Page 91 of The Challenge

I couldn’t help but laugh.

“What’s so funny?” he asked, his brows knitted together.

“Who do you think I was waiting for in that window?”

His mouth curved into a smile. “You were waiting for me?”

I bumped him with my hip. “Yes, you big dummy. I had the hugest crush on you back then. You were my first real crush.”

“I had no clue it started when you were that young.”

“You thought I just became obsessed with you when you came back from the military?”

“Well…yeah.”

“No. Unfortunately, I was a lovestruck tween, too.”

He wrapped his arms around me and kissed my neck. “If it makes you feel better, now I’m the one with the crush. I can’t stop thinking about last night.”

I felt my body come alive. Standing here at this window with Evan’s arms wrapped around me felt surreal.

“So, the crew will be back soon?” I asked.

“To be honest, I don’t know. They’re sort of on their own schedule.”

“I wanna see the other rooms.”

Evan led the way as we ventured back out into the hallway.

First, I peeked my head into Mom and Dad’s old room. While it triggered some sadness, I also remembered jumping into my parents’ bed when I was little, during happier times. That made me smile.

“Will this be your room?” I asked him.

“Probably, since it’s the primary. Is that weird?”

“Not at all. That makes sense.”

“The house is honestly a little too big for us,” he said. “But it will be nice to have two extra bedrooms.”

“What do you plan to do with them?”

He scratched his chin. “Not sure yet. For now, maybe one will be an office. The other has a bed in it that they left behind, so maybe I’ll keep that an extra bedroom for now. I could also make it a workout room at some point.”

“Well, it’s nice to have options.”

He walked behind me as we headed down the hall to what used to be Fawn’s room. It was empty, the walls painted a dark blue.

“This must’ve been a boy’s room,” I said.

“Yeah. I think the previous owners had a son, so that makes sense. This is what I’ll probably turn into an office.”

There wasn’t anything to see in there, so I walked out and headed to the last room, the one that used to be Evan’s. It had a full-size bed with a dark wooden frame. The walls were painted a sage green.

I sat down on the bed and ran my fingers along the comforter.

Evan joined me. “What are you thinking about?”

“I’m remembering how we used to hang out in here and talk.”