Page 49

FORTY-EIGHT

THREE WEEKS LATER

“You let a guy blindfold you one time in the bedroom, and suddenly, he’s dragging you all over the city with a mask over your eyes.”

Cam chuckled behind me, his firm hands guiding me inside what I assumed was an apartment.

At least, I hoped it was. Ever since I got back from Boston, we’d been inseparable, only spending nights apart when he went on the road.

Luckily, Cole, Victoria’s brother, was well-versed in construction, so he repaired the carriage house’s roof one weekend.

It ended up being perfect timing, because Adam returned from Australia two days after I moved back in, but this time, Cam joined me.

And as much as we loved being close to our family, Cam and I were ready to find a place of our own. The goal was to have two places: one apartment in the city and a house closer to Tori and Emilia.

With the break for the All-Star game coming up, we figured it was the perfect time to hunt for a new home.

But everything we’d seen so far had been too small or too far from the rest of our friends.

When Cam told me he had a surprise waiting for me today, I’d crossed my fingers, praying he’d found us somewhere to call our own.

Even though Cam’s season was only half-way over, I was off for another five weeks—enough time to get settled before the new school year started.

Despite my initial hesitation, I’d taken the maternity leave position at the school.

Victoria and I had been talking more about our early childhood center, and it seemed like we were taking more steps toward making it a reality.

With her wrapping up her MBA in the fall, the stars were finally aligning, and our dreams might just become a reality.

There were still a lot of steps to be taken, but at least we were taking steps forward.

We’d eventually have to find a place, especially if we wanted to update our business plan to reflect the local population.

For now, though, we were working more on the internal workings of how we’d want our center to run.

I reached up to itch my nose as we walked further into the space, and Cam wrapped his arms around my shoulders. “Are you trying to peek, menace?”

“If I was, what would you do about it?”

He inhaled sharply, his nose pressing against the length of my neck. “Don’t tempt me right now, baby. The listing agent’s going to be here soon, and I can’t have her walking in on us.” Cam kissed the side of my neck. “But if you’re a good girl, I’ll make it worth your while later.”

“I like the sound of that.” I turned to face him, looping my arms around his neck. “As much fun as this blindfold has been, can you take it off now?”

“Impatient, menace?”

“You know it, sarge.” I let out a little sigh. “I’d love to have a place before your break ends. That way, we can come straight home after the games.”

“You have no idea how much I like the sound of that, Hads.”

With a quick tug, the black silk fell away from my eyes, and I had to hold my hand up to my mouth to stifle my gasp.

It was criminal to call this place an apartment, especially after the lackluster ones we’d seen over the past couple of weeks.

One wall was all windows, showcasing the skyline of Erie City, complete with the Hawks’ stadium in the background.

It was only after I stared at the view for a couple more minutes that I dared to look at the rest of the place.

The apartment was the perfect mix of rustic and modern, with warm, wood accents and exposed brick, painted black pipes running along the ceiling.

The open floor plan let you overlook the living room from the kitchen.

As I walked into the living room, my hand ran along the back of a dark green velvet couch.

Whoever furnished this apartment needed to be my best friend.

It was like they pulled all my dream elements out of my brain.

Everything was mix-matched but flowed together, the perfect eclectic elegance I loved more than any other style.

“Wait…” I said as I walked further inside, checking out the primary bedroom off the hall.

The walls were painted my favorite shade of teal, the bed the same one I’d shown Cam earlier that week.

As I moved closer to the dresser, I realized all the photos in the frames were of us, many taken from our public declarations on social media.

As I picked up our most recent one from the game earlier in the week, I turned around to face Cam. “Why is all of this here?”

He gave me a sheepish smile as he held up the keys.

“I hope you like it, or I’m going to be kicking myself all night.

When the listing agent showed it to me, I just knew.

I see us here, Hads. Mornings together, celebrating with Emilia, and everything else in between.

” Speechless, I just stared at him, trying to figure out how he pulled this off behind my back.

He must have misread my silence as annoyance, because he took my hand and led me down the hall to the other two bedrooms, one that had already been painted in glittery purple, with the dream bedroom set to match.

“This is Emilia’s room, and then I was thinking we could use the extra one as a guest room, or an office, if you wanted a space at home. ”

When he finished showing me around, Cam led me back to the kitchen, his smile replaced with something much less shiny. “Shit, Hads. If you hate it, I’ll go right back down and try to get us out of this. I just wanted to take care of you, and when I saw this place?—”

My hand covered his mouth. “I love it.”

