At least in here, it wasn’t so white. Three of the walls were painted a light gray. The fourth wall was a dark blue. A full-sized bed with a patterned gray and blue padded headboard was against that wall. A chest of drawers, the closet door, and a desk were painted the same blue as the accent wall.
But what really caught the eye was the hexagon-shaped piece in the center of the remaining floor. It was shades of blue and green padded wedges that fit together for seating but also looked like they could be separated.
Iain wasted no time jumping over one side and into the middle until he saw something more interesting. A plastic racetrack for small cars climbed part way up one side of a wall, complete with a loop that would send the car onto another track on the floor.
“Wow, can I really race cars on that?”
“I believe so,” his dad answered. “See if you can figure it out. I want to show your mom the rest of the condo, then I’ll come back.”
“Okey dokey.” He pulled out more racetrack. “This is so cool!”
“Wow, you really went all out,” I said, feeling the small pit in my stomach that had been there since we left this morning grow into a large knot. Iain would never want to leave here.
As if he could read my mind, Zach looked at me with uncertainty creasing his eyes.
I sought to reassure him. “It’s awesome, Zach. You’ve spoiled him, but I think in this instance, it’s okay. You’ve made him feel comfortable and at home.”
Zach led me back past the kitchen to another shorter hallway. “That’s the half bath,” he said, pointing to a door partly open. “And this is my room.”
He hesitated before pushing the door all the way open. “Yours, too, if you’re comfortable with that. I know we haven’t talked about how this will look to Iain. If you want to stay in the guest room, I understand, but I really want you in my bed.”
He pushed the door open, and I went in ahead of him. His room was painted a light gray. Instead of the ash-colored flooring that was in the living room and kitchen, in here, it was a warm brown. A soft, silvery-gray area rug that made me want to sink my bare toes into it took up much of the floor. On top of the rug was a king-sized bed centered in front of a wall-mounted headboard made of several rows of padded dark gray rectangles. A quilted pewter comforter covered the bed along with an abundance of pillows.
Three windows allowed for maximum natural lighting, but there were long silver and black patterned heavy curtains that could be used to block it out. The furniture was a masculine dark wood with straight lines. Recessed lights finished the room.
“This is really nice, Zach.”
“It does look nice, doesn’t it?” He looked around the room. “I wasn’t sure what she had planned, but I trusted her.”
“Her? And do you mean this is new to you?”
He looked a little sheepish as he shrugged. “I didn’t want any reminders in here.”
Reminders? Oh, god. I hadn’t really thought of Zach and other women. “Oh. You mean other…girlfriends.” I almost choked on the word.
He pulled me close, but I remained rigid. It wasn’t fair, but I couldn’t help how I felt.
“I won’t lie to you. Honesty, remember? I’ve dated. But I know the reason nothing ever lasted was because they were never you. I wanted this room to be like a fresh start, not just from reminders of other women but from the angry memories I had after you left.”
He kissed my forehead, then my cheek, then slid to the corner of my mouth. “Don’t be upset, sunshine.”
He was trying. I would, too. “Thank you for making the changes. I don’t think I could have stayed in here otherwise.”
“Does that mean you’ll stay here?”
I nodded and was rewarded with a lingering kiss that made me long to try out his new bed.
“There’s one more thing,” he said, and I looked at him expectantly. “While we’re here, I’d like you to give this place an honest chance.” Before I could say anything, he hurried to continue. “I’m not saying we have to decide now, but I want you to honestly consider what opportunities there are for you and Iain here.”
“Okay.”
“Really? I expected more of a fight.”
I shook my head. “Nope. You’ve tried hard to fit into my world. Now it’s our turn. We can’t have an honest conversation about our future if we don’t have the full picture.”
He kissed me again. “This feels right with you, Emalee Dawson. I love you more now than I did the first time I met you, and I promise you, my feelings were strong and true then.”
“You love me?”
