Page 80 of All I Ask
“That you’re trying to make me crazy?” I suggest.
“It means that we should kiss again.”
That stops me. “I’m sorry, what?”
“You should kiss me again.” Derek watches me, his eyes showing no signs of humor.
“You’re kidding me.”
“Do I look like I’m kidding?”
No, he doesn’t. He’s dead serious. He thinks we should kiss again and that now is the appropriate time to bring it up. Do I want to kiss him again? Yes. Yes, I do. Do I think it’s a good idea? Not at all.
His daughter is still reeling from her mother’s death. We don’t know each other as adults, well, not really. I’m not in a financial or emotional state for a relationship, and our kids hate each other. It’s not…it’s just not the right time for us.
I’d do well to remember that and shut this down.
“You should be. You should be joking about this instead of looking at my mouth like that.” I glance out the window, avoiding all eye contact, as we make a right onto Sycamore Street.
When I turn back to him, the heat in his eyes causes my heart to sputter. His gaze caresses my face and then is back on my lips.
“Like I want you too? Like I think about it all the time? Like it’s been a long time coming? Or like it never happened and we pretend there’s nothing we’re both feeling?”
My throat is tight, but I manage to rasp the words out. “Yes. Like that.”
Derek grins. “Well, I asked a series of questions and I’m happy to pick which one I’d like that answer to go with.”
Before I can respond, the Realtor clears her throat and the discomfort in her voice would be comical if Derek hadn’t just made me half crazy. “Here we are.”
“Thank God,” I say and get out of the car as quickly as I can. Then I realize we’re on Destiny Lane. How fitting? The one street in this town named after something other than trees, nature, or numbers.
I walk up to the front, ready to be done with this day, when I come to a full stop. I can’t move. I can’t think because I’m staring at the most perfect house. I don’t know if it’s the house or the conversation we had that has me so unsettled, but that’s the weird part, I’m not unsettled, I’m grounded.
All I keep thinking is…this isthehouse.
Thisis where I would live. This is a home.
I stand here, my eyes taking in the two-story home with the coziest front porch. It’s a light blue color with thick siding that makes the house look a little bigger. There’s an addition to the right that’s completely made of windows, and a two-car garage off the driveway with more than enough room for a proper workshop or Chastity to experiment with her weird science stuff. It’s…perfect.
I don’t even need to look inside because no matter what condition it is in, I would fix it. It’s the home I’ve dreamed of without even knowing.
I can see myself in that sunroom, painting while looking out at the oak tree that’s swaying in the slight breeze. Chastity would sit on the porch, reading a book or even on that tree swing while she daydreams.
Derek stands next to me, both of us looking straight ahead.
“This is the house,” he says.
My eyes snap to his. “What?”
“This is it. It’s the one. I’m going to buy it.”
No, this ismyhouse. This is the house I need to live in. I need to talk him out of it and then sell my body to be able to buy it. “But you haven’t even gone inside.”
He turns to me. “I don’t need to.”
“Derek. Be rational! You can’t know this is the house and that this wouldn’t cost you a fortune to fix. You can’t live here.”
“Why not?”
