“You think I’d leave Creek Falls?”
“I don’t know. You admitted that you don’t really know anyone here. I had this, like, theory inside my head that it was my job to make sure you knew more people. That this felt like home for you.”
“Okay. Stop right there.” He cupped the side of my face. His eyes were warm on me, but there was a spark of amusement buried there, too. “Let me tell you this right now: Creek Falls feels like home to me. And you know why? It’s because of you. You make this town home, Reagan.”
“Me?”
“Yes, you.”
My lips parted, but nothing came out. I couldn’t believe what I was hearing.
“Home isn’t always a place,” he said softly. “Sometimes home is a feeling, and that’s how you make me feel every single day. Whether you’re texting me shit about my favorite TV show or you’re sitting on my counter in one of my old t-shirts with a hangover. Even when you’re drunk and trying to dance on a bar. You feel like home to me.”
I fell into him, wrapping my arms around his waist. It was such a stupid thing, validation. But that was how I felt right now—validated. Like I mattered, like I was something to him. Really something.
Because I knew. I understood. I freaking well got it.
I felt the same.
Noah felt like home to me, too. And I didn’t even have one right now, but none of that mattered when I was with him. He was like an alternate universe where everything was okay just because he’d smiled.
And as he hugged me tightly, the thought struck me with the suddenness of a lightning bolt.
I was falling in love with Noah.
Out of nowhere, I was falling headfirst in love with him.
And I didn’t want to stop. I wanted to keep falling and spiraling and descending into the chaos of love until I was dizzy and breathless.
“Noah?” I whispered, turning my face so I wasn’t smooshed into his chest anymore.
“Yeah?”
“I think I’m falling in love with you.”
“Good,” he whispered back, lowering his mouth to my ears. “Because I know I’m falling in love with you.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN – REAGAN
Home
Two Weeks Later
I looked around the open-plan space of the apartment.
It was hell.
The cupboards were rotting and the laminate in the living area was pulling up. I was no builder extraordinaire, but even I could tell this place was falling apart.
There was no way this was listed for my budget.
“It looks nothing like the pictures,” I said, looking at the real estate agent.
She grimaced. “Sometimes they’re not accurate.”
“Not accurate? Oh, my God, Dana. The pictures show a new apartment—this place looks like it was new fifty years ago.”
She sighed, tucking her short hair behind her ear. “Shall we move onto the next?”
“Yes. Please.” I followed her out of the apartment and headed downstairs while she locked up. She joined me minutes later and gave me the address for what I knew for a fact was a new building.
Thank God.
I got into my car and tossed the information pack for that apartment onto the passenger side of the car. I’d had a bad feeling about it before I’d even gotten here.
The fire report had come back as being caused from some faulty wiring on the ground floor. It’d shocked all of us, but the good news was that my insurance company had finally agreed to pay up.
It’d be at a snail’s pace, of course, but my dad had talked me into letting him put down my security deposit and I could pay him back.
My parents had money, but that didn’t mean I’d take it. They’d raised us both to work for what we wanted, and it was hard enough borrowing the money from them. It wouldn’t even dent the bank account, but it didn’t matter to me.
If I wasn’t so desperate for my own space again, I’d be waiting until the insurance paid out.
I tapped my fingers against my steering wheel as I drove across town. This new building was close to Noah’s house—within walking distance—and it was a real contender because of that.
As long as the inside matched the pictures.
That last place might have scarred me for life, and I’d barely set foot inside it.
I pulled up outside the apartment block. Dana was already waiting outside the main door, so I grabbed my purse and got out of my car.
“I think this one will be much better, Reagan!” She beamed at me, but there was pain in her eyes. She was desperate to lease me apartment, that much was obvious.
“I hope so. I don’t think there are many more apartments available, and this is a good location for me.” I looked around the lobby. It was already a lot more modern than the other building.
It was a good sign.
“Oh?” Dana glanced back as she hit the button the elevator. “Don’t you work on Main Street?”