Page 125 of Crave Thy Neighbor

“I know you do, but I also know you don’t want children.”

“I have a child.”

Warmth spreads through me.

Sam.

Nolan’s love for my son knows no bounds, and it makes me so fucking happy. There is never a moment I doubt how he feels.

When Nolan and I started dating, he sat down with Patrick to have a conversation about what his role in Sam’s life would be. He didn’t want to step on his toes but wanted to be there for Sam as a second father figure.

I swear, I fell even more in love with him at that moment.

“But this would be different.”

He nods. “It would be. And, okay, at first I probably wouldn’t be too excited about the idea. But I’d love the baby no matter what and would take care of him or her. And you.”

“I know you would. I wouldn’t marry you though.”

He tips his head in an unasked question.

I shrug. “The first man who asked me to marry him did it out of obligation. Look how that turned out.”

He slips a hand up my cheek, fingers sliding into my hair. “When I marry you—and yes I saidwhen—it won’t be because I feel obligated. It will be because I love you more than I could have ever imagined, and I’ll be damn sure to remind you of that every day.”

My eyes well with tears again, and he sweeps away the lone drop that falls down my cheek.

“Got it?” he asks.

I nod. “Got it.”

“Good.” He drops his hand. “Now, areyouokay? With the tests being negative?”

“I am. I mean, a part of me loves the idea of having a baby with you someday, but I want that someday to be off in the future. You know, after we have basic things figured out like our living situation, so we aren’t going back and forth between apartments all the time.”

“Speaking of that…” He clears his throat. “That’s kind of what I wanted to talk about.”

My heart flutters in my chest.

Is he…

“As you just said, we’re always traveling back and forth, and it kind of sucks. I know we said we wanted to do slow, but this shit is starting to kill me. I want to go to bed with you every night and wake up to you every morning.” He licks his lips and flicks his eyes away. “And so…”

He trails off again, and I can tell he’s nervous.

“Are you asking me to move in with you?”

“Yes…but I’m also asking you to buy a house with me.”

My mouth falls open. “A…h-house?” He nods. “Like a real house?”

Another nod. “Yes. I drove past one the other day and—”

“The white brick one with the gray door and giant porch? On Gardener?”

“How’d you know that?”

“Because I saw it the other day too. As soon as I got home, I took a virtual tour and spent at least two hours planning our life in it.”

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