All Grown Up(84)

I forced a smile. “Congratulations. That’s great.”

She walked to me and took the letter from my hands, pressing a kiss to my lips. “You’re so full of shit.”

“No.” I shook my head. “It’s good news. I just didn’t expect it today, I guess, so it caught me off guard.”

Val sighed. “I haven’t decided if I’m going yet. I just had to apply by the year-end deadline.”

“You’re going.”

She frowned. “Sounds like you can’t wait to get rid of me.”

I wrapped my hands around her waist and locked them behind her back. “Not a chance. I’m going to be living for school vacations more than I did in high school. I told you, it’s gonna take more than an ocean of distance to separate us.” I squeezed her to me. “This is good. You’re going to have a great time, and I’m gonna be busy while you’re gone, too.”

Val’s eyes widened. “You got the building?”

I nodded. “I did. They accepted my offer. I’ll soon be the proud owner of one rundown pile of steel.”

She smiled. “That you’ll turn into something amazing.”

After I passed on the building in Chicago, I hadn’t really been planning on looking for another project to expand. But one fell right into my lap. I’d picked up Val for lunch at school one day, and we went to a pizza place a few blocks away. After, I’d pulled into a parking lot nearby so I could kiss her and cop a cheap feel before dropping her back off. The parking lot just happened to be attached to an old, rundown warehouse on the outskirts of a nice, up-and-coming area.

I’d kissed my girl until she made that noise I loved so much, and then when I put the car in reverse with a big-ass smile on my face, I looked up and found myself staring at a giant notice of public auction on the building in front of me. I drove back after dropping Val at school, and one thing led to another.

“I hope so. Because right now the place should be condemned.”

Things between Val and me were serious. Probably more serious than they should’ve been after six months. As fucked up as it was, I’d marry her tomorrow and never look back. But I still thought it was important that she have the experiences she’d wanted to have, that she found herself. Teaching in Rome for a year was a big part of that. Did I want her four-thousand miles away? Fuck, no. But I wanted her to be happy more than I hated the thought of her being so far away. She needed to finish off her My Turn list. Well, not all of them—there was no damn way she’d be dating seven different men in seven nights. But I’d been encouraging her to keep up on the important ones—like teaching in Rome and trying anal.

And pushing her to follow her dreams had made me realize it was okay to have my own, too—like expanding the temporary office space business into a new area. It wouldn’t be Chicago, but something on my own terms.

“Since we’re on the subject of real estate and travel…” Val’s face turned gloomy. “…I signed the contract for the sale of the beach house today.”

“Oh yeah? You don’t look happy about that.”

“It’s hard. I’m thrilled they offered full asking price, yet it’s difficult to be happy about selling it, in general. I just have so many memories there of Ryan growing up.”

Val hadn’t wanted to sell the beach house at all, but her asshole ex-husband had forced her hand. According to her divorce settlement, they had to split the cost of all major repairs. She didn’t have the money to fund the major piling replacement that needed to be done, and she also couldn’t get a loan since she didn’t have a steady work history yet. The beach house meant a lot to her, and I’d offered to give her the money or even lend it to her, but she wouldn’t go for it. Which was why…I’d had to buy it under a corporate name and not tell her.

“I know. But if it’s any consolation, I’m sure the new owner will make great memories, too.”

“I guess…”

“I’m sure they’ll fuck all over the house.”

Val cringed. “That’s not exactly making me feel better.”

“Why? The new owner is entitled to make new memories. It shouldn’t taint yours in any way.”

She shrugged. “I guess. It’s just hard to think of someone else inside my house. You know?”

I pulled her close and whispered in her ear. “I know. That’s why I bought the house.”

Valentina’s head pulled back abruptly. “What did you say?”

“I bought the house. For us.”

“What are you talking about? A corporation bought the house.”

“And what’s the name of that corporation?”

“BJ Cummings, Inc.”

I raised a brow. I’d been waiting for her to tell me about the name of the corporation, but she never did. And now I knew why—she’d totally missed the joke.

Her eyes grew wide. “Oh my God. You’re kidding me? BJ Cummings? What the hell?”

I laughed. “There was no way I was letting you get rid of that place, not when I have big plans for it.”

Her brows furrowed. “What plans?”

I pushed a lock of hair behind her ear. “I’m going to give it to my wife as a wedding gift someday. That’s still a few years away...because she’s stubborn and needs to go slow. But that’s my plan.”