“What?” Tori shrieks on the other line. I stare at him, wide-eyed. He’s talking about buying a house—forme? For us. This man is certifiable.
I panic, jamming my finger onto theend-callbutton. “Elijah Henry Logan, what are you doing?!”
“Buying us a house,” he says, as if it’s obvious.
“You can’t buy us a house!”
“Will you come stay with me then? Move in, be with me.”
“Move in?” I throw my hands up, eyes wide. “Are you insane?”
“For you? Definitely.”
“How’s it going?” Hazel appears at the edge of the table, her voice sing-song.
“What? How are you here?” I gape, my eyes scanning the diner to find not only my dad, but also my brother as well, both of them demolishing a piece of pie.
“Why is my sister calling you?” Hazel looks at Eli’s phone on the table.
“He’s trying to buy me a house!” I shake my head.
“Ooh, did you tell him you already have one?”
“She doesn’t have a house.” Eli rolls his eyes. “She has a hovel.”
“Hey! It’s small, but it's not a hovel.” I burn with indignation.
Hazel snorts, dropping onto the bench opposite us. “She lives in the carriage house. Sibby’s been trying to renovate the big house by herself for years now.”
I feel my cheeks heat. Eli’s eyes widen when they meet mine. I can see him trying to work it out. Trying to figure out which house Hazel’s talking about.
My street was, and still kind of is, filled with retired folks. Most of them are selling their houses to move into retirement communities. There are currently four vacant houses, and three on the market. The carriage house is tucked between two massive old Victorian homes, but it has its own lot. It’s why I bought the house. I love the main one, but I also fell in love with the tiny house next door.
I know for a fact Eli’s been too busy to pay attention to the real estate on my side of town. His construction business has been busy the past several years building a new development on the east side—cookie-cutter houses that hold zero charm compared to the older neighborhood I live in.
Not that I don’t think Eli’s crew builds great houses. I’m sure they’re fine.
I groan, my thought spiral ending abruptly when his head tilts to the side. My body is ready to crumble under the weight of his gaze. His eyes have narrowed, bright green irises judging me.
“Please tell me it’s not the purple one. Aside from the color, that place is a fucking disaster.” Eli sighs.
“Give hersomecredit.” Hazel rolls her eyes.
He smiles. “How much have you renovated?”
“Uh…the guest bath?” I cringe.
Renovations are hard. They tell you to measure twice, cut once, but I’ve had to take multiple trips to the hardware store for the same three pieces—more than one time. I’m notgreat with power tools, but my pride would absolutely not allow me to concede to Taylor and Kellan’s assertion that I’d be needing their help.
“I wanna see it.” Eli jumps out of the booth, offering me his hand.
“What? Now?” I stare at him. This is wildly out of hand at this point.
“Yeah, now. I get the feeling the faster we fix that place up, the faster I’ll convince you to move in with us.”
“Move in?” Hazel screeches. The entire restaurant stares at us.
“She won’t move in with me.” Eli pouts.
