“Yeah, but it was just that it sounded for a minute like we lived together again.”
“I’m not going to lie, Vi. I wish we did.” When I didn’t say I did as well, Ridge reached over and grabbed my hand. “Is that not something you want?”
“I don’t know. It led me to the other issue I had. You sold our home.”
That stopped him cold. He dropped my hand and stood up to pace back and forth across the room. Our son thought he was playing a game and gurgled happily at his father.
“I sold the house because I didn’t think you wanted to come back to all the reminders that were there. Jesus, I lived with those party remnants for weeks, Vi. I didn’t want to stay in that house much less go back to the place where our marriage ended. I may not have remembered the conversation we had there, but I felt the loss in my gut anyway.”
“You got rid of the house because of the memories, but you still work at the same place.”
Ridge shook his head. “No, sweets. I work in the same building, but my office has been moved upstairs. The old office is being combined with the conference room next to it and will become a daycare facility for some of our employees. I don’t even go near that level, let alone to the place where my old office used to exist. It was one of the first things I did after Fiona was caught there.”
“Oh. So, you just basically burned it all down to start new?”
“Yes, that’s exactly what I did.”
“Then why don’t you have a place of your own?”
“I do. I bought a house, but I’ll only live in it when you agree to live there with me.”
“You already bought a house?”
“Yep. Your bestie fed me info about all the things you loved about the houses she showed you.”
“Oh my God, Duri, is nothing sacred?” I yelled into the living room. It startled Liam and he jumped, started to cry, and stopped immediately when his father swooped him up in his arms and tossed him around a bit. Little baby giggles lit up the room. “Sorry,” I whispered.
Ridge wasn’t bothered in the least. The man loved the role of father and he played it well.
“I can take you to see it next week, if you want. The previous owners are moving out this week, so I don’t take the keys until then. If you want to move in with Liam for now and wait on adding me to the mix, we can do that, too.”
“What happens if we hit another snag in the road?” I asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Will you sell that house, too?”
Ridge sighed and put Liam back in his bouncer now that he forgot I startled him. “Sweets, if there are ever more stumbling blocks along the way, I hope like hell we have learned that we can communicate about things. If we decide together to move, separate, or whatever else, it will be a decision we make together. As far as the house goes, it is in your name alone, so I couldn’t sell it if I wanted to. I want you to feel secure, no matter what.”
We sat on the couch and turned so our knees touched, and Ridge held my hands in his. “Is there anything else you need to know?”
“One more thing,” I said.
“What’s that?”
“Who is your assistant now?”
Ridge laughed. “It was Nancy Rodrigez, but she stayed behind to head up the studio and production teams in Melbourne.”
“Isn’t she married?”
“Yes, but her husband retired and moved there to be with her.”
“Oh, that’s lovely for them. They always wanted to travel,” I said. I meant it, too. I always liked Nancy. “That doesn’t answer my question, though.”
Ridge chuckled once again. “My new assistant is someone you will love. I had both of our fathers sit in on interviews because I didn’t trust my own judgement after the Fiona bullshit.”
“My father, too?” I asked.
