“Oh?”
“I have no intention of selling this house.”
Katie’s brow furrowed. “You want to rent it? That’s a big risk, considering how beautiful the house is now. You might not be able to sell it for as much down the road.”
I captured her chin and raised her face so I could stare into her beautiful brown eyes. “I’ve clearly been too subtle if you still haven’t figured out what my plans are. I’m keeping this home, baby. No renters.”
“You’re going to live here?” she asked with surprise.
I shook my head, then kissed her softly before answering. “We are going to live here, baby. I bought and restored this house for you. Only you.”
Her mouth formed an O, and her eyes scanned my features, probably searching for any indication that I wasn’t serious. “This is my dream home. How did you…?” She trailed off, her expression still confused.
I grinned and winked at her. “The reason it looks like your dream home is because I did a little stalking,” I admitted. “However, I didn’t do much with the inside because I wanted you to be able to do whatever you wanted. To make it ours.”
Her eyes misted and her mouth spread into a gorgeous smile. But before she could say anything, we were startled by the sound of the front door opening and being slammed shut.
I frowned, wondering who the hell would just barge into another person’s home. “Stay here, baby. I’ll go see what’s going on.” I didn’t wait for her to respond before I was striding across the room and out into the hallway. When I jogged halfway down the stairs, I spotted Jesse in the foyer and froze.
Fuck. Katie was going to flip her shit if I didn’t get her brother out of here before he saw her.
I wasn’t sure how the hell he even knew about the place.
Jesse turned around right then and saw me, so I schooled my expression, putting on a neutral smile as I finished descending the stairs. “Hey, Jesse,” I greeted. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
“Clearly,” he drawled as he crossed his arms over his chest. “I asked Georgia about your schedule today, and she said you’d taken the day off. Probably to work on your house…” He raised an eyebrow, but his expression suggested he was amused rather than upset. “Want to tell me why you were keeping this place a secret?”
“No secret,” I muttered. “It’s just a personal project.”
Jesse smiled and cocked his head to the side, studying me. “You moving out, bro?”
I didn’t know quite what to say, so I just nodded.
He glanced around before smirking at me. “Well, you picked a great place. It looks fantastic. Not sure how you pulled this off without my skills and expertise.”
I rolled my eyes and put my hands on my hips. “Yeah, I was lost without you, but I managed somehow.”
Jesse laughed and walked over to clap a hand on my shoulder. “It’s a flipping miracle.” He snorted at his joke, and I shook my head in exasperation.
“It’s no surprise you never pick up women when your jokes are so lame.”
“Hey.” He placed his hand over his heart dramatically, his expression turning comically offended. “If I was interested in impressing a woman right now, my sparkling personality and clever jokes would have them lining up to be with me.”
“Delusional.”
Jesse eyed me for a second before snorting. “What would you know about it?” he teased. “When’s the last time you had a date?”
I pressed my lips together to keep from blurting out that my love life was perfect.
“Gotta say,” Jesse continued with a grin. “I always assumed your next move would be to a penthouse or something.” Suddenly, his expression turned to shock, and he asked, “Holy fuck. Is this about a woman? You’re moving in with someone?”
Damn, he knew me too well. “Yes.”
He waited, but I remained silent, not offering any more than that. He looked a little hurt when he spoke again. “Why keep this”—he gestured all around—“and her, a secret? Did you think I wouldn’t be supportive?”
Jesse and I had been best friends for a long time. He was more like a brother. I hated the idea that he would think I didn’t trust him or feel I couldn’t share these things with him. But saying any more might give away the fact that I was in love with his little sister.
“I was going to tell you soon. I just wanted her to be the first one to know about the house. And I was being rather selfish about her, not ready to share,” I admitted honestly.
He chewed on that for a few seconds, then shrugged. “I suppose that makes sense. But you know me better than to think I would try to steal your girl.”
That never entered my mind, dude.