When he said he was moving in, he hadn’t been joking. He’d gotten really comfortable, like a roach in a dirty corner of the house. She relaxed him, he said. She watched as his face frowned, his eyes momentarily shifting to the packet his fingers were currently digging in, before abandoning it with a sigh. Clearly she was over medicating him with her personal brand of fixing all of Rafe’s issues with her presence remedy. “Bella, is there more?” he grumbled, not bothering to turn to look at her, his attention fixated on the screen. An entertainment device he discovered on his first weekend over as they worked hard to keep their hands off each other. She stuttered her shock, her head rearing back. Ah hell no! He wasn’t just over medicated, he was clearly overdosed to the point he’d lost his mind. “I’m going to kick you!” she gritted out through clenched teeth. “Huh?” he said absently, his chin raising to her direction, but his eyes still glued to the TV screen. She slapped the counte

“Ah, ah,” she said with a shake of her head and a wag of her finger. “I’m not changing again. You get one pass on my wardrobe, no more.”Rafe wordlessly glared at her, making his feelings about the subject much known. Talia had to hold herself back from sticking her tongue out at him to annoy him further. She walked towards the front door, her boho bag slung over her shoulder and snickered at a pouting peeved Rafe.His hand shot up and grabbed her by the upper arm, Talia gasped as he brought her to a complete stop.“Not so fast,” he said, reaching for the coat closet door with his free hand. He opened the door, released her and grabbed her long black overcoat with a jerk that the hanger rattled in the enclosed space in protest. He pushed the door closed with his fingers, then held the coat open in front of her with a raised brow. The man just refused to lose.But then again, in her petty need to whine, she’d

When she paused in her steps to let him cut in front of her so that she could walk towards the driver’s side, he tugged her forward and led her to the passenger side. Wide eyed, she gaped at him in surprise. He opened the door and ushered her in. He went as far as fastening her seat belt before shutting the door. As he rounded the hood of the car on his way to the driver’s side, Talia watched him, wide eyed and jaw slacked, wondering what the hell had gotten into him. He never drove!The other part of the trade in compromise was that she would do the driving, in fact, just to drive the point in, everything about the car was in her name. She protested but the threat of the Ferrari staying made her cave.“What if I run off with it?” she’d asked once the contracts were signed and he just shrugged his shoulders. Only then did she discover, when she asked if he wanted to drive, that he had every intention to be chauffeured around.&ldquo

He shook his head with a purse of his lips.She’d forgotten to introduce them and he’d been forced to be a little social. She smiled a little. She wasn’t that sorry. “I can’t believe I got beat by an old century looking house,” a smile teasing on his lips.Her own smile widened behind her fingers.“You love it that much?”She nodded.“Take your time,” he said, and with that, he turned and began to walk away, disappearing from her view.Nelson gave her a thumbs up and then quickly followed. Not long after, the sound of his conversational voice carried to her as he gave Rafe a tour, quick to mention which were her favorite parts of the house.It took her about thirty minutes to read and re-read the contract before she was sure she was ready to sign. As much as she loved the house, she was about to make the biggest decision of her life, financially and emotionally.

Was that understanding? Or was it a concession? She wondered as a soreness filled her chest.Digging her fingernails into the palms of her hands, she gave him a strained smile, an apology on her lips. She was too much of a coward to trust that he was done searching. To trust that the peace he was desperately looking for was with her. The peace that he greatly needed. She truly understood that he should seek it out until he found it, even if it meant leaving her behind. She understood. She supported him even if it hurt like hell. With that thought, the gatekeeper slowly pushed the door closed, snuffing out that little light. It was better to be clear, resolute than jeep encouraging something that would only end badly. The man wouldn’t even let her into the darkest corners of his heart and mind, the reasons behind his anxieties. If he couldn’t trust her with those, how could she trust her with her heart, her future? It was like asking her to bungee jump