His day got better at the sight of her alone. She held her bag tight to her side. Her face was a little pale, which he didn’t like.
“Do you want to hear the good news?” he asked.
“Yes, tell me the good news. I’d prefer to hear some good news today,” Rachel said.
He frowned. “Are you okay?” When he reached out to touch her forehead, Rachel laughed.
“Of course I’m fine. It was a hard day at the bar.”
“Okay.” He lifted the keys. “It’s ours, and we’ve got the all clear to stay in there tonight.”
She gasped. “How did you make this happen?” she asked, taking the keys from his fingers.
“Because I’m a genius, and Samantha didn’t want me telling her superior about her inappropriate behavior around me.”
“We’re staying there tonight?”
“Yeah, I got some cleaning staff to go there this afternoon to give it a quick clean. I also wanted to make sure there were no vermin walking around. I got a call half an hour ago, and everything is clear for us.”
She strapped herself in. He noticed her hands were shaking.
“Are you okay?”
“I’m fine. I was nervous in case there were mice or something.” She smiled at him. There was something off about her. The happiness on her face looked forced.
Staring into her eyes, Chris tried to understand what was going on.
Reaching over, he cupped her cheek, caressing her lips. “You’d tell me if something was bothering you, wouldn’t you?”
She nodded, a jerk to the head. “Of course.”
He wasn’t buying it. Turning on the engine, he pressed on the gas and pulled away from the curb, heading toward their new house. It was dark, and the roads were getting icy. Keeping a slow space, Chris made his way around the city, being careful on bends.
Rachel didn’t say a word to him throughout the drive. Parking in front of the house, he watched her as she looked at the house. To him it was just a house where a bunch of furniture lay while he slept. Watching her, he saw the real happiness in her eyes. She really did love the house.
“Are you ready to go inside?” he asked.
“Sure.” She unbuckled her belt, and together they made it to the front door.
He opened the door, waiting for her to enter. Behind her, he closed the door and flicked the switch. Chris saw immediately what the cleaning staff had done. The home actually looked livable. Surfaces gleamed, and the scent of lavender filled the air.
“Did you have much trouble with Samantha?”
“No. She filled the paperwork in and let me have anything I wanted.” Removing his jacket, he put his hands on her shoulders. She jumped. Chris chose to ignore it, wondering what the hell had happened to his woman in the hours since he’d left her.
“I’m sorry,” she said.
He didn’t say anything. Taking her hand, he took over the tour. “I think this will go down better with me as the tour guide.”
She laughed, the sound easing his troubled thoughts.
“Keep laughing for me, baby.” Leading the way into one room, he flicked the light on. “It seems here we have an empty room. I wonder what we could do with this room.”
Rachel spun around. “Erm, I think this would be perfect for our sitting room. We could have the television along that wall. Is it all central heating?”
He nodded.
“We’ve got no worries for the fireplace then. A large television for you to watch your football games and a nice big sofa to cuddle up on.”
Chris liked the sound of that. Tugging her in close, he inhaled her sweet, warm scent. “We’ll need to go shopping to get what we need.”
“We’re both off this weekend. We can go together.”
“Consider it a date.”
“Wow, our first date together.” She rubbed her nose against his.
“The first one of many. I hope you’re prepared to be wooed.”
She smiled, and he led her into another room. They went through the same routine of figuring out what room could be what. She even gave him a study and arranged for a gym to be put in the basement for him to work out.
Rachel expressed a passion for the kitchen’s decoration. For now, she was happy to keep it like it was. She didn’t like the thought of the kitchen not being finished in time for Christmas.
“That also reminds me, we need to get some decorations for this place.”
“Okay, we’ll go all out this year.” He took the lead once again taking her upstairs to the bedroom.
“Chris, can I ask you something?”
He nodded, opening one door then the other. “What are your thoughts about a family?” she asked.
Chris paused, thinking about her question. “Is there a reason you’re asking me?”