She blushes but doesn’t say anything.
“Were you going to say as boyfriend and girlfriend?”
She rolls her lips together, and I lean in and kiss her.
“I love it. It’s perfect.”
“I’m glad.”
“And, Lise?”
She meets my eyes.
“You’re my girlfriend, if that wasn’t clear.”
She smiles. “Good.”
I grab the documents, and anxiety washes over me, but I know I need to rip the Band-Aid off and get this over with. I’ll deal with whatever her reaction is.
“So, before I give this to you, I need you to promise to hear me out.”
She raises a brow, confusion written all over her face. She nods. “I promise.”
I hand her the envelope, and she hesitantly opens it, her eyes bouncing between me and the envelope. She slowly pulls the documents out, reading over them.
“Are these?” she asks, shock filling her voice.
“The title papers to the cabin,” I answer.
“But…”
“Walker mentioned to me your parents were selling the cabin a while ago. The second it hit the market, I put an offer in under a company I incorporated. Walker and your parents don’t know I’m the one who bought it. The second he told me, I knew I couldn’t let you lose this place.”
She looks at me with tears in her eyes. I reach forward and cup her face, using my thumb to wipe away her tears.
“I want to transfer it to you. I want you to have it. I didn’t buy it for me. No matter what happens between us in the future, this place belongs to you. You can do whatever you want with it.”
“Bash…” she says through her tears. Her eyes return to the documents as she looks at them again.
“This says the owner is Chilbert Holdings Ltd.”
I laugh to myself. “When I was naming the company, it was the first name that came to mind. Remembering you and that penguin on your sixteenth birthday and the way you were attached to him during our last trip here. It felt fitting.”
She chuckles and sniffs, wiping her nose with the back of her hand. “I love it.” She meets my eyes again. “My gift is super lame compared to this.” New tears gather in her eyes.
“No, it’s not. Your gift is thoughtful. I meant it when I said I love it.”
She bites her lip and nods. Reading and flipping through the documents again, shock still radiating off her.
“You’re not mad?” I ask, pushing my luck.
Her head snaps up, and she shakes it. “Why would I be mad? You’re not the one who was obligated to tell me the cabin was being sold, and you saved it for me. Now it’s not going to some stranger.”
I dust my thumb over her cheek again. “It’s yours, baby. No one can take it from you.”
She closes her eyes and leans into my hand. “I like it when you call me that,” she whispers.
“Baby?”
