“Alright,” Mouse said. “The agent is meeting us there in ten minutes. We should probably get going.”
“We’ll watch these guys,” Chris blurted out not too smoothly.
I eyed him again.
“It will be easier to look at the place without having to worry about these two,” he quickly added.
“Okay. I’m not going to argue with that,” I said as I kissed Chry and Sparrow bye. I snagged my purse as I made my way to the front door.
I got myself settled in the SUV while Mouse grabbed the diaper bag and ran it inside. He was in there a minute longer than I thought he should have been but I imagined that it was hard for him to leave Sparrow, especially since this was the first time.
“Ready?” he asked as he turned over the key effectively starting the car.
“I have no clue,” I said with a laugh. “You have told me absolutely nothing about this place.”
He only shrugged and backed out of the driveway.
Instead of turning off to leave the beach, he kept on going straight. I turned my head and looked at him with confusion.
A moment later, he was pulling up into a driveway. I didn’t have to get out to know that I’d hear the crunch of sand on concrete under my sandals when I stepped out. And it was that thought that had me already falling in love with the place.
The house was a cute little two-story, painted light yellow with white shutters. The front porch spanned half the length of the front and was painted white as well.
The agent greeted us at the door then started to show us around.
I was in love. Light hardwood floors. Open floor plan much like Chris’ house. Three bedrooms upstairs so we would be close to the kids at night.
And the best part, a view of the ocean from the master bedroom windows.
After she concluded the tour, Mouse asked her if she wouldn’t mind giving us a few minutes to look over the place again. With a genuine smile, she said she didn’t mind and stepped out onto the front porch to check her email. Or so she said.
I was feeling a little overwhelmed. I loved this house. I wanted to raise the kids in this house. But I knew there was no way I could afford it. And I wasn’t sure how much money Mouse was working with, but I kind of felt like this might be out of his price range too.
“Why are we even looking at this?” I asked and I was ready to cry because I wanted it so badly.
“Come on,” he said as he threaded his fingers through mine and led me back upstairs.
In the bedroom that would be ours, he walked me to the windows again. There was one in the corner that was set up like a nook and I could see myself sitting there daydreaming as I watched the waves crash on the shore.
With his arm around my waist, I leaned back into him and let my dream drift for a few more minutes.
“Imagine waking up to that every morning,” he whispered in my ear.
“Oh, I am. But it’s just not realistic, Malcolm.”
“Imagine us going to bed every night here and waking up every morning in each other’s arms.”
Why was he going on? It was beginning to tug at my heart.
“Imagine…”
“What?” I panted out as his hand dropped to the hem of my dress. “Imagine what?”
I swallowed hard as his fingers inched up the bottom of my dress.
Instead of answering me, his lips began to kiss up my neck.
He kept going, his lips moving up the same as his hands, his fingers so close to feeling how much I wanted him.
