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Maybe I jumped the gun, but I don’t care.

I went this morning with my realtor to check out the house, and it’s perfect.

Five bedrooms. Eight bathrooms. An entirely white kitchen that I could see Victoria cooking in as she gives the two of us lessons—with space to dance, of course, and a huge island countertop that I imagined a naked Victoria spread-eagle on top of when we’re alone as I have my own tasty dessert.

And that pool? Fucking incredible. It’s the perfect oasis nestled in the foothills of the mountains, and there’s even a view of the Strip far off in the distance.

I didn’t have to search long because when you know, you know.

And maybe the same can be said about Hartley.

I put in an offer an hour ago, and I’m waiting to hear if it was accepted. It’s an all-cash offer for the price they’re asking, so it’s not likely that it won’t be accepted.

I’m ready to get packing. I’m ready to move into our new house.

I’m ready to see Harper’s smile when I show her the house, her new room, the pool…and when I tell her who’s moving in with us.

I also placed an order for packing materials that’s ready for pick-up, so I head to the Home Depot to grab my supplies.

“What’s all that?” she asks after I park in the curbside pickup area and a worker brings out all the supplies to my car.

“Nothing,” I say. I glance in the rearview mirror at her.

She narrows her eyes at me, but I just chuckle and head toward home.

Harper relaxes with her iPad while I get the boxes out of the back of the car, and when my phone starts to ring as I stand in the garage and I see it’s my realtor calling, a rush of excitement bursts through me.

“Hey, Pete,” I answer. “Did you hear back?”

“They accepted,” he says.

“They did?” I ask, and I punch a fist in the air in excitement.

“And they’re good to do a quick close, so you could be moving in within the next two weeks if you’re ready,” he says.

“We’ll be ready,” I say. The house was nearly perfect as-is. The only thing I’ll need is some more of that custom dinocorn wallpaper for Harper’s room.

When Victoria arrives, I nearly blurt it out. But I want to get her alone first, just to verify that she’s ready for all this before we let Harper in on it.

I sit at the counter and flip my coin as she gives Harper tasks to help with the spaghetti. She gets the ground beef going on the stove, making her own version of some homemade meat sauce, and my mouth waters as the scent wafts to my nose. My chest feels warm and happy as I watch the two of them.

There’s a short break when Victoria starts slicing the crusty bread she brought and Harper runs upstairs to use the restroom before dinner.

“I put in an offer on the house, and they accepted,” I tell Victoria, my voice low so Harper doesn’t overhear.

“Whoa.” She glances up at me. “Really?”

I nod, and I can’t tell what she’s thinking about that. “I just wanted to make sure this is what you want before we tell Harper.”

She stops slicing and looks up at me, and she draws in a breath.

I brace myself for the inevitable rejection. It’s our pattern, isn’t it? It started out that way, anyway, and maybe a part of me will always know she was right to reject me. I’m not good enough for her, and I never will be.

But this isn’t just about me.

“You know, I’ve been back and forth all day on it, to be honest,” she begins.

I’m about to interrupt her with a why when she continues.

“It’s not just you and me, Trav. It’s her, too, and I’m so scared we’re going to mess this up and mess her up,” she says softly. “It’s risky, but for once in my life, I want to take the risk.”

I reach across the counter and take her hand in mine. “I do, too.”

She nods, and her eyes meet mine. Hers are full of something that wasn’t there before…warmth. I see it there, and I feel it in my chest, too. This thing between us, it’s starting to grow, and I’m just here for the ride.

I could kiss her, but I hear Harper bounding down the stairs. One big confession at a time here—because she’s right. I don’t want to mess her up, either. At least not any more than I already have.

“Ready?” I ask Victoria. She nods, and I turn to Harper. “I have some news.”

“What is it?” Harper asks.

“We’re going to be moving to a new house.”

Her brows dip. “We are? Wait a second.” She sets her hand on her hip. “This isn’t your ridiculousness about finding me a new school again, is it?”

I chuckle and shake my head. “No. You’ll still be attending the same school. I’ve sort of…changed my mind about it now.” I glance over at Victoria—the whole reason I changed my mind. Well, also the reason I wanted to switch in the first place, if I’m being honest.

She narrows her eyes at me. “Does the new house have a pool?”

I nod. “It does. It has five bedrooms, and I ordered extra dinocorn paper today so we can get the same wallpaper on your walls.”

She shrugs. “Okay. Cool.”

I chuckle at how she’s minimizing her excitement after what Victoria told me about the things she says about that wallpaper. “It also has a little apartment attached to it for the person I’m hiring to watch you when I’m back in season.” I carefully avoid the word nanny in the way I’m presenting this because I don’t really think of Victoria as a nanny—even if that’s exactly what she’s doing for me.

But she’s so much more than that. To both of us.

“Cool cool. As long as it’s not Maddy and her nutty granola.” She rolls her eyes, and I laugh.

“I promise it’s not nutty Madeline.”

Her brows knit together. “Did you find someone without telling me?”

I clear my throat and glance at Victoria, and she steps in.

“He did,” she says.

Harper looks back and forth between the two of us. “Well? Who is it?”

Victoria laughs. “It’s me.”

Harper’s jaw drops and her eyes widen, and then she falls to the ground dramatically as if she just fainted. She tosses an arm over her eyes. “Are you serious right now?”

“Totally serious,” Victoria says.

“Ohmygod ohmygod ohmygod!” Harper squeals, and she jumps to her feet and tosses her arms around Victoria. “I’m so happy!”

I blow out a breath.

I’m so happy, too. And I’m not used to it.

I just hope the feeling lasts.