Page 101 of I Choose You
“Good. Then you can just live here. At least for now.” He rolled off me with a smirk, but it didn’t help the panic that rose in my chest.
“What do you mean, for now?”
If he wanted space, I could understand that. We hadn’t officially been together before. This was different. I was his girlfriend now. If I lived here, he wouldn’t be able to get away from me.
“Just until I can build us our own home.”
“What? What’s wrong with this house? I like this house.”
“It’s just a house. And it was my house before it was our house. I want to give you a home. Somewhere that you feel like you belong. Not that you don’t belong here, because you do. But you deserve to have somewhere new.”
“Reid.” My eyes were wet with emotion. “You don’t have to give up your house for me.”
“I’ve been working on a set of plans for a new place anyway. Just something I would look at when I had the time. You can work off those, make any changes you want. Or you can scrap them. Doesn’t matter to me.” He shrugged.
I couldn’t believe this man. He was utterly serious. He just wanted to give me a home of my own. My throat felt tight as I blinked back tears. I nestled my head on his chest, wrapping my arm around his tightly.
“Hey, now. Don’t cry, love. We can stay here as long as you want. It won’t be big enough once we start having kids, but we’ll cross that bridge once we get there.”
A loud laugh spilled out of me.
“I love you, Reid. I will live in any house you want. But Iwould really love for you to build us a home together,” I told him honestly.
“Then that’s what we’ll do. Next time we get out of this bed, I’ll show you the plans I’ve been working on.”
“So next week sometime?”
“Damn straight.” He squeezed me tightly, pressing me into him. I took a small bite of his chest. His responding growl was exactly the sound I was hoping for.
* * *
When the light shined behind my eyelids after a distinct lack of sleep for the past two nights, I groaned. I reached out for Reid but found his side of the bed empty. My eyelids cracked open slowly, and I peeked at the alarm clock. 7:12 a.m.
I might be unemployed, but Reid still had a job to do. I could hear him moving about down the hallway. The smell of fresh coffee hit me as soon as I opened the bedroom door. I shuffled across the cool hardwood floors until I found Reid grabbing his boots.
“I didn’t wake you up, did I?”
“No. The sun managed to do that all on its own.”
It had been unseasonably warm for a few days, so Reid had shut the heat off, but this morning had a chill in the air. Reid’s childhood blanket was perched on his couch, so I draped it over my shoulders like a cape and met Reid at the door.
I wrapped him in a tight hug, then lifted my face to him, seeking a kiss, to which he obliged eagerly. I had expected a sweet kiss to start the day, but it quickly turned dirty. Reidgroaned when I whimpered into his mouth.
“You are making it really hard for me to go,” Reid said.
“Seems like that’s not the only thing that’s getting hard.” My hand trailed over the bulge in his pants.
He chuckled a deep laugh and shook his head at me. “You’re insatiable.”
He wasn’t wrong. I couldn’t get enough of him.
A knock sounded at the door, pulling our attention. Reid pulled the door open, and my face fell. Of all the things I expected today, seeing my mother on Reid’s—our—doorstep was not on the list.
33
Claire
Reid stood in front of the doorway, his hand on the door like he was debating about slamming it in her face, but he didn’t. I straightened my pajamas and tried to smooth the tangle of bed-head hair. When I was at my parents’ house, I wouldn’t leave my bedroom until I was showered, changed, meditated, and ready to start my day. This morning, I hadn’t even brushed my teeth yet. My gaze darted between my mother and Reid.
