Page 100 of Only in Your Dreams

Zac pushes away his laptop, like he’s seen enough. “Live here, then.”

“I’m being serious,” I say, tapping at his laptop. “Look at the photos. This place isn’t half bad, if you ignore not being able to tell the difference between morning or night.”

“I’m also being serious,” he counters with a casual sip of the coffee we’re now sharing. “I love having you around. And you’ve been spending more time here, so I have to assume you like being here, too. Hell, we spent the past couple days painting the main floor… What color is that, again?”

“Half seafoam.”

“Half seafoam,” Zac echoes. “So, why don’t you stay here, enjoy your half-foam walls?”

It’s funny. My ex moved me into an incredible downtown condo without so much as consulting me. Meanwhile, here’s Zac—a man who owes me absolutely nothing—letting me decorate his home, helping me paint the place with a color of my choosing without a second thought. After our kiss in the rain, he drove us to the next town and let me fill a shopping cart with whatever I wanted. Soft yellow sheets, tasseled throw pillows, scented candles that make the house smell like a sugar factory.

He’s making room for me, opening his life to me.

I have no idea what we are or where we’re going. But there are moments, these days, when I dread the idea of leaving town. When I start to imagine what it would look like to make a long-term life in Oakwood Bay, with Zac. In this incredible house on the bay.

And every time, I stop myself. I know I’d be staying here for him, not me. I’ve never seen myself living back here—at least not at this point in my life—and I let myself get lost in a man once, forfeited everything to keep him happy. I won’t do that to myself again.

“Half-foam or not,” I say slowly. “My plan is still to move back to the city. It’s where I’ve always seen myself, and it’s a point of pride at this point. I had a free ride last time with Connor, did everything on his terms, and never got to experience it the way I wanted to. I want a do-over on my own terms.”

“So, you wouldn’t stay?”

My chest throbs at the question, at the tentative way he asks it. “No,” I tell him delicately. “I can’t stay.”

Zac fiddles with the edge of his playbook, smoothing out a crinkled corner. “And what does that look like? Doing it on your own terms?”

“Having a say in the apartment itself would be a nice start.”

“Alright, let’s get another look at this.” With a sigh, he pulls the laptop closer and scrolls quietly for a while. “Mel, I’m a supportive… sleeping buddy, right?”

“Yes, you are a supportive sleeping buddy.”

“And you know I’m all for you fulfilling your playbook, living out your dreams on your own terms, the whole thing. Right?”

I frown. “Right.”

“And that I respect you as a smart, capable woman?”

“Yes…”

“Great.” Zac snaps shut his laptop with an audible clap. “So, at the risk of sounding like a misogynistic alpha-male prick, let me be very clear that there is no fucking scenario that could ever come about where I’d let you move into a rat-infested apartment. Ever.”

A laugh bursts out of me. “They’remice. It could be cute, no? I’d be like Cinderella, cooking and cleaning with a bevy of capricious rodents.”

Zac rubs his face with both his hands. “Melody, it’s not happening. If you insist on moving away now, would you let me help you get something better? At least until you get a new job.”

“I couldn’t accept that kind of help. You’d be paying rent on an apartment that wouldn’t be yours.” I take in the shore at the foot of Zac’s property, the water crashing over the few feet of sand. “Did you ever consider leaving?”

He follows my gaze to the bay. “What do you mean?”

“After your grams passed away. Did you ever think about leaving here? Trying out a new city?”

Zac peruses the open playbook in front of him. “Never. Staying always felt… I don’t know. Important.”

“But you live in this massive house. It seems like a lot just for you.”

It occurs to me that it sounds like I’m trying to talk him into it. The idea of leaving Oakwood Bay. Insane, considering we’re undefined. Sneaking around. That I’m fake dating his friend.

“Well, when I built it, I had this idea that it wouldn’t always be just me,” he says with a smile. “And I think our kids will love having all this space to run around, don’t you?”

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