The Crush

Nathan nodded several times. “I do have one question.”

I tightened my jaw. “Okay…”

He snickered. “What are you making me for breakfast?”

Chapter 25

* * *

Jace

Six months after Christmas, I’d kept my promise—I’d spent every single night with Farrah. That was the one constant, despite the many other things that changed.

I’d fully transitioned into my role as head of Muldoon Construction, with my father taking a backseat in the company. If I’d encouraged him to sell, he probably would’ve listened to me, but deep down, I wanted this. Continuing my dad’s legacy was something I’d always be proud of, and running the family business helped ground me here—not that I needed a reason to stay in Palm Creek. Farrah would always be that. But now that I knew I was here to stay, it was time to build roots. That meant having a place where Farrah and I could have true privacy, a place all our own. I’d made a decision I hoped she wouldn’t be upset about. As we drove down the street where Farrah grew up, I was about to find out.

“Why are we in my old neighborhood?”

“Brings back memories, doesn’t it?”

A minute later, I parked my truck at a house diagonally across from the home Farrah and Nathan had grown up in.

Farrah scrunched her nose. “Why are we visiting Old Man Dickie?”

Dick Lombardi—“Old Man Dickie”—didn’t live here anymore, but apparently Farrah didn’t know that. Dickie was a curmudgeon who used to yell at Nathan and me for various things when we were younger. Whether we were speeding by too fast on our skateboards or egging his house, we’d given Dickie plenty of reason not to like us. He was mean even when unprovoked, but we definitely deserved some of his wrath.

“This isn’t Dickie’s house anymore,” I announced.

“He passed away?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh no. That’s sad. As mean as he was, I feel bad for his kids.”

“I actually know his son, Major. He’s a client.”

“Does he live here now? Are we visiting him?”

I unlocked the car doors. “Let’s take a look inside.”

Farrah followed me out of the truck, and I used my key to enter.

Dickie’s house had been completely redone. The old carpets had been ripped up to reveal gorgeous hardwood underneath. The kitchen had been gutted, and new cabinets installed over white Corian countertops. Basically, Dickie’s house was just the shell, and everything on the inside was brand spanking new.

Farrah wandered the place in amazement. “This looks nothing like I would’ve imagined.”

“After he passed away, Major redid everything before putting this place on the market.”

“Oh my God. I love it.”

“Good. Because...it’s mine.” I smiled. “Well, hopefully ours someday.”

Her mouth hung open. “You bought this place? How could you afford it? The houses in this neighborhood are not cheap.”

“I saved a lot over the past five years, and Muldoon is doing really well right now. So I gave myself a raise.”

Farrah ran her hand along the beige sectional in the living room. “I can’t believe this is all yours.” She walked over to the window. “I can see my old house from here.”

“I know. That’s part of why I picked this place. Even though we’ve been trying to forget certain things, there’s much more I’d rather remember in this neighborhood.” Standing behind her at the window, I wrapped my arms around her waist and rested my chin on her head. “A long time ago, you told me one of your greatest wishes was to get back the peace you had before your parents died. I want to create that idyllic life with you again, one day at a time.”

She turned around to face me. “Am I supposed to be moving in with you?”

I chuckled. “Well, I hadn’t gotten that far. I didn’t want to throw this on you and put you in a position where you felt you had to say yes. Of course, I want you here with me, but it doesn’t have to be today. For now, this can be our sanctuary, a place where we can finally be alone without anyone breathing down our necks. One of these days, when you’re comfortable, I figure...maybe you just won’t leave.”

Farrah moved her head back and forth. “I can’t believe it.”

Feeling like a giddy kid, I took her hand. “Come on. I haven’t even shown you the best part.”

The one thing Dickie never had was a pool. I wasn’t going to buy a house without one, so over the past couple of months, I’d had one installed.

Farrah’s mouth dropped when she got a load of the inground, screened-in pool.

“This looks just like the one Nathan and I had...”

“I know. That’s why I designed it like this. The pool is completely new. It’s the one thing that didn’t come with the house.”

Beaming, Farrah walked around the perimeter. She suddenly lifted her dress over her head and jumped in, causing a deluge of water to splash me. What the hell? I tore off my shirt and yanked off my pants before jumping in after her. We spent the next several minutes playing in the water like we used to. This was going to be my new happy place.