“I do, too.”
Letting go of his arm, I run my hand along the gray-and-white countertop. “You can picture me here, right?”
“Oh, absolutely.”
“I could cook in this kitchen… and host.” My voice rises as I imagine friends crowding this space.
“You’d be a great host.”
“It’s close to both Anna and Jaden’s place and yours. It’s a great location, don’t you think?”
“Definitely.”
I open a drawer and close it gently. “Soft-close cabinets. I’ve always wanted those.”
I pull open the tall cabinet in front of me.
Two glossy, beady eyes blink from the shadowed shelf. My breath stalls. The wiry-haired rodent that steps forward is the size of a small cat. Toes gripping the shelf, it pauses, sniffing… and I scream.
My soul leaves my body as I fall back, every cell wanting distance from that giant rodent. Two strong arms wrap around me, halting my plummet to the tiled floor.
As soon as I can steady myself, I bolt out of the kitchen. “It’s a rat!” I shriek, stumbling out of the kitchen and toward the front door, heart racing. I don’t dare look back, afraid the thing is chasing me. My skin crawls imagining its sharp nails ripping through my skin.
I fling the door open and hurry onto the porch. The real estate agent meets us outside, her smile a little too practiced now.
“There is a small pest problem,” she says. “Nothing an exterminator can’t fix.” Her tone makes my stomach flip.
My eyes go wide with a wrath I can’t vocalize. I release a sound akin to a growl as I turn on my heel and head straight for the truck.
Miles climbs in and starts the engine. His voice is tentative. “An exterminator could take care of any… unwanted guests.”
My voice trembles. “It wasn’t a mouse, Miles. It was like a New York City sewer rat. In the cabinets. Where does food go? Ugh.” I shiver, rubbing my arms. “Plus, did you see how calm she was? Like she expected it. How big is this problem? Is there a colony living in the walls? Eww.” I shake my head.
“You did love the house,” he says softly.
“Not anymore.” All the warmth I felt is gone. “I don’t want to live there.”
“Okay. That’s fine. You don’t have to.” He backs the truck out of the driveway. “We can look into more places. Maybe next week we can find a day to see some others.”
“No. I can’t look at any more houses. This isn’t fun.”
He nods as we drive away from the rat house.
“You wanna go to the gym? I need to run until I’m exploding with happiness,” I grumble.
“Yeah, that sounds like a plan.”
“When we’re done, I don’t want to go back to the hotel,” I continue. “I can’t stay another night there. I’m so over hotel living.”
The corners of his mouth tilt up. “So you’re saying you want to move into my place. Sunshine—are we going to be roomies?”
I exhale. “Yeah. I guess we are.”
CHAPTER
SEVEN
MILES
