I drop the hammer to my side. “I trust you too, but I don’t trust myself with blunt objects.”
“It’s not going to nail itself, Tea. If you don’t do it, I’ll be forced to stand here all day.”
He leans against the wood just to prove his point.
“Stop being an idiot.”
“Stop being a chicken.”
“Fine,” I huff. “You asked for it. When your finger needs to be amputated and you can’t work with animals, don’t say I didn’t warn you.”
He rolls his eyes. “Don’t hit my finger and we won’t have that problem.”
“And will you forgive me if I hit you?”
“Depends.”
“On?”
Derek’s smile grows. “On whether you hit it or not.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Teagan
Present
My father has always griped about shopping with my mother and I never understood why. She’s never in a hurry, she likes to window-shop a lot, and overall, she’s just relaxed. Dad isn’t that way. He likes to get the task done so he can move onto what he really wants to do—like fishing or football.
House shopping with Derek has given me a whole new understanding for my father’s pain.
First, the agent that is driving us around is an idiot. She’s gotten lost twice, and this town is not that big. Then, Derek’s being the most ridiculous person ever. Each freaking house he finds something else, something that doesn’t even matter, as a reason to move on to seeing the next listing.
“What was wrong with that one?” I ask as we leave the fifth showing.
“Too…beachy.”
The agent clears her throat. “I can find something less beachy if you’d like.”
“Thank you.” He grins as though he’s won a prize.
“We live on an island! The whole damn thing is a beach.”
“Yeah.” He sighs. “But it was old beachy.”
I didn’t know there was such a thing. “So you want more of a new beach feel?”
“I want it to feel like home.”
“It won’t be a home if you never pick it.”
He chuckles once but covers it with a cough.
“We have four more homes lined up that we can look at,” the agent informs us.
“Great. Teagan and I are ready for more.”
Yeah, so ready…
I groan. “I should’ve cut my hair off when I was under that table.”
“But then we wouldn’t have this fun day together.” The first house we’d looked at was perfect. It was a few blocks off the beach but had amazing views. There were some upgrades he could do that would’ve been simple enough. I couldn’t believe how spacious it felt considering the square footage. I would’ve bought it, but he walked out after three minutes.
“Oh.” I laugh without humor. “This is fun?”
“I’m enjoying myself.”
“I’m glad one of us is,” I mutter to myself.
Each house we visit, I try to picture Derek and Everly, and then, somewhere about five minutes into the vision, I show up with groceries or a painting in my hands. Then, Chastity comes out of the front door, smiling with that humongous pregnant cat of hers, and we’re all happy. As though I’m not looking for a house for him, but for us—which I’m not.
It’s a dumb fantasy that keeps coming back.
“I’m begging you to just let me walk home.”
“Here, look at this one.” He ignores the comment and takes the listing paperwork the agent handed him from the front seat. Of course, I’m stuck back here with him because her office is literally her passenger seat.
Derek shakes his head. “Let’s see this one next. Teagan is getting hungry and it’s close to the store. We’ll get you a Snickers since you’re clearly in a mood.”
I wonder why that could be.
“You better get two.”
“Only if you’re nice.”
“Then I guess I’ll be hungry,” I retort. I lost the ability to be nice three houses ago.
We pull up to a brick home, and he won’t even get out of the car. “I don’t like it.”
I might kill him. “You haven’t even seen it yet!”
He shrugs. “I don’t want to see it.”
“I think you’re trying to torture me. I think this is all some ruse so that you can drive me crazy or force me to hang out with you.”
“Is it working?”
I glare at him.
“I’ll take that as a yes. So, if it is a ruse, I’m winning. If we’re looking for a house, which I assure you, we are, I’m still winning. Honestly, today is perfect.”
Instead of responding, I bang my head on the seat in front of me. This is my version of hell. I’m trapped in a car with a man I still have feelings for, looking at houses, and imagining myself in the house with him.
We drive to the other side where the tourists really never go. It’s definitely the location I would prefer to live in. I like the privacy this section of the island offers. It’s not about the wild horses or how big of a house you can build.
It’s true beach homes.
What people could afford to build and where they could live a comfortable life.
“So, about that kiss…”
My head shoots to his to find him sitting there with a smirk.
“Now is not the time,” I say quietly.
“Why not? I’m sure you’ve been nuking it in your head for over a week now. I think the car, where you can’t escape, is the perfect time.”
Oh my god. I’m seriously debating throwing myself from a moving vehicle to avoid this. “Seriously, not now.”
We don’t know this agent and who she might gossip to in town. And anyway, we were doing just fine pretending nothing ever happened.
“Well, if you don’t want to talk, that’s fine.”
I breathe a sigh of relief. At least he’s being reasonable.
Talking about that kiss is bad. Talking about it makes it real and I’m just fine letting it be a dream. He has no idea what dating when you have a kid is like and I’m not ready to be hurt again.
“I’ll talk.” Oh, for the love of God. “I liked that kiss. In fact, I’ve thought about it a lot
