Page 49 of Yours, Forever

"Will you think I'm awful if I tell you I'd rather not?"

His lips curled into a rueful smile. "What kind of person did I marry?"

I gave him a friendly punch on the shoulder. "Wearegoing to be busy for the next few weeks, what with the gala next week, and Semana Lagunina with your friends' visit. If it were to slip our minds… that would be understandable, right?"

"Oh, darling. I'm an expert in having tense relationships with one's parent. You can count on me."

"Thank you. I'm going to go help Lily now—" I made for the door, but he took my hand to stop me.

Our hands hung together between us, his skin warm on mine. Our eyes locked. Neither of us pulled away.

His voice came out soft. "Can I look at the house your mom mentioned? The one with the Italian last name?"

My heart sank. Not out of grief or panic, but because it needed to go into hiding. It would be safe somewhere behind my stomach.

"Max…"

I couldn't say anything else.

He leaned forward; a clear impulse to come closer moved him. It showed in the wrinkle between his eyebrows.

He held my hand more firmly. "Maybe… if we're willing to get more comfortable with each other relationship-wise… we can get more comfortable with our living arrangements, too."

"Is that why you want to move? Are you ready to admit your tiny room and tiny bed are too small for you?"

His furrowed eyebrows relaxed, and a hint of his usual humor appeared on the line of his lips.

"Mostly, it's that I ran out of room for my suits."

I made a sound somewhere between a snort and a chuckle.

His smile deepened, before it went away again. "Is there a reason you don’t want to move? Or reno, or…?"

I let go of his hand and ran my fingers through my hair. "I'm proud of my house, okay? I bought it on my own. Though I always dreamt of the Venturelli house, I never thought I'd be able to afford it. Maybe if I managed to make Laguna Island a tourist destination, my razor-thin profits multiplied somehow, and no one bought it before I got a chance to retire."

"You could afford it, now."

I nodded. "I tried not to think about it. Buying it while we're married… it seems… I don't know."

I sighed. He leaned back on the chair and studied me.

"Think about it. The prenup includes clauses about what happens when we buy things together. I could buy it for us—"

"Don't buy it for us, please. Let me think about it."

He didn't say anything right away. "All right. I'll let you think about it."

"Thank you." I smiled.

He gave me a single nod.

When I returned to work alongside Lily, I didn't try to pack my dream back into a box, to be forgotten in the attic of my mind. I looked at it like I hadn't in a long while, and let myself imaginewhat it might be like to reach out to it… and how Max's presence in my life might change it, if at all.

Max

In the early days of our marriage— ha— I promised Eva I would avoid crowding her too much. Considering my boisterous personality and the extent to which I intruded in her life, she probably could use a break. Even though I felt much better about that these days, I didn't want her to change her mind.

I made my way to the pub, letting her work her late evening in peace. Mingling with the townspeople in the public made sense. I wanted their trust, too, especially since I continued to get into business with so many of them.