Page 25 of Pretend

From what he’d been told, the previous owner had been a dentist who’d decided to try his hand at flipping houses, sparing no expense as he’d tried modernizing this house, hoping to make a small fortune when he sold it, only to lose the house in foreclosure when he ran out of money. Before he’d lost the house, he’d managed to have a new roof put on, had the electricity updated as well as the plumbing, which Eric was really hoping the previous owner didn’t try to do himself, but one look at the fucked-up cheap wainscotting lining the wall, the blotched paint job, and the cheap carpet beneath his feet told him everything that he needed to know.

This was going to cost a fortune to fix.

Thankfully, he had a small fortune at his disposal thanks to Morgan keeping Bradford Remodeling busy over the past year, Eric thought as he leaned over and grabbed hold of the corner of the carpet and sighed, just fucking sighed when he saw the mess that consisted of staples, nails, and glue waiting for him. Releasing the crudely cut carpet, Eric stood up and made his way into what looked like a home office and took in everything that needed to be fixed, from the gray carpet that had to go to the cheap plywood shelves that had been stained at least two shades darker than the original bookshelves that had been nailed into place to the doors that had been painted white with what looked like primer.

“We could always discuss why you decided to try salvaging your ruined honeymoon by dragging Morgan along, only to end up trying to blackmail me after one day,”Uncle Jared drawled as Eric’s gaze flickered to the stairs where Morgan most likely headed since she liked to work her way from the top down when they took on a new job.

“I thought we were discussing how I found out the real reason why Aunt Megan ended up getting banned from her favorite grocery store,” Eric said, hoping to distract his uncle and already knowing that he would pay for this one day. Out of all the rules that his family held sacred, keeping your mouth shut about a ban was probably at the top of the list, considering their history of getting banned from restaurants, grocery stores, and, thanks to his little brother, a lemonade stand. He-

“So, Theo called me last night,”Uncle Jared drawled, making Eric bite back a curse as he promised himself that he would beat the shit out of the little bastard the next time he saw him.

“I just bet he did,” Eric murmured, not really all that surprised that his little brother tried fucking him over.

“Something about you thinking that Morgan is desperate,”Uncle Jared drawled, sounding really fucking amused as Eric made his way past the grand staircase that was a fucking nightmare.

“Of course, he did,” Eric asked, sighing heavily as he walked into the kitchen that was going to have to be completely gutted at some point, even as he noted the brand-new refrigerator, dishwasher, and the stove that they weren’t going to need during the renovation since they normally lived on takeout. That, and Morgan couldn’t cook to save her life, Eric thought with a heartfelt sigh as he noted the large cardboard boxes on the kitchen table draped in a sheet marked “Pans and bowls” and “Kitchen Misc.” that Aunt Megan most likely packed for them.

His gaze flickered to the cabinets made of particleboard that were going to have to be torn out and-

“You love Morgan.”

“More than anything,” Eric said with absolutely no hesitation as he opened the pantry door and added gutting the pantry to the growing list of things to do when he saw the wire shelves installed at an odd angle, the puke-green paint job, and the cheap linoleum floor that was already peeling.

“And you just realized that?”Uncle Jared asked, sounding curious.

“I’ve always known,” Eric said as he closed the pantry door and moved onto the set of doors on the other side of the large kitchen, taking in the decent-sized bedroom before he opened the door next to it, revealing the backstairs.

“And Amber?”

“Was a mistake,” he admitted, wishing like hell that he’d figured that out sooner.

From the start, he’d made sure that she knew that he didn’t love her, wasn’t even sure that he was capable of falling in love with her, and she’d taken that as a fucking challenge, doing everything that she could short of sex to entice him into marrying her and he’d stupidly convinced himself that it was time to let go. He just…

He never would have been able to go through with it.

All it would have taken was one look at Morgan while he stood at that altar and he would have fucking broke. It wouldn’t have mattered that she didn’t love him, he just couldn’t marry another woman knowing just how fucking much he loved her.

“What’s the plan?”Uncle Jared asked, getting to the point, which he appreciated at the moment.

“To stop fucking this up,” Eric said, deciding that he should probably go find the woman in question and put his plan into action.

CHAPTER16

“Ilove this house,” Morgan mumbled sadly, only to follow that up with a heartfelt sigh as she pressed her forehead against the window and-

Was that a pond? Morgan found herself wondering as she took in the large backyard below. She was a sucker for a big backyard, Morgan thought with a whimper as she took in the trees below, the old tire swing hanging from the large oak tree next to the barn, a small picket fence that was falling apart surrounding what looked like an old garden, and a fire pit near the large pond bordered by beautiful maple trees and a brief glimpse of that beautiful river that they drove over on the way here.

God, it was so beautiful, Morgan thought as she stood there, taking in every detail, only to go still when she felt Eric’s soft breath teasing the back of her neck seconds before he whispered in her ear, “What are you doing?”

“Making a tactical error by allowing myself to get distracted,” she said, only to force herself to bite back the moan that threatened to break free when his soft chuckle sent goosebumps racing down her spine.

“What do you think?” Eric asked as he moved to lean against the wall next to her, once again making it possible for her to think straight.

“I love it more than life itself,” Morgan whispered reverently as she continued staring out the window, unable to look away from the beautiful sight below.

“Enough to stay here and help me renovate it?” Eric asked, making her bite back a sigh as she reluctantly stepped away from the window and faced the man that was making it really difficult to say no.

“I can’t,” Morgan mumbled hollowly as she stood there, struggling to ignore the horrible paint job, the fact that someone thought it was a good idea to rip out the patio doors that led out onto the balcony right outside this room and replaced it with a construction-grade window, the really horrible gray carpet, and reminded herself that she had a new life waiting for her in Florida.

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