I let my gaze follow the roof of the porch to the tower where Dean once took pictures of me before things got downright hot. A little shiver runs through me at the memory.
“What did you ever do with those pictures?” I ask.
“I printed out the ones of you fully clothed,” he says. “I have a couple of them in my wallet and one in my office. I deleted the others.”
“Really? Why?”
“I don’t need prints of them.” He pulls me closer, his eyes darkening with heat as he taps his temple with his forefinger. “I’ve got every one of those pictures locked up here where only I can see them.”
A wave of pleasure surges beneath my heart as I lean toward my husband like a flower stem bending to the wind.
“I think we have the same idea about this house,” I whisper.
“What idea is that?” He slides his hands around to the small of my back.
“The one about buying it.”
“Buying it?”
I ease back to look at him, realizing suddenly that he has no idea what I’m talking about.
“Isn’t that why you asked me to meet you here?” I ask. “Didn’t you talk to Florence Wickham?”
“I haven’t talked to Florence since last week.” A faint confusion furrows his brow. “Why?”
“She told me that developers are starting to ask about the property again,” I explain. “Once they found out the Historical Society couldn’t raise the funds to save it, they realized they could swoop right in. Of course they’d just raze the house and make it a commercial site.”
“That would be a damn shame.”
“That’s why I was wondering…” I take a breath and rest my hand on the swell of my belly. “What do you think of us buying the house?”
“Us?” Dean repeats. “You and me?”
I smile. “Last I heard, us is definitely you and me.”
“Why do you want us to buy it?”
“I thought we could renovate it and eventually live here.” I look up at the house again, all the lights twinkling around it. “The location is amazing, and with the right care and attention, the house could be beautiful again. I know it’ll take a ton of work and money, but saving and restoring an old house… it feels like something we should do.”
And I know to the center of my heart that Dean and I were meant to bring this place back to its original glory.
“You’re the perfect person to make sure the details are all historically accurate, and to preserve the integrity of the original building,” I continue. “And I’d love to find out about the furniture and decorating. We could stay in the apartment with the baby for the next year or so until we get it all done.”
Dean is still quiet, his gaze traveling over the front of the house. I can almost see the thoughts and assessments shifting through his mind.
“We’d just have to make a plan,” I tell him. “Preferably a Professor Dean West plan.”
Dean turns to smile at me, his eyes crinkling at the corners, and my heart gives a leap of pure happiness.
“It’s a great idea, Liv,” he says. “I’d love to restore this house and live here with you.”
“I’d love it too.” I twine my arms around his neck and stand on tiptoe to kiss him. “When I saw your note, I thought you had the exact same idea.”
“I do now.” He rubs his nose against mine. “But I actually asked you here for another reason. Do you remember what day it is?”
“July… oh my God.” I press my hands to my cheeks, shock diluting my pleasure. “I did not forget our anniversary.”
“I think you did.”
“Oh, Dean. I’m so sorry.”
“Don’t be.” He gently tugs a lock of my hair. “We’ve had a lot going on, and I was kind of hoping you’d forget anyway. I wanted to surprise you.”
He takes my arm and guides me up the steps to the porch where white lights fall around us like a curtain of stars. The sun is a halo of reddish-gold behind the mountains, and the town lights shine through the dusk.
Dean tightens his hand on mine, his dark eyes fixing on me with that singular intensity that shuts the rest of the world out. My heart flutters with anticipation.
“Liv, I think…” Dean pauses and clears his throat. “I think you know everything there is to know. You know that I fell hard for you the first time I saw you. You know that nothing on earth could have kept me from following you that day, and that I had to struggle not to touch you when we stood there on the sidewalk. You know you were the prettiest girl I’d ever seen. That you always will be. You know I went to Jitter Beans every morning in the hopes of seeing you again.
“You know I looked up the university rules before I asked you out, and that I spent hours coming up with the idea of seducing you with library call numbers. You know you’re the sweetest, sexiest woman in history.”
My entire body warms with love, and I smile through the tears blurring my eyes.
“You know I’ll always fight for you,” Dean continues. “That I’ll always protect you and always want to give you everything. You know you’re the one who showed me the meaning of bravery. You know you make my heart pound every time I see you, and that you drive me crazy with your insistence that I put the cereal boxes back in alphabetical order.”