Page 68 of Taming You

Josh claps him on the shoulder. “I know how that feels. I’m glad you guys worked it out in the end.”

Grayson chuckles. “I’m just glad mine wasn’t almost an entire decade like yours.”

“Touché,” Josh says. “Let’s circle back, though, are you inviting Zoey?”

I shake my head. “That’s a great way to scare her off.Hey, Zoey. I know we’ve only gone on one date, but do you want to go house hunting with me?That is probably the worst thing I could do right now.”

Grayson shrugs. “I don’t know. She knows you’ve got a kid, so if you guys are serious, it’s basically an instant family. Maybe house hunting won’t scare her.”

“He’s right about her knowing about Jayden. Getting into a relationship with someone who’s a parent isn’t something most people do on a whim. There’s a lot of thought that goes into it,” Caleb says.

“And what made you decide to date Bailey even though she had Charlie?”

He smiles. “She made me feel like the risk was worth it. I felt something with her I’d never felt before, and Charlie was just so strong. She had seen so much for a young kid, and was so resilient and happy despite it all. Finding them is by far the best thing that’s happened in my life. If I hadn’t found them, I wouldn’t be growing my family. When I say it’s a big deal to date a single parent, I just mean that Zoey thought this out. She didn’t just randomly decide and agree to go out with you. She knows if you guys get serious, it’s an instant family. So, if you’re looking for a house for the long term, maybe taking her with won’t scare the crap out of her.”

Caleb’s coming in with the heavy shit this morning. I grip the back of my neck. “I may already know what she wants in a house.”

That surprises them all.

“How do you know that already if you guys just started dating?” Grayson asks.

“We’ve been friends for a while. Zoey’s been coming over to my place ever since Liv and Drew broke up. We worked together in trying to get Josh and Liv to finally tell each other they had feelings, and Zoey occasionally likes to watch home makeover shows and has told me several times about what she hates and what she loves in those houses.”

Josh shakes his head. “Why am I not surprised Zoey was involved?”

“Oh, you can’t get pissy about it. You married Liv. You have a daughter together.”

He holds up his hands. “Not pissy at all. Just should have guessed.”

“We should probably get going,” Caleb says, and we gather our stuff and head out to our cars. Caleb takes Josh and Grayson, but I don’t want to deal with moving the car seat and I don’t think the guys would all fit with the car seat in my car, so I drive on my own.

With Jayden strapped to my chest, we walk into the first open house together, and it’s nice. The front door opens into an entryway with stairs on the right and a sitting room on the left. We walk further in, and it opens into a large open space.

The kitchen with an island and dining area are on the left, and a large living room with a built-in fireplace is on the right. I walk into the kitchen first, checking the appliances and cabinets. From there, I can see that between the sitting room and kitchen is a dining room. And there’s a door off the living room that leads to an office space.

I head upstairs next. This is a five bed, four and a half bath house, with all five of the bedrooms located on the second floor. There are four full baths up here, and the half bath is on the main floor.

Walking into the master bedroom, I take everything in. It’s got a large walk-in closet and an ensuite. There are two sets of bedrooms connected with Jack-and-Jill bathrooms and another bath beside the stairs. There’s a spacious area at the end of the hall that looks over the backyard and would be perfect to set up a play space. I can see these rooms filled with kids and hear Zoey laughing as she plays with them or see her downstairs curled up with a book in front of the fire.

If I had my way, and I knew I would get this house, I wouldn’t go to any of the other open houses. It has everything Zoey has said she’d love to have in a home, and all I care about is the space and that she’s happy.

I find the guys gathered in the master suit, and they all look at me when I walk in.

“And?” Josh asks.

“I like it. You?”

“It doesn’t feel like Liv’s style.”

I nod and look at Grayson.

“Too much space. We’re not planning on having kids, so we don’t need this many bedrooms. How many kids are you planning on having?” he asks.

I shrug. “I don’t know, but I want something we can grow in. If it’s too big down the line, we can always sell, easier than trying to go bigger later.”

Grayson grins and runs his hand down his face as he shakes his head.

“What?”

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