Mine to Have (Southern Wedding #1)(57)

"What did she tell you?" he asks when he leans against his side of the counter.

"None of your business," I scoff at him. "I didn’t ask you what happened with my parents."

"I was too busy celebrating the fact I didn’t get shot,” he jokes, then looks at me. "I have to talk to you about something."

"What?" I ask nervously, standing straight up.

"Well, I was talking to my partners today," he starts saying. "And we were discussing bringing another vet in." My eyebrows shoot up.

"Just like that, out of the blue." I fold my arms over my chest, looking at him and seeing that he’s lying.

"I mean, I did mention to them that you were moving in with me after I took back the offer for them to buy me out," he confesses, and I shake my head. "And I did mention that you were way better than me." He comes to me and pulls me to him. "And I also said you would only do it if we would be able to have the same shifts."

"I have no words," I say.

"Good, you start in two weeks." He kisses my lips. "Now, can we go and celebrate you moving in with me?” He picks me up and then stops when he gets to the stairs. "Shit," he says. "We don’t have a bed."

"What do you mean you don’t have a bed?" I ask, shocked.

"I assumed that you were bringing yours," he says, and I wiggle down.

"Why the hell did you assume that?" I shriek at him.

"You." He points at me. "You always said how much you love your bed, so I assumed you would bring it with you."

"Did I once say, hey, I’m bringing my bed?" I yell at him. "Not once."

"Let’s go," he says, grabbing my hand and pulling me out of the house. He locks the door, and I don’t even ask him questions. Assuming that we’ll be going to a hotel and I’m suddenly so pissed at him. I sit in the car stewing mad at his idiotness when I see us pull up to the place where we spent his wedding night.

"What the hell are we doing here?" I ask, looking over at him. "Did you even get a reservation?"

"Don’t need one." He opens the door and steps out, and before I have a chance to open my own door, he’s there, pulling it open for me to step out.

"I don’t think you can just show up when you want to," I grumble when I get out of the car, and he fishes keys out of his glove box. I look around, seeing that it’s as dark as it was that night, if not darker, since there are no lights on in the house. "I think we are trespassing."

He closes the box and then the car door. "No trespassing," he says before walking up the steps. "This is my house." I look at him with my mouth hanging open. "Bought it four years ago when I moved back." He unlocks the door. "It reminded me of you."

"You bought this house?" I point at the house. "Because it reminded you of me, and you were going to spend your wedding night in it?" I glare at him.

"That was never going to happen," he tells me. "She didn’t even know about this house. The only ones who knew about it were my sisters and my mother." He pushes open the door.

"I have no words for you, Travis," I say, both shocked and lovestruck.

"I have three words for you," he says. "Welcome home, Harlow."





Chapter 29





Travis

"Would you stop calling me?" I hiss into the phone when I pick it up. Looking over my shoulder, I see if Harlow is there. It’s a bit past noon, and I know she’ll be up any minute now.

"I’m only calling you because we want to let you know that it’s done and to know what time you’ll be coming," Shelby hisses back at me, and I look over my shoulder to see Harlow coming down the stairs dressed in one of my shirts.

"Later," I whisper into the phone. "Just be ready." I hang up, putting the phone facedown on the counter. "Morning," I greet, and she walks to me with one eye still closed.

"I called you," she says with a groggy voice. "Like three times." She wraps her arms around my waist. "Who were you on the phone with?"

"My mom," I lie to her and avoid looking at her. "Do you want coffee?"

"Does a bear shit in the woods?" She puts her head back, and I look down at her face and she gives me a shy smile. "I can’t believe it’s already noon."

"Go sit on the couch. I’ll bring you coffee," I say and she walks into the adjoining living room. She was not kidding when she said that her mother would have things delivered the next day. By the time we got back from the cabin the next morning and started unpacking, the truck showed up. Not only that, Olivia had hired people to come and stage the house along with unpack the boxes. I didn’t even know what to think but in a matter of four hours the house looked like it was out of a magazine, and for the first time it felt like a home.

I make the coffee while she gets on the couch and reaches for one of the throw cushions. It’s been a month that we’ve been living with each other, and it’s better than even I could imagine. She started at the clinic two weeks ago, and I was not wrong. She is way better than I will probably ever be. She goes through two patients while I’m still with one. "How did you sleep?" I grab the cups of coffee and walk toward her.