Page 131

He pulled her back into the kiss, turning up the heat, though she didn’t know how that was possible without her going up in flames.

The crowd cheered again. Her sisters made whooping sounds.

But Lyric was lost in her lover’s embrace and didn’t notice until the cold air hit her as they left the bar that he was taking her back upstairs to bed, where he showed her just how much he loved her.

Chapter Thirty-Six

A lot can change in an instant. Mason had learned that quickly on the job. But he never thought he’d settle into a relationship so completely and so effortlessly the way he did with Lyric. Two weeks and it felt like they’d always lived together in the apartment above the bar. Their lives so intertwined now, he missed her when she was working, so he ended up down in the bar with her, watching, talking, just being together.

Maybe it was because he didn’t have the distraction of work.

Mostly it was how much he enjoyed her company.

“Um...” She didn’t say anything more for a moment from the seat beside him as he pulled into the driveway of his parents’ Montana ranch. Nick was meeting them here, along with his aunt, uncle, and cousins. They were having a big family dinner. Mason couldn’t wait to introduce everyone to Lyric.

“Um, what?” He slowed the car, seeing that she needed a second to pull her thoughts out of her head and spill them off her tongue.

She was never unsure about anything, least of all speaking her mind.

He stopped the car and turned to her. “What is it,Angel? Are you nervous about meeting everyone? Because you shouldn’t be. They’re excited to meet you.” She’d already met his parents through their video chats.

She shook her head. “No, it’s not that. I did something, and I’m not sure how you’re going to feel about it.” She scrunched her lips, then bit the bottom one before confessing, “I bought the house.” She held up her phone. “It closed today. It’s mine.” Her gaze dropped to her lap. “Ours.”

They’d talked about doing it together. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I’d spoken to the realtor a while back. Before we got together. She knew I was interested in the property but not quite sure about pulling the trigger.”

He held on to his patience, trying to understand why she’d do this without him when everything else these last weeks felt like they were true partners. “Then, why did you buy it without asking me to go in on it with you like we talked about?”

“She called to give me a heads-up that someone was interested in buying it, but because I’d shown interest, she wanted to see if I wanted to put in an offer while the other party was still looking at other properties in the area.”

Okay, that made sense. There’d been a clock on it, and she didn’t want to miss the opportunity. But... “You said you weren’t sure you wanted it after what Rick did to us in that house. You didn’t want those memories every time you walked in the door.”

Her pleading eyes held his, begging for him to understand. “But it’s also the perfect place for us. We talked about that, too. And I just couldn’t let it go, because I know that we’ll make that place our own. Theapartment is too small for both of us. I know you don’t mind it, but you shouldn’t have to step outside in the cold to take a work call or ask me to leave so you can have your privacy to do your video therapy.”

A sense of worry came over him. “Do you feel like I’m hiding things from you?”

“No. Not at all. I know the work stuff is sensitive and maybe not what I really want to hear about anyway. And your therapy... that’s a safe place for you to talk about anything you want and know that it’s private. I don’t need to know everything, because you always come to me when you need me.”

He ran his hand over her soft hair. “I always need you.” He sifted his fingers through the silky strands and held her at the back of the head. “We’ve been open and honest with each other from the start.”

“I know. That’s why I feel so bad that I kept the purchase from you. I just didn’t want to put any pressure on you or push you to take a step you’re not ready to take yet.”

He pulled her close, pressed his forehead to hers, and looked deep into her eyes. “Angel, baby, for the first time in my life I feel like I know exactly what I’m meant to do and where I’m meant to be. And the answer to those two things is loving you and being with you. You bought the house.” He couldn’t believe it.

“With the money I made off your song,” she blurted out. “It went viral. People loved it. It’s still selling like gangbusters. I’ve had offers from other artists to cover it. But it’s yours and mine, and I thought why not use that money to build our future together? So I bought the house.”

He didn’t know what to say. He had no idea the song had done so well. Except that he’d shared in herexcitement about how it shot up in the rankings and that it was her highest-ranking song to date. Apparently he’d not translated that to sales and income.

“I’m so proud of you, sweetheart. I know what it means to you that others connect with your songs. I think it’s great that you used the money for us. But in the spirit of us doing things together, I’ll pay for the remodel. Then, it really will be ours. Deal?”

She sighed out her relief. “Deal.”

“And Angel?”

“Yeah.”

“Always know, home is you, not the place. Though, I love the place,” he assured her. He saw in it exactly what she saw in it. A place close to her family’s ranch. A place where they could raise their kids. A place that gave them space to grow and make memories.