Total pages in book: 96
Estimated words: 90266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 90266 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 451(@200wpm)___ 361(@250wpm)___ 301(@300wpm)
The gravel under the tires kicks up as I slam my foot on the accelerator and speed off down the driveway.
I need to get away from her. She makes me feel things I can’t allow myself to feel again.
Chapter Five
Gabriella
He’s gone.
Stepping away from my bags, I rush to the window in time to see his car speed off down the driveway.
What the hell?
Disappointment floods me, although I don’t know why. Spencer and I haven’t spoken since the day I left Snow Valley. Did I really think we’d have a happy reunion and continue our friendship like we never parted?
I drop my head as the weight of the decision I made to come here presses down on me.
What would have happened if it were anyone but him waiting for me? Could I have really made a life for myself and a husband here knowing that he still lived here? He’s had my heart since I was about seven-years-old. It was naïve of me to think it could work here with anyone but him.
Imagine if one of his brothers was the one waiting for me. A shudder runs down my spine at the thought.
Blowing out a breath, I turn away from the window. Staring out like a loser after the boy from my past isn’t going to get me anywhere.
I look around the sparse room, thoughts of dragging my bags in and setting up home in here fill my mind. The thought of crawling into bed with his warm body beside me, his scent filling my nose is almost too much to deny but with a sad sigh, I leave his room behind and instead take my bags to the one on the other side of the hall.
As much as I might want to show him that I’m the same girl who left, I don’t want to force him. Hell knows this situation is already weird enough.
The room opposite his looks very similar. Peeling, faded wallpaper, exposed floorboard and a window that lets the cold in from outside.
He’s got a lot of work to do here, but I can already imagine how incredible it will look once it’s all done.
I tuck my bags against one wall and unzip them, although I don’t take much out seeing as I have nowhere to put any clothes.
It makes me wonder what Spencer expected from his soon-to-be wife. I’m sure that many women out there wouldn’t embrace this like I am. I couldn’t care less about the state of this place, the fact he even owns it means more to me than I’ve even accepted yet. I’d willingly stay here if it didn’t have a roof.
I pull out some of my toiletries and head to the bathroom for a shower. I was up before the sun this morning to catch my flight. My back is aching, and my neck is stiff. I know the bathroom is probably ancient, but I just hope it has a usable bathtub.
I spend almost an hour relaxing in the old claw-foot tub that I discovered and by the time I get out my skin is nicely pruned and my stomach is rumbling reminding me that the only food I’ve had today was that of the less than desirable airplane food.
I pull on a pair of leggings and an oversized hoodie before blow drying my hair and going to explore the kitchen in the hope of finding something edible.
To my surprise, I find both the refrigerator and the cupboards fully stocked. Maybe he did prepare for his bride’s arrival.
Pulling out some fresh tomatoes and basil, I set about making a simple tomato sauce before grabbing some pasta and allowing it to simmer while I explore the downstairs a little more thoroughly.
I find a pantry, a downstairs bathroom along with two more huge rooms with windows that make the most of the incredible view. One, in particular, has the most incredible light, even as the sun begins to set behind the mountains. I decide there and then, that if I’m able to stay here, then it’s going to be my office. I don’t care what it takes, I’ll convince him somehow that it needs to be mine.
I find an old chair in the corner of the other room, I bang out some of the dust and drag it through to my new favorite room, placing it right in the late day sun.
I sit there the rest of the day. After eating my dinner as the sun makes its final descent for the day, I find my laptop and set about doing the one thing I always imagined doing with this view before me. I write.
I’ve got tons of books that I’ve started over the years, but I’ve never found enough inspiration to actually continue with any of them. But sitting here now, in the house I’ve always dreamed of, that is owned by the only man who’s ever owned my heart, I find the words just fall out of my fingers.