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“You could say that.” He pushes open the driver’s door. “Come.”

I blow out a slow breath before unlatching my own seat belt and exiting the car, meeting him on the sidewalk moments later.

Taking in the large, three-story brick building in front of us, I allow River to lead me to the front door, where he inputs a code into the keypad that unlocks it before steering me inside.

“Okay, so clearly you knowsomeone,” I grumble, following him down a long hallway before stopping at a set of elevators. “Why are we here, River?” I ask as we wait for the doors to slide open, which they do almost instantly.

“You’ll see.” He takes my hand, pulling me into the elevator with him.

We ride the car up to the third floor before stepping out into a hallway that looks nearly identical to the one we came in on. Shiny, white tile floors. Light gray walls. Dark wood accents. It’s a really nice building, whoever lives here.

“Here we are.” He stops at a door about halfway down the hall, this time using a key to gain entry.

I give him a look that I’m sure looks a lot likewhat the fuck is thisbefore his hand finds the small of my back and he ushers me inside.

I blink once, twice, allowing my eyes to adjust to the bright room that has so much natural light pouring inside, it almost feels like you’re outside, standing beneath the sun.

“What is this place?” I ask, looking around theemptyapartment. There’s nothing here. No furniture. No decorations. Not even a single curtain or blind.

The walls are a soft gray, similar to the ones in the hallway. The floors are hardwood, dark and shiny. It’s an open concept; the living room, kitchen, and dining room all basically one large room, with nothing more than a breakfast bar for separation.

I step farther into the room, not missing the wall of windows along the back wall that looks eerily similar to River’s apartment in North Carolina, minus the incredible view.

“This is my new home,” he says from behind me, and I turn to look at him, sure I’ve heard him wrong.

“What?”

“I’m moving to Virginia,” he says, taking a step closer to where I’m currently standing in the middle of the room. “I signed the lease to this place this morning.”

“You’re... You’re moving here?” I stare at him like I can’t decide if I want to scream at him for not discussing this with me first or jump into his arms and kiss him until my lips are painfully swollen and begging for reprieve.

He nods slowly, taking another step toward me.

“This is your new apartment.”

“Ournew apartment,” he corrects. “That is if you want to live here.”

“Wait...” I hold my arm out to steady myself, feeling suddenly off balance. “You want me to move in with you?”

“I do. But it’s okay if you don’t want to. There’s no pressure here. I just... I couldn’t take being so far away from you any longer.”

“How long have you been planning this?”

“A couple of months.”

“A couple of months...” I gape at him. “But your job... The remote position.” I answer my own question, knowing he’s been transitioning into a work-from-home position for a couple of weeks now.

He nods again, letting me piece it together on my own.

“So you requested a remote position so that you could stay with the company, but you wouldn’t have to stay in North Carolina.”

“Exactly.” He smiles.

“Because you want us to live together?”

“Yes.”

“Here?” I gesture around the space, trying to get my brain to catch up, but it seems sluggish and a little reluctant to do so.