Page 141 of The Arrogant One

Her shoulders slowly lifted. “Me too.”

I took a glance around even though I already knew what it looked like. “You live on a film set.”

“It looks that way, doesn’t it?”

“I’m sure it feels that way too.” I pointed at her living room, where mountains of boxes were taking up an entire wall. “Is that stuff that brands send you? Products they want you to influence?”

She sighed. “Yes, but that’s the carryover.” She brought me to the first door off her hallway, which ended up being her office. “Because this room can’t handle another box.”

Her desk took up a corner, and in another was an area that she had set up for photo shoots. The rest was boxes. At least fifteen high, and there had to be over thirty stacks. I didn’t know how she worked in here. The chaos alone would make me unproductive.

“Jesus Christ, Sadie. You’re busting out of this condo.”

“I know, and it’s getting worse by the day.” She ran her hand down the arm of my hoodie. “I’ve had to get a storage unit, and that’s where everything ships to now. The post office doesn’t have a box large enough for me.”

I watched her take in the disaster.

“I’ve thought about getting another storage unit, but I honestly don’t know what to do. I know I can’t keep living like this. I need more space.”

While she was gazing around her room, I was looking at her. “I have an idea.”

An idea that I’d been thinking about for a bit.

An idea that I was going to present to her when we traveled to Portsmouth and Charleston in a couple of weeks.

“Please tell me you’re about to solve all my problems? I need that. I’m honestly at a loss for what to do. Do I sell this condo and find a bigger one? Do I get a house? Do I get an office and move the boxes there? Do I?—”

“You move in with me and use this condo as your office.”

She pulled her hand off my arm and crossed hers over her chest. A few seconds ticked by before a smile appeared on her lips. “You’re asking me to move in with you?”

“I am.”

Her brows rose. “Are you sure about that?”

I chuckled. “As it is, you stay several nights a week at my place, and you’ve already started leaving a few things there. I hate when you’re gone. And we only live about ten minutes from one another, so the commute would be nothing.”

She jutted her lips out in a pucker. “All very true.”

I grabbed her hand and brought her into the living room. “Get rid of the furniture and use this room as storage.” I used my finger to draw in the air when I said, “You can have racks along each wall, everything labeled and organized. That way, when you need something to film with in the kitchen, it’s close by and easily accessible.” My hand dropped to my side. “You can use your office as an actual office. And your bedroom, although I haven’t seen that yet, you can make into a space for your photo shoots. If you find yourself needing an assistant, they could also work in your bedroom.” I held the base of her neck.

“I have two wardrobes. Even the closet in my bedroom is too small.”

“Two? You mean, one for cold weather and one for hot?”

“No.” She laughed. “Like one for Sadie and one for Dear Foodie, and they don’t mix. Ever.”

“I wouldn’t have even thought of that.”

“I used to keep all of Dear Foodie’s clothes in the closet in the second bedroom, but now that’s filled with boxes too.”

“Baby …” I surrounded her neck with my other hand and moved us closer together. “You don’t have to live like this.”

She was quiet as she nodded.

I tilted her face up to mine. “But I don’t want you to move in just because you need more space. I want you to move in because you don’t want to wake up another morning without being next to me.”

Her arms rested on my shoulders, and she rose up on her toes, gaining a few inches. “I absolutely despise not waking up next to you. But do you know what I love?” She brushed her fingers through my scruff.