Page 29 of More Than A Fixer-Upper
ME: Everyone’s welcome. We’re having pizza. I’m heading to the store send me your snack wish lists.
Not a single empty chair at the dining table. I smile as I walk into the kitchen. Chase is opening a pizza box. I bought seven large ones. The boys will probably inhale four on their own.
Micah and Luke’s parents stopped by to meet me and make sure it was okay for them to stay another night. Winnie’s friends arrived for their slumber party and claimed the downstairs as a no boys zone.
Chase pulls me into his arms and kisses me.
“Is it always like this with kids?” he asks. “Lacy and Ward always went to their friends’ houses. They were embarrassed by our dad and where we lived.”
He tells me about Lacy showing up at the job site. She stopped by a few times, but he wouldn’t budge. I don’t blame him. He’s finally putting himself first. That’s not selfish it’s necessary.
Does he want to do this with me?
Chapter Twenty-One
Chase
RosalieandIheadupstairs together, and the girls start giggling, singing that old rhyme about us sitting in a tree. I stick my tongue out at them. I’ve known most of them since they were in kindergarten except Hailey.
“Remember, Hails,” I tease, “I’ve got pictures from your first date.”
“Don’t forget I’ve got stories for Rosalie,” she fires back.
“You do?” Rosalie perks up, eyes wide with curiosity.
“Away with you, woman,” I say dramatically. “There will be no story time tonight.”
The girls burst into laughter, and Rosalie and I can’t help but join in.
“You seem lighter tonight,” she says as she heads into the bathroom to change and brush her teeth.
I follow her in, grabbing my toothbrush.
“Tonight was a good night,” I admit. “I worried all day about how it would go.”
I glance at her through the mirror, swallowing hard. “I worked so much growing up, I never got to know my siblings the way you know your kids. Now they only message me when I stop their allowance or make them deal with Dad.”
I tell her about forgetting the auto transfers how my millionaire brother and high-powered attorney sister never paid me back. She’s stunned. I’ve calculated I sent them around $250,000 after they graduated college. That doesn’t even count what I gave up when I dropped out of high school.
Later, I make love to Rosalie slow, careful, reverent. I kiss away every moan, every cry of pleasure. I keep her in my arms all night.
My alarm goes off too early. Rosalie groans, pulling the blanket over her head. I kiss her temple before heading to the shower, mixing her body wash with mine so I can carry her scent with me all day.
“I’m all in,” I whisper into her hair before leaving her room.
Seth pulls up to the bed and breakfast and grins. “Good night?” he calls out as I walk toward him.
I flip him off, laughing. “It was a good night. The kids didn’t make me want to run. I spent time with Rosalie. Woke up with her in my arms. It makes me want this every day. I want to come home to this.”
“Does she feel the same?”
“I don’t know. We need to talk.”
The crew starts showing up around eight thirty. We divide up projects some guys head to the roof, others check the porch. I assign foremen based on strengths. I want them to know I see their work and value it.
The hardware company delivers most of the shingles. Around ten, Drew stumbles out of the house, yawning and tugging on a T-shirt.
“Sorry I’m late. Forgot to set my alarm.”
