We’re supposed to break up, but that was before I started falling for him.
“It was at my apartment,” I say, then wait for his reaction. When his response is to reach for his glass and hand me the other, I continue. “Do you know what else I found there?”
“What?” He’s the picture of innocence.
“A completely redone apartment.” I flap my arms around, the incredulousness I felt earlier returning.
“You’re upset about your apartment being updated?” he asks.
“No. It’s not the new paint or the new light fixtures or the entryway plant or the fancy intercom system that I’m upset about.”
“So, what’s the problem?” He looks nonplussed and it only serves to frustrate me more.
“It’s done!” I gesture wildly. “And I had no idea. That’s the issue.”
“Okay.” His face is giving nothing away.
“My neighbor said everything was completed weeks ago. A key fob was sent to this address and signed for by you, yet I’ve never seen it. Can you explain that?”
Barrett’s hand lifts to his forehead, his fingers rub back and forth there. Those long, firm fingers that gripped my tits this morning when he fucked me in the shower.
I can’t let Barrett’s fingers distract me. Or soften the irritation I feel that he’s been keeping this from me.
“You’re right. I signed for the package.”
“And?” I prompt him to keep going.
“And I put it in my desk.”
The image of Barrett spreading me wide on his desk comes to the forefront of my mind. Focus, Chloe.
I shake my head to dispel the image. Clearly Barrett’s fingers and mouth and dick have made it hard to be annoyed with him.
“When were you going to tell me?” I ask.
He sets his wine glass down on the counter, and I do the same when he moves his hands to my hips and pulls me closer to him. My hands grip his forearms, the skin there is warm, the muscles beneath taut, both reminding me how nice it feels to be wrapped in his arms.
“Never.” He says it so earnestly my nervous reflex is to laugh.
“You’re kidding, right?”
His gaze is piercing, unwavering. But then his mouth breaks into a grin and he shrugs.
“Eventually. When the kids ask about your first place in the city and it reminds you that you used to live somewhere else.”
“We have kids? If you’re trying to not freak me out about living with you, talking about our future children isn’t the way to go. You haven’t even asked me to move in. We’re not even a real couple. Are we? I mean things have obviously changed between us, but we haven’t discussed anything official.”
“I thought that was implied. You know, by not telling you your apartment is ready.”
“I can’t move in with you. It’s too soon.” It’s too soon for a lot of things. Mostly the way I feel about him.
“You’re already here.”
“Only because Ralph skittered across the floor and freaked me out. Although he was kind of cute.” I think about that little gray mouse and wonder where he is now. Hopefully relocated to a nice farm he can roam around. “I just didn’t like the surprise of him being there. But that situation is resolved now.”
“Is it? How do you know for sure?” Barrett asks, his eyebrows lifting with feigned skepticism.
I don’t know what’s happening right now. Barrett wants me to live here with him, yet he’s said nothing to me about changing our previous arrangement. We’re set to break up next week and he’s talking about kids? What the hell is going on? Did I miss something? The confusion must be all over my face.
Barrett leans down and kisses me gently on the lips. A reassuring kiss.
“Chloe. I want you here with me. I want our arrangement to end and us to be together because we want to. Keep your apartment. It’ll be there if you want it. But if you want to be here, I want you here. Sleeping in my arms. Waking up every morning together.”
As Barrett says the words, I let out a shaky breath. More than moving in with him permanently, the reassurance that he wants to make our relationship real makes my stomach fluttery and my heart pound happily against my ribcage.
But that doesn’t mean I’m not going to negotiate.
“Access to the study?”
“Unlimited.”
“Rose would continue to stock the fridge with cookie dough ice cream?”
“Yes.”
“I’d get half of your closet?”