you found it. Was your dad sad to see you leave?”

“I don’t know about that.” I wrinkled my nose. “He’s seeing someone and I think I’d started to crowd his space.”

She almost choked. “You’re kidding me.”

“Nope.” I popped the ‘P’ on purpose. “I think my discussions with him had a great effect. She’s really nice and gorgeous. Whew. But their sucking face was starting to get on my nerves.”

“Ew. Did you suck face right back at him with that sexy man of yours?”

“Um, no. I do respect my father. However, that doesn’t mean I wasn’t sucking face somewhere else.”

“You guys make me happy. Oh, hello. No. You make me want to puke actually.”

“You’re terrible.”

“Yep. I am. How much did this bad boy set you back?”

“The price was low, shockingly low. I was certain the inspector would find dozens of things wrong with it, but there were only a couple of small items. And it closed in two and half weeks. That never happens.” I had been shocked.

“How much did you pay? If you don’t mind me asking.”

“You know everything else about me,” I told her, rolling my eyes. “One hundred thousand.”

“For this house? That’s like one third what it should cost. How did you manage that?”

“I didn’t do anything.”

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