Page 112 of The Bachelor

But one that felt right, especially now that I was standing in this room with Oaklyn, the woman I wanted to share it with.

“You asked me to give you something I’ve never given to another woman.” My hands moved to her cheeks, aiming her face up to mine. “You wanted it to be a part of a lesson, and I gave you a fucked-up response and made it about sex, which was fitting at the time—at least, I thought so. But things have changed. Even though I continue to call them lessons, they’re no longer about teaching, and what’s happening between us isn’t just physical. That’s why this—what I’m about to say, how I’m feeling—it’s not part of lesson four. It’s so much bigger than that. It’s so much more. And where we’re going, shit”—my head shook back and forth as I stared at her—“I’ve never been surer about anything in my life.”

“Camden …” she whispered, her hands pressed against the backs of mine.

I grazed my nose against hers and pulled back to say, “I saw this house and immediately thought,I want Oaklyn to be here. Living with me. Experiencing life within these walls, at my side, the two of us together. And I could have just purchased it, signed the deal, and brought you over. I didn’t want that. I wanted you to look around and see if you loved the space as much as I do. If you could see yourself being here.” I moved my lips closer to hers. “With me.”

Her eyes filled with emotion. “Camden …”

“Moreis a word that’s weighed on me. It could mean so many different things. But I knew when I came to this house,moremeant sharing this spot with you. It meant taking that step. It meant saying the words that I’ve been feeling. Oaklyn”—I bit my lip because I was so fucking tempted to bite hers—“I love you. I think I’ve loved you since we were teenagers. And I want this. I want us. Even if it’s not right now or next week or, hell, even in the next few months, I want us to be in this home together.”

“I love you too,” she cried. “Camden, I think I’ve always loved you. I’ve wanted us since as long as I can remember. To be able to say those words to you. To be able to kiss you.” The first tear dripped from her eye. “The view isn’t just a dream. Being with you—that’s the dream.”

“I’m yours.”

“I still can’t believe it.” She blinked away another tear. “There’s no better feeling.”

I ran my thumbs under her eyelids, catching the drops before those fell. “This house is coming fully furnished. Everything in here will be mine. I did that on purpose. I didn’t want to bring what’s in my condo because that’s mine or what’s in your apartment since that’s yours. I want us to design this home together, to pick out what we like. Until that happens, we have a place to sit, and a table to eat at, and a bed to sleep on, and art and decor to look at.” I kissed her softly. “There’s no rush. We have all the time in the world.”

She circled my neck and hugged her body against mine. “I love you. I know you just said it, and I did, too, but now, it’s my turn to take that lead. And getting to just say it … I can’t even describe what it’s like.”

“You don’t have to.” I held the back of her head. “I already know.”

I squeezed her so tightly while my face was pressed into her neck, my eyes closing as my hands climbed down her body, moving to her ass. “This is our room tonight.”

“We’re staying here?”

“The paperwork is on my phone. The second I sign and the money is transferred, the house is mine.”

She leaned back to look at me. “Really? That fast?”

“Yes.”

She gazed around the bedroom and out the window before connecting our stares. “I really can’t believe it. It’s all so gorgeous. And I know there’s lots more in this house that you haven’t shown me, and I can’t wait to see all of those rooms too.”

My hands rose to her neck. “Do you have any second thoughts, any worries—”

“No. Wait, I take that back.” She gradually filled her lungs, the happiness fading from her expression. “Hannah is definitely a worry. What if she hates us? What if she wants nothing to do with me and despises you for this? What if …” Her voice drifted off, like the next thing she was about to say was just too hard.

“Oaklyn, your trip with her is coming up soon. We’re telling her the second you guys get back. If things turn rocky, we’ll go a little slower. We’ll keep working on her. We’ll show her why we’re meant to be together. Eventually, she’ll come around.”

I was trying to be as positive as I could.

But I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t worried.

And I knew I was doing this backward. Hannah should be told before I signed the closing documents. But, goddamn it, it just wasn’t working out that way. If their trip hadn’t been planned, then the conversation with my sister would have already happened.

I won’t regret this, I kept telling myself.

Despite how fucked up the timing was and the order of the way everything was going down, I wanted Oaklyn, I wanted this house, and I wanted it for us.

I just hoped Oaklyn wouldn’t have any regrets.

I just hoped that however things ended up with my sister, Oaklyn wouldn’t grow to resent me.

And I just wished more than anything that I knew how Hannah was going to react.

Fuck.

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