Alethia stared at it. “Is this ours?”
It wasn’t huge, but it was a lot bigger than Paul and Molly’s tiny little place. And it was…nice. Well-kept, a nice little yard, a big bay window…
“Comes with the job,” Grey told her. “Do you want to check it out?”
Alethia nodded.
Grey had the keys, and they went inside. “There’s even furniture!” Alethia exclaimed.
Grey nodded. “The man who lived here retired. He’s touring the country in his RV. He didn’t want all the furniture.”
The house was open and airy-feeling, not cluttered at all. It had light wood floors and a cream-colored couch.
Grey caught her hand as she was looking around. “I want to give you something.”
“A beautiful home isn’t enough?” she asked, already feeling dazed with happiness.
“That’s for both of us. I wanted to get a present just for you.” He reached into his pocket and took out a box. It was long, thin, and velvet-covered.
Alethia felt her eyes go wide. She took the box from him and opened it slowly. Inside was a delicately beautiful silver necklace with a sapphire pendant.
She touched it, speechless. No one had ever given her anything like this before.
“Do you like it?” Grey was watching her closely.
“Of course I like it! It’s so beautiful. Thank you, thank you so much.” She leaned up into his kiss. “I love it.”
He cupped her face. “I don’t know much about things like jewelry and perfume, but I’m going to learn. I want to be able to give you nice things.”
Alethia felt warmed all over. Not by the necklace itself, even though it was gorgeous and she couldn’t wait to wear it, but by Grey’s words. He wanted to give her things that she loved.
“I’m so happy,” she sighed. She took the necklace out of the box and held it out to him. “Will you put it on me?”
He smiled. “It would be my pleasure.”
She turned around and bent her head, pulling her hair to the side. Grey’s fingers tickled the back of her neck as he fiddled with the clasp. When he finished, he pressed a kiss just above where it rested at her nape.
She touched the pendant and turned back around to kiss him again. He wrapped her up in his arms and held her tight.
“I love you,” he whispered into her ear. “I can’t wait to share my life with you.”
“In our house.” Alethia still couldn’t believe it. A mate who loved her, a house to share with him, beautiful country all around, a future stretching before them…
“The house has three bedrooms,” she murmured.
“Family housing.” Grey’s voice was teasing.
She pulled back to raise her eyebrows at him. “Were you thinking of having a family?”
Grey’s eyes were warm and bright. “I always thought I didn’t want one. I was such trouble as a kid. But now that I’m with you, we can handle some trouble. And that’s the kind of trouble I do want.”
Alethia wrapped her arms around him again. “Me, too.”
He kissed her. She leaned into his embrace and felt the future unfolding in front of them.
The End