“Hey,” I protested, holding up my hands. “I’m trying to shut that down.”
“I think I do need to find someplace else to live, though.” She wrinkled her nose.
“We could just keep having sex at your office.”
“I’m not opposed to that, but I’m not sleeping on the floor.”
“Wait, you know what? I have the perfect idea!” I said, smiling craftily.
“There’s the Hunter I know and love,” Meg teased. “The one who always has a slightly illegal idea brewing.”
“Who, me?” I protested pulling her close to me. “This is a perfectly above-board idea. It will solve your problem of not having anywhere to live and my problem of wanting to be as close to you as humanly possible without starting a riot in my household.”
“I feel like I’m not going to like this idea,” Meg said as I pressed kisses to her hair.
“Relax, I have the best ideas.”
* * *
“Okay,scratch what I said about grand gestures,” I told Meg as I tried to put the least amount of my weight as possible on the flaking car seat. “I am buying you a car. This is absurd. And it doesn’t smell right.”
“Just roll down the window,” she said, pointing at the hand crank.
“And it sounds like it’s going to fall apart.” The car made a wheezing noise.
“Ignorance is bliss!” She cranked up the radio. “Where are we going?”
“It’s a surprise,” I said. “Just drive in the general direction of the estate house.”
Meg was thoughtful for a moment. “You want me to live on the farmstead!” she shrieked.
“It’s a surprise, Meg!”
“I’m right, aren’t I?”
“It makes sense! It’s close to my house—just a quick drive.”
“I’m not living in a barn,” she said stubbornly.
“Relax. I’m developing the land into luxury farming condos. Everyone will have a townhome with a plot of land for a garden, chickens, and other small animals. Just come take a look. I already had Olivia draw up some preliminary architectural plans.”
Meg parked the car on the abandoned farmstead property. We stepped out, and I inspected my suit for any damage her car had done.
“It is pretty out here,” Meg conceded.
“And,” I added, “if you lose the election, you can hide out here and nurse your wounds.”
“I am not losing,” she retorted.
“Well, it’s going to be close,” I said diplomatically.
She sniffed.
“Use your imagination,” I said, sweeping my arms out. “Think beautiful brick townhouses. There are two to a row, so every townhome is a corner. You can pick wildflowers, and I can live here with you and still be close enough to my brothers to deal with them. What do you think?”
Meg regarded the property. “Maybe it’s not the most standard arrangement,” she said, “but our relationship is all that standard.”
“You’ll never be bored with me,” I promised her.
