“This house…” he began.
“It’s crazy,” she finished.
“But it’s also…” He trailed off.
“Kind of perfect,” she whispered.
He nodded. “Should we even talk about it?”
Biting her lip, she nodded.
“We wouldn’t be roommates,” he said. “Just… housemates. Sharing a roof. A view. Some drywall headaches because,oof, this place has me wanting to haul out my tools. But we could do upstairs-downstairs two-unit living.”
“Someone gets a laundry room and pool,” she said, not even believing they were having this conversation.
“The other one gets this…” He gestured toward the stunning rooftop. “Would that be so bad?”
“Well, whoever got this would have to share,” she said.
“And whoever got the laundry would also have to share.”
After a long beat, he inched closer. “It could work, Tessa.”
Her chest rose with a breath so tight it could burst her lungs. “I’d want…ground rules.”
“I’d want renovations,” he replied.
“I don’t want free therapy,” she added.
“And I don’t want…”
“A relationship,” she finished when he didn’t.
“Not what I was going to say,” he whispered. “I don’t want…to miss out on something amazing because I’m healing from all I’ve been through.”
She regarded him, swallowing hard as he took her hand and pressed both of his around it. “I’m going to say it again, Tessa. I’ve missed you.”
“What does that mean?”
“That I can’t stop thinking about you. I wake up wondering what you’re doing. I want to kick myself for being a fool—which is how I think we’d both feel if we don’t at least…try.”
“Try…us or this house?”
He just smiled.
“What about you?” he asked. “Have you stopped thinking about me?”
“When I’m asleep.”
That made him laugh but it faded as he looked into her eyes.
“Dusty…” She tried to ease back, tried to not have those dark eyes magnetically draw her closer. “I haven’t changed what I want. If anything, I’m more certain. I’m not playing or cohabitating or being someone’s good time.”
He nodded. “I know that.”
She studied him and looked around again, weirdly feeling…at home. “What if we just buy the house and each take a floor and…see what happens?”
“Yes,” he said. “We can’t miss out on this opportunity, Tessa. It comes along once in a lifetime, could be the best thing we ever did, and I have a really, really good feeling about it.”
