Page 73 of Drive Me Wild
“Does that mean you want to wait? For us to be together?”
“Do you want to wait? For me to be…different?”
“No. And I want you to know something, too.”
My stomach bottoms out. I feel like he’s about to drop a bomb on me, and I realize this is how my body responds to my fear.
Chalk that up to some self-awareness.Thank you, relationship influencers.
“I’m listening.”
“I’ve been afraid of screwing this up. Every second I’m with you, I think I’m going to do something wrong. That I’m not good enough to be with you. That I’ll do something that would driveyou away from me and into someone else’s arms. And I don’t want that.
Zoe, I’ve told you how much my life changed because we met. The thing is, I’ve never been happier. But I’ve also never been more scared. I don’t know how to be a good boyfriend. Or a partner. Or whatever we want to call this. But I want to try. I want to build something with you. And to show you how much I want this, I did something while you were gone.”
Caleb walks over to the table, picks up a piece of paper, and then turns to me.
“You can say no to what’s on this paper, but I hope you won’t.”
He hands me the paper, a letter from the bank where I tried to get the business loan. The letter is a preliminary loan approval, given the increased downpayment to twenty-five percent of the asking price.
“I don’t understand. What—how?”
“I sold my race cars and deposited all the money in my savings account at that bank. The loan officer has been a friend of my mom’s since we moved to town, so I asked her if that would be enough combined with your offer. She said, given the level of detail in your business plan and the house as collateral, they’d be willing to take the risk.”
“Caleb, I can’t—”
Caleb sits next to me, pulls the paper away, and grabs my trembling hands.
“I know how bad you want this, and I know how bad I want you. The bookstore is your dream, and you are mine. I’ve never been in a relationship before now, but you’re the only woman I’ve ever met who makes me want to try. To be more than what everyone expects. Zoe, you drive me wild. Wilder than anyone or anything I’ve ever experienced. I know we haven’t been together very long, and maybe I’m being crazy, but that’s what I want to be if it means I get to have you.”
“Can…What…I…this feels like too much.”
“Will you accept it if I loan you the money? We can draw up a contract and everything. It’s not the romantic gesture I was aiming for, but I want you to have this. I want you to have the bookstore and that house. I want it for us.”
“Us.”
My heart swells as I repeat that one tiny word.
Us.
Epilogue: Zoe
It takes Mabel a few months to downsize enough to move. I’ve been living with her while learning the ropes and making minor changes to grow the store on social media. I’m still running my online business but hired a virtual assistant to help with day-to-day tasks.
Caleb is a regular fixture at the house and store, and Renée has been doing some carpentry work on the house. We built a gathering area in one of the rooms so I could start regularly hosting regional authors for talks and added another display case next to the espresso machine for more pastries, pre-made sandwiches, and cookies.
We’re also partnering with the library to bring in some of the programming that they used to offer until the new location is finished being retrofitted. The city used its rainy day fund to buy a small Victorian a few blocks away, and Renée is leading a group of volunteers to help do all the light construction work when she isn’t working on wedding planning.
Today, I have a roommate moving in. Once Mabel has closed on her new house, I’ll rent out the other bedroom, keeping the fourth and final bedroom for an office.
It’s eight in the morning, and the dusting of snow we got last night has melted from the streets, but the walkway is still covered. Caleb is upstairs getting dressed to go shovel what little is there and salt everything to make it safe for customers.
I make myself another cup of coffee and hear a knock on the door. It’s a delivery of books that I’ve been waiting for. I run to greet the driver and help him with the box.
Once he’s gone, I grab a box cutter and my phone. I’ve been making unboxing videos for my growing number of followers. They love seeing the new stock when it comes in, especially for my blossoming section of indie authors.
The first book is the debut of a Romantasy author I follow online. I was one of her advanced readers and fell completely in love with this story, so I quickly shoot film of the cover and tell my followers why they will enjoy getting a copy.
