It was a darling gray bungalow with white trim. It had a beautiful rose garden in the front with a big porch I could just picture spending time on.
Sid came to stand beside me, grasping my hand and leading me toward the front door just as it opened.
“You must be Sam.”
I nodded, shaking the hand of the attractive older woman who smiled at me. “I’m Melissa Jones. I’ve been working with your husband.”
I looked up at Sid in surprise and he shrugged. Neither of us corrected her as we followed her inside.
The house was beautiful, with original hardwood floors and classic built-ins. It had three good-sized bedrooms and two bathrooms. The kitchen was out of date, but the open concept had huge potential.
When we glimpsed the backyard through the darkness, I was surprised by how large a space it was.
“Do you like it?” Sid asked, watching me with a boyish eagerness that made me all the more besotted with him.
He really wanted me to like it, that much was clear.
“I love it,” I murmured. “It has to have a hell of a price tag though.” I looked at him worriedly. This size of a house in this neighborhood wouldn’t come cheap.
“It’s in the price range.” He shrugged casually. “It’s got great bones. The kitchen and bathrooms need some work, but it’s right down the street from Cade and it’s in a good school district.”
If I’d been drinking something, it would currently be splattered all over him, such was my shock. “You researched the school district?”
He grinned, splaying his hand over my flat belly and pulling me close. “Yours and mine, remember? Someday, at least.”
My heart melted. “I remember.”
“So what do you say?”
I looked around the beautiful house, feeling like it was home already. “I say… let’s do it.”
He blew out a relieved breath. “Good, because I already put in an offer.”
CHAPTER 19
The next morning, after the first normal night’s sleep I felt like I’d had in days, I actually felt like writing. It was a relief to sit on the floor with my notebook and guitar in the living room as beams of sunlight cascaded through the space. Trixie sat on the couch above me while Sid took calls upstairs.
“Babe!” Sid hollered from the makeshift office he’d created. Except for that very first night, he hadn’t slept in the room but had spent many an hour working there.
“What!” I hollered back.
“C’mere!”
“Bossy,” I huffed with a smile as I set aside my guitar. Trixie jumped down from the couch and followed me upstairs. “You beckoned?” I quipped, finding him seated at the small desk against the far wall.
He spun around, his gaze sweeping over me. “Have I told you today that you’re gorgeous?”
I blushed. “Not today, no.”
“Well you are,” he murmured. “Come here.” He gestured for me to sit on the edge of the unused bed.
“Is this an official meeting?” I asked, only half joking. He’d never called me up here.
“Sort of,” he admitted. He leaned toward me his forearms resting on his muscular thighs. “Look. I know Piper’s wedding is really important to you. Me and the guys have done a lot of digging into the state of play with the Russians, and I’ve had a lot of conversations with Ryker.”
I listened with bated breath having no idea where this would go.
“Long and short is, we can go.”
