“It’s yours,” I murmur, a confession of sorts. She turns to me in shock, and I smile before explaining further. “It’s your office. For when you’re home. You need a space that’s yours, to be free and write and make music.”
“But this…” she starts, stepping in further, her eyes wide as she continues to take in the room.
“That’s the wallpaper Hallie showed me,” she whispers, stepping toward it before reaching out and sliding her fingers along the perfectly laid wallpaper. Hallie did show it to her, since I sent her three different options, one of them from her Pinterest board, asking which she liked best, pretending it was for Emma’s room, and she was getting votes on everyone’s favorite option.
“I needed some help,” I explain, watching her with anticipation, still unsure how she feels about it. Does she like it? Does she hate it? Is it too much, too soon, too presumptive?She’s normally so loud with her emotions and her thoughts, telling you how it is and how she feels right from the jump, but right now, she’s anything but.
“And the paint color,” she whispers. Last week I asked her which color would be best for an office. I think she thought I meant mine, but when she saidgreen or a pretty yellow, something inspiring and calming, then compared to her dream office board, I knew what to pick.
Over the last three weeks, I’ve asked her opinion in one way or another, be it through myself or Nat or Hallie or Wren, on each and every aspect of this place, slowly building up this dream room for her.
She continues to move through the room, fingers ghosting over a comfy love seat Nat picked out, her eyes shimmering as they pass over the wall mounts for her guitars. The bookshelves behind the chair are empty, but with the way she runs her fingers over the wood, I already know she’s envisioning decorating and filling them. In the corner, there is a lamp she had pinned, with butterflies on it, that I instantly knew she absolutely needed.
“Where did you find this?”
“Your Pinterest board,” I say, slightly embarrassed, but she smiles.
“My Leo, always giving me everything I could ever want.”
“Always, Willa.”
She doesn’t speak, instead smiling at me over her shoulder before moving to the desk, running her fingers over the top almost reverently.
“Where did you get this? it’s absolutely stunning,” Her words trail off as she looks to me. She must see something on my face because her eyes go wide before I nod.
“I made it,” I answer. “I’m not sure if you actually needed or wanted a desk, but if not, I can move it to any other room, or—”my words die on my lips when the tears well in her eyes, when she hiccups and puts her hands over her face, crying in earnest.
“No, no,” I murmur, moving to her quickly and pulling her into my arms, desperately hating to see her like this. “No, honey. No tears.”
“Leo, you can’t tell me not to cry over this,” she says, slapping my chest half-heartedly. “This...this is the most amazing thing anyone has ever done for me. This is the most beautiful gift I’ve ever received. All of it. I…” I use a hand to tip her face up to me, forcing her to look at me instead of around the room.
“You needed a space to write, Willa. It’s not just my place.” My fingers move, pushing hair behind her ear, and she gives me a watery smile.
“So I guess this means you’re in this for the long haul, huh?” she asks. She loops her hands around my neck, her fingers moving through my hair at the nape of my neck.
“I see you’re still not getting it,” I say, pushing hair back from her neck with the back of my hand and dipping my head down to press my lips to the pulse there. Her breath hitches, and I smile against her skin.
“Hmm?” she asks, slightly distracted, and I lift my head to look in her eyes.
“You’re still not getting it: I’m not in this for the long haul, Will. I'm in this forever. This isn’t about some grand gesture or me giving you what you wanted for fun: it’s about what youneedto stay here with me. Youneeda place here where you can work. One day, it’ll probably make more sense to build you a small building that has soundproofing out back, but for now, this works. But as we grow, as we expand, start a family,” I wonder for a moment if this is too much too soon, but when her eyes go even softer, I know it’s not, not when we’ve been building to this for years. “We’ll adjust so you can continue to have it all. Sowecan have it all. And I’m open to discussion, baby, but I want thisto be our home. Not just this house, but Holly Ridge. I think we both found what we need here, including each other.”
Her eyes are watery when she looks at me, but this time, I don’t tell her not to cry; instead dropping my head as a tear falls to kiss her, letting it mingle on our lips. She pulls me closer as our lips touch, as I pour everything I want and need and envision for us into the kiss before it shifts and transforms into something altogether different. Filled with the passion and love and desire that’s been tamed for weeks, but never sated. Soon, we’re a tangle of limbs, clashing teeth and heavy breaths, my hands in her hair to hold her where I want her, hers in mine as if holding on for dear life.
“I need you,” she murmurs, as it spirals through me like fire, burning everywhere she touches. I need her out of this dress, in our bed, moaning beneath me right this minute.
“I know, let’s—” I try to step away, but she stops me with one word.
“No,” she says, shaking her head, then she steps back, her hands reaching back to the zipper. She fumbles for a moment, and I watch in utter fascination, unable to do anything else and knowing I should probably stop her, but as the dress loosens, I’m frozen. Then she slides the straps off her shoulders until the dress pools at her feet.
For a mere moment, reality and common sense appear.
“Will, we have a lot to talk about. People think you’re missing. Clearly something happened, maybe we should?—”
She smiles and shakes her head.
“All those problems will be there in twenty minutes, in an hour. Tomorrow. They aren’t going anywhere, but right now, I haven’t had you inside for me in weeks, and you’re standing in front of me, in a room that you created for me, telling me in no uncertain terms that you want me here, with you, forever, and Ineedyou, Leo.”
I shake my head, brows furrowing, but I still dip my head, pressing my lips to hers for a brief moment.
