Page 47 of The Secrets We Built Together

"What is it?" I asked, intrigued.

"Just one of the places the current took me when I got back into town."

Now I was curious. I rushed off to get properly dressed, my mind already spinning with possibilities. And there right in the back was the glimmer of a spark rekindling. The one that came with sleepless nights as I obsessed over just the right brush stroke.

I still didn't like the idea of Xander paying for everything, but at the moment, I didn't really have a choice. Maybe I could try again. Sit at the easel one last time and see if whatever was building inside wanted to come out.

A last hurrah. A hail mary in my little corner of the art world.

It would mean saying yes to Xander saving me again. At least for now.

And as much as I didn't want to do it, I also realized that I wasn't quite ready to let go of the dream just yet. I wasn't quite ready to turn away from what I'd been working towards all these years. Not without saying I'd actually given it my all.

So for now, I'd swallow my pride and reluctantly accept. Because this was what I needed to do to not only keep Amelia,but maybe—just maybe—it was what I needed to find myself again too.

And maybe, in finding myself, I'd figure out what to do about the feelings I was developing for the man who was doing his best to keep us all afloat.

Chapter 19

Xander

"What are we doing?" Blake asked, raising an eyebrow at me as I pulled the truck around the back of Marie's bakery. We'd been out shopping all morning, and I could tell she was getting tired. Amelia had started fussing in her car seat about twenty minutes ago, but had finally settled down after Blake had given her a pacifier.

"I want to show you something," I said, putting the truck in park and cutting the engine. "No one else knows about this."

Blake looked skeptical but unbuckled her seatbelt. "Is this where you take all your fake fiancées?" she smirked, reaching back to check on Amelia, who was now contentedly chewing on her tiny fist, the pacifier lost to the backseat.

"You're my first," I assured her, slipping out of the truck and coming around to open her door. "And hopefully my last."

The words hung between us, heavy with possibilities neither of us was ready to acknowledge. Blake's cheeks flushed slightly asshe climbed out, then reached back in to unbuckle Amelia's car seat.

"Here, let me," I offered, carefully extracting the carrier. Amelia gurgled and kicked her legs, apparently approving of the change in scenery.

I led Blake to a nondescript door at the back of the building and awkwardly juggled the carrier and keys before finally getting the door unlocked.

"If this is where you dismember people, I should warn you that Delaney knows exactly where I am," Blake said, eyeing the door suspiciously while adjusting Amelia's little hat to shield her from the sun.

"No dismemberment today," I promised as I pushed the door open. "Maybe tomorrow if you're lucky."

She rolled her eyes but smiled, following me inside. The space was completely gutted—stripped down to the bare walls with exposed beams overhead and electrical wiring poking out in various places. Construction materials were piled neatly in one corner, and half the floor had been redone with new hardwood.

I set Amelia's carrier down carefully and she immediately started looking around, her big eyes taking in the unfamiliar surroundings.

"What is this place?" Blake asked, turning in a slow circle to take it all in while keeping one hand on the carrier to rock it gently.

"It used to be Dr. Harrison's practice before he retired," I explained, watching her reaction carefully. "I've been stripping it down and fixing it up."

Blake stopped her inspection and looked at me, eyes widening slightly. "Are you going to reopen the practice?"

I shoved my hands in my pockets and shrugged. "I don't know. I feel like I should. The town needs a doctor, and it's what I'm trained to do, but..."

"But you don't know if it's what you want," she finished for me.

"Exactly." I ran a hand through my hair, unsure why I was even showing her this place. "It's been good to have as a project, something to focus on when I need to take my mind off things."

“I can’t believe you’ve done all this on your own,” Blake said as she peered through the open archway I’d knocked out of one of the walls to open the place up.

“It’s amazing what you can learn on youtube,” I joked, even though that was exactly what had happened.

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