Page 24 of Heartfelt Goals

They all three fell silent as he drove. Dustin was watching the road, Kendall was staring out the window, and Laurel was lost in her thoughts, taking in every bit of scenery she could of this foreign city with the city signs in French. Yeah, she was going to have to brush up on her almost non-existent language skills that she’d learned in high school.

As he pulled off the road, she absorbed every detail, watching him pull into an underground garage that would be protected from the weather. The entry was textured and made an annoying sound, but it would be welcome in the rain or snow. Pulling into the garage, she was happy to see it was well illuminated with LED lights and spotted the Lotus that had given her fits for so long, right next to the other Land Rover.

“I parked it on the edge of the line since these three spots are ours,” he said quietly, and there was a note of something in his voice that caused her to look at him… and see a tell-tale smirk on his face that disappeared quickly. “C’mon and see the place.”

And Dustin was out of the car before she could answer.

Kendall was scrambling to unbuckle, immediately flinging open the door so fast it caused Laurel to flinch, expecting it to make contact with the other car.

It didn’t – thank goodness.

Laurel climbed out and saw that obviously she was dragging her feet compared to the others, making her wonder if Dustin was as excited as Kendall obviously was… and just hiding it better.

“This is the place?” Kendall began in a rush. “The whole thing or…”

“Twelfth floor,” Dustin replied easily.

“You got a thing for the number twelve?”

“Nope. I have a thing for not hearing feet walking above me. I always go for the top floor.”

“Why didn’t you get a house?”

“I hate doing yard work.”

“You’re rich – hire someone.”

“I’m well-off, and I’d rather not. Hiring someone means inviting them into my life, and I prefer my privacy.”

“Why? Are you a closet-weirdo?”

“Kendall,” Laurel hissed in disbelief as they walked down the hallway toward the elevator at the end that was waiting. “I’m sorry, Dustin. She obviously has no manners and…”

“Hey!” Kendall protested.

“It’s fine. She’s curious and doesn’t know me. I get it – and no. I’m not a freak, but when you start getting in the limelight, then you really value your privacy because the weirdosdocome out of the woodwork.”

“What do you mean?” Kendall asked quickly as Laurel shook her head.

“Stealing stuff to sell, asking for autographs, wanting to take photos, or asking for free tickets. I mean, I don’t mind doing a lot of that stuff, but it happens at inappropriate times.”

“Like when?” Kendall pushed, and Dustin chuckled, looking chagrined as he glanced at Laurel before answering.

“Well, once I had someone ask for my napkin at a restaurant,” he began quietly as the elevator door opened and they stepped inside. “Another time, I had someone request an autograph while I was using the restroom.”

“Awwww-kward,” Kendall grimaced, drawing out the word pointedly as they all chuckled in some sort of weird camaraderie.

“It really was,” Dustin admitted. “I order in for almost everything - groceries, Amazon, food delivery, even dry-cleaning. It’s the only way sometimes that I can get stuff done with a bit of privacy. These last few days here have been an unexpected blessing because of the anonymity, but the team’s announcement has been on the news a lot yesterday and today… so I think that is now over.”

And before either could respond, the elevator doors opened to a short hallway with one single door. Dustin looked at Laurel and dug in his pocket, withdrawing a key and a fob. “This is Kendall’s copy for the elevator and the door… yours is on the counter with your copy of the car keys.”

Dustin handed it to Kendall, who smiled brightly. He didn’t say another word as her younger sister opened the door, and sunlight flooded in – and both of them gasped at the sight before them.

The condo was incredible… and furnished. She looked at Dustin questioningly, realizing that their things had arrived and he’d placed them already, making it feel like a home. As they stepped inside, Laurel’s eyes took in the massive windows in the distance and saw the river he’d mentioned glittering in the sunlight. Her sister was looking around, awestruck, and spotted the stairs almost immediately.

The condo was two floors.

Kendall was charging up the stairs excitedly before she could get a word out – and felt Dustin touch her arm, catching her attention.

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