Ida was the next to open her gift from Jackson, and he’d truly known what she needed most. A gift card for new clothes and one for makeup. She didn’t have much with her when she came here, but now she’d be able to get a lot of new things. He was such a great brother, and I could tell Ida appreciated the gifts.
It was time for my gift, so I handed Jackson what I hoped would be a good present. I had to sneak it out of him, but I felt confident he would like it. He looked confused at first, but then he smiled. “You bought me stuff so I can draw?”
I nodded. “And stuff so you can learn how to draw. Look under the papers.” A book on how to draw basic shapes, animals, and humans was included. I just had to make sure he gave himself the time to actually use it.
“Thank you,” he said, kissing me in front of our friends and family. I leaned into the kiss, loving we could do this now. This Christmas hadn’t been like any of the others. I wasn’t sitting away from Jackson and daydreaming about him holding me as I opened my presents. This time the dream was reality.
I looked him in the eye and whispered, “I love you.”
Two months later.
Finally!
Susie had called Jackson three days ago with good news. The mansion was ready for us to move in, we just needed to wait until the new week started and then it was officially ours and the investigation was done. Daisy had told me it wasn’t because of Mitch’s death—I might as well refer to him as his real name since I’ll technically share house with him soon—the investigation had been on the owner Dave, and it was still ongoing, but the mansion had been cleared. Finally!
I still hadn’t seen it, and Jackson hadn’t either since his quick hookup with Dave. Big surprise there, but I’d surprised us both by laughing when he admitted that Dave had been his hookup. We weren’t sure if the mansion needed cleaning or not, or what state it was in. Susie had told us it seemed clean enough and that Dave had left a lot of furniture behind after fleeing. Only I knew why he’d fled; Susie had told Jackson it was likely because of the investigation that he’d left without most of his stuff. Her reasoning had worked on Jackson, who never questioned it.
I was helping the movers fill the moving van while Jackson had left to look at the mansion, taking his motorcycle so I could take his car. I’d given my old one to Ida, who’d been speechless. Jackson preferred his motorcycle anyway, so his car was basically mine now.
As soon as Jackson called me, I would drive to the mansion. I was so excited! I’d only seen the pictures, but it was massive. Dylan was so jealous and had joked he might become a member when we opened the club.
To think that Jackson and I had only dated for a few months, and here we were moving in together. I shook my head. This was what I’d dreamed of, and I waslivingit.
Jackson had given Mike their apartment, but with him leaving for two years, they’d decided it would be best to sell it. Jackson had paid for seventy percent, but he still gave Mike everything so he could buy some place new when he returned. For now, Mike would leave some of his things at Mom’s and some at our place for safe-keeping.
Ida’s mom had finally reached out and they were mending their relationship. I was glad for Ida’s sake, but I just hoped her mom wouldn’t hurt her again. When she’d asked for Ida to come home, she’d said she already was, making my mom cry. The two of themwere getting closer each day, and even with Ida staying there, her mom had seemed to accept it. For now, anyway.
My phone rang just as I’d handed over the last box. We’d already boxed up my room and got that in the van before emptying Jackson and Mike’s apartment. Mike had already left, so the apartment needed to be completely emptied out today.
I greeted Jackson and he told me the mansion was ready and no deep clean was needed for today. I suspected Mitch and Nic had cleaned up the place. Daisy told me they were the only ghosts on the property, meaning they would have the power to touch things. Ghosts shared energy and power so more ghosts meant less power for each ghost. One ghost meant one crazy powerful spirit. That was often the reason more ghosts were favorable, then they couldn’t hurt or touch you,oryour stuff. But knowing they were friendly and that I would basically be spying on them helped.
I told the movers to meet me at the mansion and drove ahead of them, only taking two of my own boxes with my most treasured belongings. My books and mug collection. I knew I could trust the movers, but I wasn’t risking it.
I’d said my goodbyes to Berlina and Sven when I had two minutes alone without the movers, and I felt comforted that they would continue to watch over the building. Maybe it would become more normal for mediums to stay longer after having passed. It seemed like a good cause.
The mansion was much grander in real life. Beautiful too. I could see why Jackson had been so obsessed with it. I was too now. I’d carried in my first box of books and Jackson had helped with my tour around the property. Mitch and Nic had eyed us both with clear interest and it was already apparent that they found Jackson sexy as hell. I tried to hide my amusement; it was hard but I needed to get used to it.
“This could be your very own library,” Jackson said, gesturing to a door. I entered the room and gasped. It had two big windows and was facing the backyard. It had a decent size to it, and I really didn’t need a huge room for my books. If I did end up with more books than the room could fit, I was sure we’d be able to figure something out.
“I would love this room,” I gushed, running my fingers over the paneling on the walls. “I want a chandelier in here. And newcurtains.” The ceiling was high, making it perfect for a huge chandelier, and the windows were tall too. With the perfect curtains they’d look even better.
“What about painting?”
“Definitely. A dark blue shade. Not navy, but more dusty blue.”
He seemed amused. “Dusty blue. Noted.”
Ignoring him, I continued to look at the details, like the wooden flooring. “Maybe a darker stain? I want a rich and warm vibe in here. With dark wooden bookshelves.”
“We can do all of that.”
“And a white fluffy rug.”
Jackson was positively beaming at my excitement. “Anything you want, baby.”
I left to grab my last box from the car while Jackson helped the movers with the heavier stuff. My collection of cat mugs was important to me, and they were fragile, meaning I trusted no one but myself to get them safely put away.
A few hours later and we’d finally gotten everything inside and now had to deal with the unboxing part. “Let’s leave it for tomorrow,” Jackson said, offering me his hand. I was sitting on the livingroom floor, ready to tackle the first box. “I want to order Chinese to celebrate our first night here. And I’ve bought pink lemonade too.”
