Page 49 of Truth or More Truth (Throwback RomComs #3)

I give her a soft smile. “I’m so relieved and happy that you’re so accepting of our weird little family.

I honestly never thought I’d find that, and I was OK with it, but now I can’t imagine you not being part of my life—of our lives.

I can’t wait to be able to see you every day and kiss you every day.

” I press a quick kiss to her lips. “I don’t want you to feel pressured time-wise, though.

I don’t expect you to move in with me as soon as we get to Chicago, whenever that may be.

It’ll take a few months to get everything arranged, and we want Kelli to finish the school year here.

Unfortunately, you and I might see each other less during that time, but our days of being apart are numbered. ”

“I’m excited to eventually be with you every day, too.

” She pats my chest. “And I don’t feel pressured.

Once you’re getting close to moving in, we can talk about where I’m going to live.

I’ll be in the middle of my lease, but I can always look into subleasing if needed.

Now, let’s grab this breakfast dessert and get back out to Kelli. I’m sure she’s dying to talk details.”

“You know her so well already.”

I give Melissa another quick kiss before directing her to the plates already loaded with generous pieces of Kelli’s favorite cinnamon-roll coffee cake.

“Did you make this?” She sounds like she’s joking, and for good reason. I don’t seem like the baking type.

“I sure did.”

She almost drops the two plates she’s carrying. “What? Seriously?”

I shrug as I open the door. “I love to bake.” I add in a low voice, “Don’t tell anyone.”

Melissa laughs. “Oh, I’m telling everyone. And I’m going to make you bake for me on a weekly basis.”

“Done.” I would bake for her every day if it would make her happy.

“Is that your world-famous cinnamon-roll coffee cake?” Kelli snatches a plate out of my hand when she sees what’s on it.

“Manners, my child. And that’s exactly what it is, though I’m not sure world-famous is the way to describe it since only a few people have ever eaten it. ”

“It would be world-famous if you weren’t so worried about people knowing you love to bake.”

“She’s not wrong,” Nanette says. “Now, I’d like to hear if Melissa has any suggestions on where we should look at homes in Chicago.”

My girlfriend looks at me. “Did you talk to a Realtor this week?”

“I talked to one here about listing this house, but I wanted to wait to talk to someone in Chicago until you could be part of the conversation. Hopefully someday my house will be your house, too, so I want to make sure it’s in the location you’d like to settle down in, because the neighborhood doesn’t really matter to any of us, as long as we’re close to Kelli’s school.

I also want you to like the actual house.

” I chuckle and look at each of the women in turn.

“It might be difficult finding a property all three of you women will like, but I think we can ultimately make it happen.”

“I’m not picky,” Nanette says, and she’s right. Sometimes I wished she voiced her opinion on tangible things more than she does. She’s not shy about giving her full thoughts on everything else, though.

“I’m sure we can work things out.” Melissa bites her lip.

“Before coming here, I wasn’t sure which areas and neighborhoods would be appropriate to recommend, but now that I’ve seen all this,” she sweeps her arm around, encompassing my entire property, “it doesn’t seem like price is going to be an issue. ” She raises an eyebrow at me.

“I think anything you suggest is going to be in my price range,” I say in a wry tone. I don’t like to discuss my wealth, but if Melissa might someday be my wife, she needs to know what she’s dealing with financially. “So lay it on us.”

“Well,” she takes a deep breath. “I’d like you to consider my childhood home in Evanston.”

I’m surprised by this revelation, but it’s a good sort of surprise.

Melissa continues, “My parents have been talking about downsizing to a property that’s smaller and all one level, so it’s easier for my dad to get around.

” She looks at Kelli and Nanette. “He had a stroke a couple years ago. He’s mostly recovered, but stairs are difficult for him, and the master suite is on the second floor of the main home.

They’ve been making do with the rooms on the ground level, but the bedrooms and one full bath on that floor aren’t large, which also makes getting around a bit difficult for him. ”

My daughter and ex-wife express their concern for her dad.

“You’re sure they really want to move?” I place a hand on Melissa’s thigh. “This isn’t just something they talk about but will never actually do?”

“I talked to my mom about it this week,” she explains.

“I didn’t tell her about the possibility of you moving there, because I didn’t want to get her excited only to later disappoint her, but I did say I knew someone who might be interested in an off-market sale.

