Page 17 of Boom


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From somewhere above us, rainwater was still coming down – now more a trickle than a gush.

Still, with ever-growing concern, I looked once again to the floor. Already, water was pooling at my feet and seeping into my cheap red sneakers.

I didn't care about the shoes. But Ididcare about the house.

A lot.

It was in that awful moment that I realized something. Even if I could've purchased the house on my own, I still would've been totally screwed, because the place was obviously falling apart.

To repair it would cost a fortune – a huge fortune, at least bymystandards. NobodyIknew had that kind of money – nobody except, well, the guy standing in front of me.

The realization hit so hard, I nearly staggered under the weight of it. Brody – he was good at repairing things.Really good.And healreadyowned the place.

Sure, the thought of him living here was a little hard to stomach – okay,reallyhard to stomach – but it was a lot better than the alternative.

Some might say this was just a house. And maybe it was. But my parents had divorced when I'd been just a toddler. Over the years, I'd moved way too often.Different cities. Different houses. Different schools.Different boyfriends and girlfriends, too – not mine, my parents'.

They'd shared custody – probably because neither one of them had wanted to be a full-time parent. But through it all, one thing had remained constant –thisplace, where my grandparents had lived.

Thanks to them, it always felt like I had a home, arealhome.

In high school, I'd actually lived here for four blissful years when both of my parents had decided that evenpart-timeparenting was more trouble than it was worth. Turns out, it was blessing in disguise, because in the end, those were some of the happiest years of my life.

As far as the house itself, I knew for a fact that my grandparents had always planned for it to stay in the family.They'd told me so personally.

But now, I had to face facts. Obviously, that wasn't going to happen.

I'd failed.

Not keeping it in the family was bad enough. But to think of the house not being here at all, of it being razed to the ground to build some McMansion in its place – it made me want to cry.

But I refused to cry, especially in front ofhim– the guy who'd been ruining my plans for years

I was still looking down to the floor. By now, my shoes were utterly soaked, and the rain was seeping into my socks. Softly, I heard myself say, "You could save it, you know."

When Brody said nothing in reply, I looked up.

He wasn't smiling anymore.His eyes were dark and intense, like a storm of his own was brewing somewhere beneath the surface.

In a tone that wasn't encouraging, he said, "Save what?"

"The house." I gave him a pleading look. "Thishouse, I mean."

His mouth tightened. "Why?"

"Because it's the smart thing to do. You know it is."

He crossed his arms, making his muscles pop in a way that might've distracted the heck out of me, if only I weren't distracted enough already. With a low scoff, he said, "You're gonna have to do better than that."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean your presentation needs work."

I didn't get it."Okay, so what do you want?" I forced a laugh. "For me to beg you or something?"

He cocked his head as if thinking. As he did, a terrible silence stretched out between us. Finally, he said, "That's one approach. But not myfirstchoice."

At this, I grew very still. "So… what are you suggesting instead? Because if you're suggesting something, um, physical—"