Maybe it was the clear,starry night, but the house looked like something straight out of a dream.
The two-story home was wrapped in serene blue-gray siding, its dark metal roof so clean and reflective it made the house look like it was topped with a blanket of stars. I was still taking in the size of the home and the two-car garage when Max opened my door.
“You okay?”
“Did you build this?” I asked as he helped me down, wishing I could hold on to the warmth of his fingers for a little longer.
“No,” Max said with a shake of his head, following me as I walked along the covered pathway between the garageand house that led to the back—and the view. “It was new construction when I bought it. I was casually looking in the area because the store was opening up, and we’d just opened a main hub in Portland, and as soon as I saw this…”
The path led to an expansive deck along the back of both structures with a view open to the ocean, the dark water lulling against the shoreline somewhere in the near distance.
To sit here as the sun came up every morning…I blinked, and in that fraction of a second, I saw myself exactly where I stood, but watching my daughter play in the yard in front of me.
“It’s perfect.” Too perfect, just like everything else about him.My husband.
“Yeah.”
I turned quickly at his strained voice, catching his equally strained expression as he stared at me.Not the view.
“Come on.” He cocked his head back toward the truck. “Let’s go inside.”
For the next ten minutes, my dream man led me on a tour of my dream home. The inside of the house was a modern open floor plan. Rustic beams. A state-of-the-art kitchen. And windows. I hadn’t even noticed them when I was outside, too overwhelmed with the view—a view that could overwhelm me from the inside too.
“This house is amazing, Max,” I repeated, though it was pointless.He was selling it.
“Make yourself at home,” came his muffled reply as he turned back down the hallway toward the front door to grab my bags from the truck.
At home.God, if this were my home…
Even if I thought Max would let me help him unload my stuff, I found myself wanting a few secluded moments to explore this space.His space.
He’d left me at the invisible joint between the dining room and the kitchen, so I turned to the kitchen first, trailing my fingers along the island countertop as I went through it, half-expecting the whole building to vanish the second I didn’t have a hold on it.
From there, I moved into the living room, the sofas in front of the fireplace suddenly registering that the house seemed completely furnished.
“Daisy?”
I looked up and saw Max standing at the end of the island, holding two huge duffels I’d filled with my things.
“The furniture…is it here to stage the house for buyers?” I asked, making my way to him.
“Yeah.” He loosely swung one arm toward the staircase. “Let me take you to your room.”
My attention lingered over the rich leather couches and then moved to the craftsman table and chairs. I slowed on the steps, staring at the dining chairs. They looked familiar.
I turned to ask if Jamie had made them, but he was too far ahead of me now to hear.
Cresting the stairs, I followed the hall to the only open door ahead of me, which led into the room I quickly assumed was the master bedroom. The rustic wood four-poster bed dominated the space, but in a way that made it feel safe rather than imposing. The windows overlooked the same view of the coast from downstairs, and there was also a sliding door that opened out to a small deck.
Max set the bags on the bench abutting the foot of the bed. “Bathroom is through there. Closet through there,” he pointed to the two other doors in the room. “Unpack everything.” That command was a little harsher, but instead of feeling abrasive, I only shivered with warmth.
Since when did I enjoy taking orders?I wondered, running my fingers along the comforter. Since Max Hamilton started giving them to me.
“This is all your furniture?”
His jaw flexed. “Yeah,” he said and shrugged. “Nowhere to move it to, and Aria said it would help sell the house. I told her if the potential buyers are interested, I’m willing to sell the furniture with the house too. Everything but the dining set and my…this bed.”
“Jamie made them.”
