Page 74 of My Billionaire Grumpy Neighbor

She didn’t say anything, but expectation was written on her face, and I knew this was the chance for me to say what I came to say.

“I love you,” I told her.

“You what?”

“I said I love you,” I repeated.

“Krissy, these past two days of not having you have been the most torturous two days of my entire life. And if you know the kind of life I have lived, then you must understand that missing you is the worst thing in the world. I’m sorry for the way I handled things the other night, and I know you didn’t deserve that.”

“I also owe you an explanation of who I’ve been chatting with on video. I started meeting with a therapist shortly after we got together to work through the shit in my head. I want to be a better man and partner for you.”

She put her finger to my lips.

“I’m sorry, too. I know you overreacted that night, but I’m sorry for not coming to you about things. I should have talked to you more openly about how I felt. I wish I had. I know there are going to be things in your life that are yours, and I will not go behind your back to learn them,” she said.

“I don’t want to keep anything from you,” I told her. “I don’t want there to be any secrets between you and me. I want you to be in my life forever, and I can’t expect that of you if I’m going to hide things from you.”

“We’ll figure this out,” she said. “Because if you are willing to work on things with me, then we have the time to do it.”

“I’m beyond willing,” I promised her.

“Do you mean it?” she asked.

“What?”

“Do you mean you love me?”

“Of course, I do,” I assured her. “More than anything.”

“I love you, too,” she told me, the words were the most beautiful thing I had ever been told.

“You know what?” I asked, pulling her into my lap. “I know we have done so much of this shit backwards, but can I ask you something?”

“What?” she asked.

“Can I have your phone number?” I replied. “I know we live so close to each other, but I don’t want to miss a second of being able to talk to you. I’m not one to carry my phone around on me, but if I have your number, that’s going to change.”

“Yes,” Krissy said with a laugh. “You can have my number.”

“And you know what else I’d like to ask of you?” I continued. “I know this is going to be a big one, but I’m going to ask anyway. They say great rewards require a lot of risk, so here goes.”

“Go for it,” she told me.

“I want you to move in with me,” I said.

Krissy laughed. “Are you serious? You mean you go from asking me for my phone number to asking me to move in? How is that for moving fast?”

“Well, it’s not like we haven’t taken the time to get to know each other on many levels, and now I want to take this to the next level. I want to prove to you how serious I am about being with you, and what better way to do that than to have you live with me?” I asked. “Or if you would rather stay in your own bungalow, I’m okay with that. I’ll just move in with you if that’s what you want.”

“It is!” she cried out as she threw her arms around me. “Of course, I’ll move in with you! I just don’t know what to say. I really didn’t know how this conversation was going to go between the two of us, and now here we are, making plans to move in together. But you have to keep your end of the bargain here. If we are going to be together, there can’t be any secrets between the two of us. I don’t want to live like that anymore.”

“Agreed,” I promised.

“And there is one other thing,” she said. “Something I need to ask from you.”

“Anything,” I told her.

“I want a picture of us, and I want to put it on my Instagram,” she said. “I want the whole world to know about us, and I want you to be tall and proud in the photo.”

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