But when I woke up, she was. Scottie didn’t rush out thedoor the next morning, or pretend it didn’t happen. Instead, she stole my shirt, complained that my coffee wasn’t as good as Cozy Cup’s, and kissed me like it was the most natural thing in the world.
It was easy in a way that scared the hell out of me.
And now, we’re back at the house for another day of filming.
Walking through the first floor of the house, my head is on a swivel trying to find her. When I saw Levi outside, he said she was already working. I don’t even know what the plans are for the day. When I don’t find Scottie immediately, I head upstairs, poking my head in the smaller bedrooms before I find her in the master bedroom.
“Hi,” I say, knocking on the doorframe once.
She snaps her head toward me as if I’ve startled her, and then softens when she eyes the two cups of coffee in my hand. “Hi.”
I step into the room and try to hand her a cup, but she doesn’t take it. Instead, she presses onto her toes, wrapping her hands around my neck. I wish like hell I wasn’t holding these stupid cups so I wrap both arms around her.
“I can’t tell if this is because I brought you caffeine or because you’re starting to like me.” I laugh into her neck.
She pulls back, arms still wrapped around my neck, and gives me a look. “It’s a mix of both, if you must know.”
“Hmm,” I say, smiling as I lean down and press a kiss to her lips.
She doesn’t pull back or stop me either. She melts into the kiss like it’s a routine we’ve been doing for years. The way she looks at me isn’t careful anymore, it’s warm and open.
“You look happy today,” I say.
She laughs against my mouth. “You say that like it’s suspicious.”
“It is when you’re usually pretending when we’re here.”
She pauses, studying me before she shrugs and whispers, “Aren’t we done with pretending?”
“Well, this works,” Andrea says from the doorframe. I step back away from Scottie to put space between us, but she doesn’t move. “Practice is good for the camera, even though we only have two more episodes to film. I like this. You two are really playing the part.”
Scottie barely reacts, then looks at me and winks.
For the first time since this show started, she doesn’t care what it looks like.
If they think this is uspracticing, then we’re going to roll with it.
“What’s the plan for this room?” Andrea asks, phone in her hand.
Scottie turns around, taking in the master bedroom. “I want it to feel calm, like a place where you can exhale after a long day. Soft lighting and…” She pauses, looking around the room before pointing to a bare corner. “Maybe an electric fireplace over here to keep the cozy effect going.”
I feel my insides tighten over a stupid electric fireplace. Nothing about that feels fucking safe, but I’m not going to burst her bubble right now.
Andrea nods, typing out notes on her phone. “Any large changes for this space we anticipate? Walls coming down? A crazy lady from town swooping in with a hammer?”
Scottie and I laugh because we know who she means.
But her first question nearly stops me from being able to laugh in the first place. When we worked on the outside of the house, I kept having this feeling shewantedto see Scottie fail. I feel it again at this moment, and I hate that I do.
I won’t fucking allow it.
This is going to work and be done on time.
“No big changes,” Scottie says, laughter dying down. “I’d just like to repair what’s broken and keep the space as it is.”
I look around, taking it in for the first time.
The room looks tired and worn down. The kind that comes from holding weight for too long without anyone noticing.There’s a water stain across the ceiling that matches the one we repaired in the living room, except this one means it’s coming from the roof. As I walk around the room, my steps are uneven, and I realize the floor dips in multiple spots, enough to tell me the subfloor has been compromised. The closet door is hanging crooked, but that’s probably the easiest thing to fix.
