“Now you’re making me wish I’d thought of that.” I laugh at her chastising look. “Settle down, sweetheart. I have a surprise for you.”
“What kind of surprise? Where is it?” She looks around excitedly.
“You have to wear the blindfold if you want it.”
“Ok, fine. But it had better be good.” She snatches the handkerchief from my hand and ties it loosely behind her head.
“You’re a demanding little brat sometimes.”
“You love it,” she replies breathlessly.
She knows I do.
I take the next turn and then navigate the route I’ve only been on a few times. The house at the end of the lane is lit up from within so I’m confident that it’s been prepared to my wishes. It’s two stories with the same sort of old-fashioned Victorian charm she loves about Izzie’s place. It also sits parallel with the same river that runs right behind Gabe’s house. That was one of the things I knew she’d love as much as I do. We’re close to our families.
I park in the drive and then rush around to open her door. I put one hand behind her head so she won’t bump it while getting out of the car.
“Zack? Are we there yet?”
“Yes, we are. Damn you’re impatient, woman!”
She giggles and bounces up and down right where she stands, her breasts bouncing against my chest. I bite my lip. We need to get this unveiling underway because if she keeps rubbing up against me, I’ll have to throw her over my shoulder and take her inside before she even sees where we are.
“Okay, are you ready?”
“Yes!”
I pull the blindfold off gently. Josie blinks rapidly as her eyes adjust. When she sees the house, her mouth falls into an adorable little oh of surprise.
“This is gorgeous. Is this one of those cute little bed and breakfast places that we were looking at the other day?”
“No, it’s not.”
When I don’t say anything else she wrinkles her nose at me. God, I love this woman. She makes everything fun.
“Ok then. Where are we?” she asks finally.
“Home.”
I watch her face to see the moment it sinks in. It’s worth the wait. Her eyes go soft and her mouth curls up into a little smile. “This is ours?”
“It’s ours. Welcome home, sweetheart.”
She stands on tiptoe and our lips meet in a soft, sweet kiss. Her fingers curl into my jacket as she pulls me closer.
After a moment, she glances over at all the lights on in the house. “Is someone here?”
I pull out the keys I got from the realtor earlier today. Finn’s fiancée, Rissa, owns a full-service cleaning company so after all the requisite paperwork was completed, I hired her team to clean the entire house, furnish the main level and even stock the refrigerator for our arrival. Movers brought over the contents of my bedroom and I brought over some of Josie’s things this afternoon so we could spend the night.
Our first night in our new house.
She oohs and aahs her way through the entire first floor and up to the second. After we finish touring the whole house, we end up back in the living room looking out at the backyard. It’s dark so it’s hard to make out the river
but you can just see the moonlight glinting off the water.
The place was renovated by the previous owners but I have every intention of customizing everything to our own tastes. This will be the house where our lives unfold, where we make our future children, where we make our memories. I want it to be perfect. When I tell her that, she kisses me again.
“You’re here. I’m here. It’s already perfect.”