Page 55 of Three Rules I'd Never Break

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After hoursof playing inside and out, Sherlock finally took a nap. I went through the fridge to see what food there was. Tonight, I’d surprise Eli with dinner.

In between play times with Sherlock, I spent the afternoon cobbling together a meal I hoped Eli would like.

A few minutes after seven, he texted:You still at my place? Want me to pick up dinner?

Still at your place. I have dinner covered.

He sent a thumbs up, and I waited.

When Eli walked in the door after his twelve-hour shift, he sniffed. “Something smells good, and I don’t just mean your perfume.”

“I made dinner.”

He petted Sherlock and grinned. “This is a nice surprise. Let me change really quick.”

“Don’t bother dusting the knobs. I wiped them all down to clear away any prints.”

He laughed.

As I watched him walk down the hall, I thought of what he’d said when we were under the big oak tree. “There are always butterflies.” It was true. My heart fluttered anytime he was near, and I never wanted that feeling to fade.

Chapter 18

Afew days later, I parked near the end of my driveway, leaving enough room for Eli to turn in and park. I was finally going to give him a tour of my house. It was still hard to picture the place finished, but with the framing up, it seemed more like a house.

Eli’s truck pulled in a minute later, and he grinned as he stepped out of the truck. “One thing I like about this place—it’s very close to where I live.”

“I was driving out to Cami’s—which is now your place—when the realtor was putting the sign up. I pulled over and wrote down the number, but I also chatted with her that afternoon. I put in an offer right away.” I tilted my head up to meet his kiss. “It’s a dream come true.”

“How many acres? It looks like it goes back a ways.” He followed behind as I pulled him toward the house.

“Three acres. The house is set back off the road, but there is plenty of room to fence in space behind the house.” Usually, I mentioned having a dog when talking about the fence, but tonight, I left that part off. We were very early in the relationship, but if things worked out with Eli, I wouldn’t be getting a puppy because he already had the perfect puppy.

He stepped onto the slab. “Sherlock will love that.”

“This is the front porch. It curves around to that side of the house. Eventually, I’d love a porch swing out here. Maybe a few rocking chairs.”

“That would look great.” He walked around the side then back.

I pretended to open the front door. “And this is the house. The living room and kitchen are open. There will be an island there with barstools. The eating area is over here. There will be windows all around here, and I made sure there was room for a big table. Something big enough for family gatherings.” That probably sounded silly since I’d said little about my family. But I’d decided that I needed to create my own family. This house was a huge part of working toward that dream.

“A long farmhouse table with chairs all the way around or will you go with a bench on one side?”

“I love the idea of a bench. I’ll have to see what I can find. But until the place is done, I’m not buying anything. I’d only have to pay to store it.” I led Eli into the room next to the kitchen. “This is the pantry and laundry room. The doorway over there leads to the garage.”

He walked through into the garage. “Nice and deep. It looks like they are putting the water heater out here. That’s good.”

We continued through the house, and I showed him the bedrooms. “This will be my craft room. I’m having him add cabinets to this wall.”

“That’ll be awesome storage.”

I felt a little like a kindergartener showing off artwork. “What do you think?”

“This is impressive, Delaney. Seriously. It’s laid out well. Spacious. This will be a great house.” He strolled to where the back door would be. “Do you know who owns the land on the other side of the fence?”

“It’s a working ranch. Star something. I’m trying to remember the name the realtor told me.”

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