She said they truly want to move but need a kick in the pants, because it’ll be hard to leave their long-time home, but they know it’s past time to do it.

So this could be the perfect solution for everyone, if you three like the place.

If not, we’ll figure something else out for both your house and for my parents. ”

“That all makes sense,” I say. “Tell us more about the property.”

“The main house is a mock Tudor style and is similar in size to this one—maybe a little smaller. Kelli could have my old set of rooms, which includes a large bedroom, full bath, and an attached playroom—or whatever you’d want it to be since you probably don’t play with toys anymore.

” She thoughtfully directs that part at my daughter.

“Maybe an art room, or even a bunk room for when you have sleepovers?”

Kelli swallows a bite of coffee cake and nods excitedly. “Both of those would be cool! You think we could do a combo?”

“There might be room for that,” Melissa replies with a smile.

“Those rooms are upstairs, along with the master suite.” She doesn’t give details on that area, but I’ll ask about it later.

“Then there are two smaller bedrooms downstairs with an adjoining bath between them, an office, a breakfast room, a formal dining room, and two living areas. In the backyard, there’s a two-bedroom guest house—one bedroom is upstairs in the eaves, so that one could be Kelli’s—and there’s also a space downstairs that could be used as a home office, along with a full kitchen and a living room.

There’s also room to add onto it if necessary.

The property has a pool and a putting green as well.

It’s a few blocks from the lake and about a mile away from the Hamiltons.

The school I attended along with the Hamilton boys is just a few miles away, if you’d want to look into it as an option for Kelli. ”

“That all sounds almost too good to be true,” Nanette says to Melissa and then looks at me.

“Can we work it out to go visit in the next few weeks? I’d like to see the houses and visit a few schools while they’re still in session so I can get a good feel of them for Kelli.

And I want to visit the foundation’s offices and meet everyone before giving Diego a final answer on the job. ”

“I’ll make sure a trip happens,” I tell her as I stack my empty plates on top of Melissa’s. “Let me look at my schedule, and I’ll give you the dates so you can start setting up school visits.”

“Great.” She stands and pats our daughter on the shoulder. “Kell, why don’t we clean up the dishes, since your dad fixed it all for us?”

“But I want to keep talking to Melissa,” Kelli whines.

“And you can do that again in ten minutes,” her mother says. “But right now, you’re helping clean up.”

Kelli pouts, but she stands and grabs some plates. “Fine.”

Once they’ve cleared everything but our drinks and are inside the house for at least a few minutes, I pull Melissa out of her seat and onto my lap, making my chair’s aluminum frame creak under our combined weight.

She giggles and wraps her arms around my neck. “What are you doing?”

“Keeping you close while I can. These next few months are going to be hard.”

“The concrete below us is going to be hard when this chair collapses and we land on it.”

“We’ll be fine.” She shifts, and the chair creaks again. “Or maybe not. Hop up for a sec.” She does, and then I scoop her up in a fireman’s carry and run for the pool.

“Noooooo! ”

“Oh, yes!” I shout as I cannonball us both into the deep end of the pool.

After we surface and she splashes me in retaliation a few times, I pull her to my chest so she can wrap herself around me while I tread water.

“Your parents’ home sounds like the perfect place for us.”

“I really think it will be, as long as all of you like it.”

I give her a quick kiss before paddling us toward more shallow water where I can touch the bottom.

I’m in good shape, but there’s no reason to wear myself out when I can move a few feet and stand.

We kiss again but keep it fairly chaste, since my daughter is likely watching us through the kitchen window.

“Tell me about the master suite,” I say after helping Melissa peel the wet robe off and flinging it to the pool deck.

“The bedroom is huge—plenty big enough for your California king with lots of room to spare. There’s also an attached living area and a breakfast nook with a mini kitchen. It has two walk-in closets, and the bathroom is enormous. The tub is my favorite part.”

“Oh, yeah? Why?”

She smirks. “Because it’s big enough for two.” Then her smile drops and she covers her mouth with a hand. “Oh, gross. That’s my parents’ bathroom. I don’t want to think about them having a tub big enough for two!”

The laugh that erupts out of me can only be described as a cackle. “It’s funny how you’re grossed out by that kind of thing, but Kelli isn’t.”

“I guess she’s more mature than I am.” She shrugs.

“We can renovate the bathroom if that’ll help. Anything for you, my Pookie.”

“Right back at you, B.S.”