“Excellent. Since you’re watching the kids, you won’t mind if I take Nora out for a bit, right?” Sebastian asked.
“You got an hour. Then I have to meet with one of our suppliers over in Butler,” Talon said, taking another pretend sip from his cup.
“Let me just have a chat with Luca first,” I said and walked into the room.
Luca was hiding under the blanket on the couch, the big lump unmistakable.
I sat down next to him and tapped his legs. “Don’t you have something to say to me?”
“Shmorry, Mommy,” he mumbled from underneath the blanket.
“It’s okay. But no more going through my desk drawers.”
He pulled the blankets back and nodded. “Okay.”
I leaned over and kissed his forehead. “I’m just going out with Sebastian. Talon is going to play with you.”
“Where you going?” he asked.
I looked to Sebastian, who was sitting on the floor next to Talon, Lena standing in front of him, putting glitter in his hair. He’d be finding glitter for the next week if he didn’t stop her soon.
“I’m not sure. But we won’t be gone long, promise,” I said, getting up.
Luca nodded, pulling a Superman comic out from underneath him. He was already lost in a world of superheroes by the time I stood up.
Lena was even less concerned about me leaving, fighting me off when I tried to kiss her goodbye.
“No kissing,” she said, wagging her finger at me.
I grinned at her and blew a kiss instead. She grudgingly accepted it before getting back to her tea party.
Sebastian took my hand and walked me out to his bike, handing me my helmet. “So where are we going?” I asked when I sat behind him on the seat.
“It’s a surprise,” he said before putting his own helmet on.
We drove to the outskirts of Humptulips and turned onto a dirt road. All that was out here were fields and trees and a few farms. I recognized the area, since Stella and Mason lived out this way. I could never remember which dirt road to turn down to get to their place, but I’d been a few times. The kids loved going since Mason had a soft spot for animals and rescued them, meaning his farm was better than going to the zoo.
I watched with interest as we pulled up to an old farmhouse. There was a big shed off to the right, and the two-story house was nestled between huge trees on one side and empty fields on the other.
We parked in front of the porch steps leading up to the front door. I climbed off and removed my helmet, looking around. The ground was covered in long grass and weeds, but the buildings looked to be in good shape.
“Where are we?” I asked once Sebastian had taken off his helmet as well.
“Do you like it?” he asked, a tentative smile on his face.
Why is he shifting from foot to foot?
“It’s beautiful. But what are we doing here?”
“I made an offer on it, and they accepted this morning,” he said, watching me for a reaction.
My eyes went wide, and I stared at him. “You bought it?”
“I did, right after I sold my apartment in Chicago.”
“When did you put it on the market?” I asked, astonished that he would be able to sell it so quickly and ecstatic that he did. It finally sank in that he was really staying.
“Seven weeks ago. The sale went through four days ago. I made the offer on this place right after.”
“Seven weeks ago?” I asked, my voice a few octaves higher than usual.
“It’s in a great location, and I’ve renovated it. Got a good price for it. And my money goes a lot further out here than it does in Chicago.”
I swallowed, looking around again. “But it’s a lot of land. That would have cost a lot, even in Humptulips.”
“I’ve always worked, never really spent much. Never had anything I wanted to spend it on. Now I do, so I figured why wait?”
He took my hand, pulling it up and kissing my palm. “I know you’re not there yet, but I want you to think about moving in when you’re ready. There’s five bedrooms, and the kids would love it out here.”
They definitely would. It was perfect, and I could see how amazing it would look with a little TLC.
“This is amazing, Sebastian,” I said, my voice wavering. “And it means the world to me that you included us when you made the decision to buy it.”
“Of course I did. I love you, and I don’t ever want to be without you. You’re part of my life now. You and the kids.”
I threw myself at him, Sebastian catching me and taking a step back to steady us. “Does that mean you like it?”
He sounded hesitant, and I looked up at him with wide eyes. “I love it.”
“I know I should have talked to you first, but I saw it and thought it was perfect. I made the offer the day it came on the market.”
“It’s your money. You don’t have to ask me before spending it,” I said, placing a kiss on his chest.
“I want you to be comfortable here. If you don’t like it, I’m sure we can sell it again. It’s in a great location and comes with a lot of land.”
I held him tighter. “Don’t you dare sell my dream house.”
He grinned, his body relaxing into me. “Just wait until you meet the neighbors.”
“The neighbors? Why? Do I know them?”
He nodded over my shoulder, and I released him and turned around. Mason and Stella came walking across the field, followed by a rooster, a pig, and a dog.
Stella was the first to reach me and shrieked, pulling me into a hug. “We’re going to be neighbors.”
I chuckled, jumping up and down with her or risk getting my arms pulled out of their sockets. “I just found out.”
Mason shook Sebastian’s hand and greeted me with a kiss to my cheek. “Does this mean
