She rubbed her temples. He wasn’t wrong. She’d always known she’d be able to find work wherever she chose to live. But really? Leave Pierce? Just like that?
He studied her as he drained the last of the milk straight from the carton.
“And my father and Ellen?”
“The distance would be good.”
She couldn’t deny that. “And … and…” She glanced around. “But this is my home?”
“Do you like it?”
“What do you mean?”
“It’s a simple question. Do you like this place?”
She looked at the kitchen cabinets, ones she’d hated when she’d bought the house but never gotten around to changing. Outside, the yard. Again, she’d had grand plans for a pergola and seating. That had never happened. And the living area, it was still the dull brown wallpaper from when she’d moved in. “No. I don’t.”
“Neither do I. It’s soulless,” he said. “It’s as if you gave up on it before you began.”
“I did.”
He raised his eyebrows.
“When I bought it, Mom was alive. We were going to do it up together, go shopping for paint and a new kitchen and a fireplace. But then she got sicker, really sick. The house got put down the list and now…” She couldn’t finish the sentence.
“Now when you look around it reminds you that she isn’t here.”
Leah nodded. “Yes.” She paused. “I guess I more than don’t like it. I hate it.”
He took her mug and placed it on the counter. He wrapped his arms around her and pulled her close.
She sagged against him, absorbing his strength. Breathing deep, she found his scent comforting, and the heat of his body a balm.
“Promise me you’ll think about it,” he murmured into her hair.
“Yes, I’ll think about it.”
“Live life with no regrets,” he said, hooking his thumb beneath her chin and urging her to look up at him. “It’s the only way to truly be alive, Leah.”
She hesitated then, “Do you think I’d regret not moving?”
“I’m not saying that, but I do think you’d regret staying. This place is suffocating you. I’ve seen you away from here, in a home that has soul and doesn’t suck the happiness from you. I like that Leah. I like the Leah who smiles all day long and has sand between her toes and has hair that smells of the ocean.”
She resisted teasing him for flirting with romance again. “And us?”
“There’s an us?” He tipped his head.
“Do you want there to be?”
“Hell yeah.” He kissed her. “Of course, I do.”
She liked how he’d responded so quickly.
“I just want you to consider your options. I won’t deny I don’t have a vested interest. I want you close, but I’m being upfront about that.”
She nodded and smoothed her finger around the frayed neckline of his t-shirt. “I have friends here.”
“Willow?”