“Oh, hey, you’re the one who gave that speech,” he says, greeting me with a nod.
“I am.” I smile warmly, hoping that maybe he liked my speech and already likes me. “Listen, I have a bit of a strange request, but would you be willing to sell me your house?”
He stares at me for a long moment. Blinks. Then finally a small smile stretches across his face. “Not what I was expecting you to say, but Ihavebeen planning to move. Haven’t gotten around to listing my house yet, too many projects, but I got me a nice spot down in South Carolina. None of the snow we get here in the winter, and all my kids moved down south. I?—”
“I’ll pay above listing, and I’ll give you cash,” I interrupt, unable to hold back any longer.
He chuckles. “What do you wanna move here for anyway?”
“Love,” I admit. As much as I adore John, I wouldn’t claim to be in love with him just yet—I’m not delusional—but I do think we can get there. I fully believe in us. He just needs a nudge to get out of his own way.
“You ain’t in love with either of these grooms, right?” He eyes me suspiciously.
“No, no. Definitely not, sir. Blake’s my childhood best friend.”
“Had to make sure. I wasn’t gonna sell my house to someone trying to come between those two out there. I’ve known Liam his whole life. Haven’t seen ’im this happy probably ever.”
I follow his gaze. Liam and Blake are dancing with Jace, Kieran, Joey, and Patrick on the dance floor, and I smile at them having such a good time. I would normally be out there with them, but right now, I’m prioritizing my own relationship and future, and this man’s house might be a big part of it.
“Wait, you just said sell your house!” I say excitedly. “Does that mean you’ll do it? Could you be out, like, tomorrow? I can have my lawyer set everything up. I’ll even hire someone to help you pack. Whatever you need.”
He laughs. “Well, shit, you drive a hard bargain. Tomorrow?”
“Yes, sir.”
“How about we make it Monday? I don’t need most of the furniture since I’ve got a lot of stuff down south already, but that way I can at least pack my important belongings, and you can drop by to see the place tomorrow? It needs some work, but it’s got good bones.”
“Yes, that’s perfect! Oh, thank you, thank you!” I beam at him instead of throwing myself in his arms like I want. “I’m going to go call my lawyer!”
He gives me his name and the address, and I walk back toward the field I was in earlier with John to make the call.
“Chad, this is unexpected. What’d you get yourself into?” Derek’s amused voice comes across the line. Derek’s been a lawyer for my family for a while, and I’ve never done anything salacious, so I’m not sure why he’d think I’d start now. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m calling so late on a Saturday night.
“Nothing!” I assure him. “I’m just going to buy a house from a man in the town Blake lives in. He’s going to be out by Monday for me, and I told him I’d pay cash. Over list price.”
“Jesus, Chad. Why’d you do that?”
“The details don’t matter, but can you get this started tomorrow?”
He huffs, but luckily he still sounds amused. “Yeah, I’ll figure it out. We’ll need him to sign a lease saying you can be there until the final sale closes later on.”
“Sure. I can do whatever! I’m so excited. Thanks for sorting this out, Derek!”
“I’ll be in touch tomorrow. Night, Chad.”
“Bye!” I shout into the phone as I hang up.
Holy shit, it’s really happening! I can’t wait to tell John I’ll have my own house so he’ll finally have sex with me!
I’ll miss him making my iced coffee in the morning, but I’m sure it won’t take us too long to get back there. I just need to show him I meant what I said. Prove to him that I’m not asking him to be someone else or for more than he can give me.
We’ll make each other happy. I’m sure of it.
Now, where the hell is he so I can tell him the good news?
I approach Jace and Kieran who are now standing off to the side of the dance floor, all lovey dovey, arms wrapped around each other. “Hey, guys, sorry to interrupt, but have you seen John?”
“Uh, nope. I haven’t seen him in a while,” Kieran answers, so I immediately move on after giving him a “thanks.”