His eyes glistened. As I pulled it away, he grabbed my wrist, leaving a soft kiss on my pulse point. “Are you sure?”

“Cam, you found us a home.” Tears formed in the crests of my eyes. “And it’s absolutely perfect. But I am mad about one thing…” My fingers trailed along his chest. “I thought we couldn’t fool around because the listing agent was coming up here.”

“Okay, so that was technically a lie. But there is one more thing you need to see before we can break this place in.”

My brow furrowed, about to argue, when Cam took my hand.

He pulled our joined hands to his mouth, leaving a kiss on my knuckles.

We walked out of the apartment, and I looked over my shoulder in complete disbelief that we had a place of our own.

Once we were in the hall, Cam passed me a key topped with a light blue key holder. “Lock up for me, baby?”

I did as he asked, beaming up at him when I pulled the key from the lock. “I still can’t believe you did this.”

Cam pulled me into his arms, kissing the top of my head. “I’d do anything for you, baby. After all, you’re the one who’s made my life more than I ever imagined. I want a full life with you. This is just the first step.”

When we left the apartment, I expected Cam to take us to a local restaurant or a coffee shop that would be our new place.

Instead, when we reached the ground level of the building, he turned away from the car, directing me to where a bunch of empty storefronts sat, waiting for businesses to claim them.

“This building is brand new,” Cam said as he tugged me along. “Just finished construction last month, but the plan is to make it a staple of the community. Not only quality housing, but local businesses to help the neighborhood thrive.”

We turned the corner, and I saw an addition next to the building, a one-story set-up with an attached yard. My heart clenched at the sight, wondering if one day, I’d have a place of my own just like this, a place where kids could learn and grow.

I expected Cam to turn around and continue the tour of the neighborhood, but then the sign in the front caught my eye.

The Sunshine Academy.

“Son of a bitch,” I muttered under my breath.

Cam stopped, arching his brow in question.

I shook my head. “It’s nothing. It’s just…

the daycare Victoria and I always dreamed about?

That was going to be its name. It was an inside joke, that she was the brains and I was the sunshine, and together, we’d make the perfect pair. ”

Cam laughed, nodding. “Think that’s still the case?”

I furrowed my brow, following his line of sight until it reached my best friend, who grinned as she opened the door and walked outside. For the second time today, I was stunned silent, too busy hoping the sight in front of me was real.

When Cam let go of my hand, I stepped up to Victoria. “What are you doing here?”

“Thought you’d want to check out our first location.” She held up the keys. “Because a certain benefactor of ours just bought the building, and he wants to make sure both the owners approve before we sign on the dotted line.”

I whipped around to face Cam. “How did you even know about this?”

“I might have stolen your business plan,” he admitted with a shrug.

When my mouth fell open, he just smirked.

“Sorry, menace. It was too good to sit in a box gathering dust. I knew you just needed a push to make it happen.” He stepped closer, but this time, his expression didn’t seem so confident.

“If I overstepped, I’m sorry. You’re an amazing teacher, Hads, but you’ve dreamed about doing so much more.

Maybe I should have talked to you first, but you’d never let me help if I asked. ”

I stared up at him, too stunned to articulate all the emotions rushing through me. Instead, all I could babble was a shaky, “Why?”

Cam cupped my cheek in his palm. “I will always support your dreams, Hadley. No matter what comes next, I’m in this with you. If you wanted to run the world, I’d be right by your side, doing everything in my power to make it a reality. I believe in you, baby.”

I rolled my lips, trying and failing to keep my tears from falling. Cam smoothed them away with his thumb. “Please tell me these are happy tears.”

I launched myself into his arms. “These are ridiculously over the top happy tears.” I pulled back and kissed him, pouring every ounce of devotion and appreciation into my touch. “But please tell me this is the last of the surprises. My heart can’t take any more.”

“This is it,” Cam chuckled. “But you have to go inside and make sure it matches your vision. Vic checked it out last week, but we wanted you to have the final say.”

I nodded, and Cam put me back on the ground. As I looked up at the building he’d bought for us, I reached out and took Victoria’s hand. “So we’re really doing this?”

She winked at me. “We always were. Sometimes, the right thing just takes a little longer to come along.”

I glanced over my shoulder at the man who’d stolen my heart.

Truer words had never been spoken.