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While he hung my coat, my gaze spotted the porcelain vase I’d painted with him. My heart quickened. I’d assumed he’d tossed it after our breakup.

“Do you want a tour?”

“After I clean your cut.”

We walked into the spacious bathroom near the kitchen, and he got out a small emergency kit. With a cotton ball, I cleansed his cut, which wasn’t big. Then I put some ointment on it and covered it with a bandage.

He looked at his neck. “It’s not that bad.”

“Better safe than sorry. I don’t want you getting an infection.”

“Okay.” He smiled, rubbing his finger over the bandage.

“How did you know I was in the bookstore?”

“I was heading to the bakery and saw you park. So I stopped, wanting to see you.”

“Why?”

“Because seeing you makes me happy.”

My heart thundered in my chest.

“Ready for a tour now?”

I followed him to the living room, where comfortable brown couches surrounded a round wooden table. Two chairs were still wrapped in plastic.

“They’re still new,” I said.

“I’m not sure where to put them yet. There are a few rooms that need to be furnished.”

His family room needed a table and some chairs to warm it up. A spacious and empty room could be used as a library or an office. His walls desperately needed art. Though the home was lovely, it needed a few things to make it cozy.

When he led me into his kitchen, my mouth dropped. “Wow.” I gawked at his massive kitchen. “Do you cook now?”

“No.” He grinned, watching me as I ran my hands over the fine ivory marble counter.

“Then why do you have such an enormous kitchen?”

“For a woman I had in mind.” He took my hand in his. “It’s foryou.”

The confession made my feet feel like jelly, but I had to be cautious.

He gripped my hand tight as though he feared I’d escape.I didn’t mind him holding my hand. It comforted me more than I realized.

“We weren’t together,” I muttered, trying to understand why he’d make a kitchen for me.

He kissed my hand again. When he’d done it in the jewelry store, I’d wished it wasn’t a pretense.

“You’re the only one I want.”

Pain and betrayal flooded back into my memory, and I extracted my hand from his grip. “You broke up with me, Austin. You were engaged.”

“And I broke off the engagement a month later. It would’ve been sooner, but my father is a stubborn man to convince.”

“Your father? I don’t understand.”

“Come sit down. It’s time for the explanation.”