Ignite (Speed Series Book 1)(31)

I nodded and gave him a soft smile as I said, “Okay. Sounds like a plan.”

Not really knowing what to expect, I turned and headed to the door that led to Emmit’s house. He had been renting a condo in downtown Charlotte when he first hit the NASCAR circuit, so I had no idea what type of home he had bought. Daddy told me it was on Lake Norman and that was it.

Emmit gave me a wink as he walked past me and opened the door. Lola rushed past both of us and took off. Stepping out of the bus, my mouth dropped open as I froze in place.

“Holy crap,” I said as I stared at the monster brick house in front of me. Turning to look at Emmit, I attempted to get spit in my mouth so I could talk. “Um, you live in this house . . . alone?”

Lifting the left corner of his mouth, he shot me a sexy smile along with a wink. “Not anymore I don’t.”

Emmit grabbed my hand and led me to the front door. Glancing over my shoulder, I sucked in a breath as I took everything in. In the middle of the drive was a beautiful landscaped area with flowers so breathtaking, I swore they sparkled as little fairies flew around it.

Emmit made his way up the steps as he pulled out his keys and unlocked the massive door. “The alarm is set and it always freaks Lola out.” The beeping started the moment the door opened. Lola barked and rushed into the house.

A small intake of air was sucked in as my eyes scanned the inside of this beautiful house. “Oh my gosh, Emmit,” I said as I looked up at the high tray ceilings.

Taking my hand in his, Emmit asked, “Do you want a tour now or later? I know it’s late and you’re probably exhausted.”

My eyes were looking everywhere. “How big is this place?”

Emmit shrugged and said, “A little over eight thousand square feet.”

I stopped and I yelled out, “Eight. Thousand? Did you say eight thousand?”

“Um, yeah. I said eight thousand.”

My head was spinning as I thought about how hard it would be to clean a house this big.

“I’ll um, take the tour now if you feel like it.” I said as Emmit led us into a formal living room. It was painted in a neutral color as a beautiful craftsman’s style fireplace took center stage. Two leather chairs sat to one side and a sofa on the other. “It’s beautiful,” I said softly.

“Thanks,” Emmit said, as if I just told him the shirt he had was nice.

We walked through the formal living room and into the formal dining room. It was all hard wood floors as Lola kept running through the house and sliding all over the place. As I looked around the dining room, I shook my head and said, “Wow. The furniture in here is beautiful.”

Emmit smiled as he nodded in agreement. “I found it at an estate sale I went to one day.”

My eyes widened in shook as I stared at him. “You went to an estate sale?”

Emmit chuckled. “Hell yeah. You can find some badass stuff at estate sales. I got it for a great bargain too. The sofa in the living room came from that sale as well as the table in the breakfast area. I scored big time on that one.” Emmit said as he wiggled his eyebrows.

Laughing, I gave him a small push as he said, “Kitchen’s up next.”

The moment we stepped into the kitchen my knees went weak and I grabbed onto the granite counter. “Holy hell,” I said as Emmit grinned from ear to ear.

“I take it you like it?”

I smiled as I instantly began planning meals. “Like it? Emmit, this is my dream kitchen. It’s like . . . it’s like I designed it myself.” The cream cabinets were beautiful as I ran my hand along the cold granite. My eyes landed on the six-burner commercial stovetop. Lifting my hands to my mouth, I excitedly said, “There’s a hot water faucet at the stove!”

Emmit chuckled from behind me as I spun around. The commercial-size refrigerator blended in with the cabinets. The middle island was just like the one I dreamed of. It looked exactly like the one I had on my Pinterest page. Exactly like it.

I placed my hand over my chest as I turned to look at Emmit. He was smiling as he watched me have a mini orgasm over a stupid kitchen. “Do you like it, Addie?”

Slowly shaking my head, I said, “Like it? Emmit, I swear to God this is the kitchen I’ve always dreamed of.”

“That’s because I designed it for you.”

My hands dropped to my sides as I stared at Emmit with a confused look. “What do you mean?”

Emmit pushed off the counter and held his hands out as he spoke. “This . . . this kitchen is for you. I showed the designer that page you were always on. I told her I wanted the kitchen just like what you dreamed of.”

Tears filled my eyes as I stared at Emmit in disbelief. “Emmit . . . I don’t . . . I don’t know what to say.”

Emmit wrapped his arms around me as he kissed the tip of my nose. “Tell me you love it and then tell me what the first thing you’re going to cook in it is.”

Laughing, I buried my face into his chest and let the tears fall. Emmit never gave up on us. The realization of that overwhelmed me as I grabbed onto his T-shirt and cried. Maybe I was just tired since it was the middle of the night, or maybe I was overcome with emotion. Whatever it was, I knew I couldn’t love Emmit any more than I did in this moment.

Emmit pulled back some as he placed his finger on my chin and brought my eyes to his. “Baby, are those happy tears?”