The Crush by Ward Penelope (best book recommendations txt) 📕

She woke to find me watching her. I’d been up early and unable to go back to sleep.

“What are you looking at?” she teased.

“Just thinking about how lucky I am to be here with you on Christmas morning. It’s the best gift I could’ve asked for.”

Her delicate fingers traced the stubble on my jaw. “Do you need to get back to your dad?”

“I’m in no rush. Pretty sure he’ll be thrilled once he wakes up and realizes where I went. I left him a note.” I kissed her forehead. “Do you want me to leave before Nathan wakes up?”

She wrapped her hand around my waist and pulled me close. “No. I want you here.”

“Good. Because I’m not ready to leave you.” I kissed her firmly on the lips. “Let me handle any awkwardness with Nathan this morning. Okay? I don’t want you to stress.”

“I will gladly let you handle it.” She laughed.

We lay together for another half hour until we forced ourselves up and got dressed. I could hear Nathan puttering around in the kitchen.

“You ready?” I held out my hand. “Here we go…”

“Yup.” She threaded her fingers through mine and sighed.

Nathan was at the counter pouring a cup of coffee when we emerged together from Farrah’s room.

His eyes widened. “Oh…okay then.” He chuckled.

“Good morning,” I said.

His eyes went from Farrah’s to mine. “Morning…”

Farrah stayed quiet as she poured herself some java. She fumbled with the mugs, definitely nervous, even if the fear wasn’t anything like it used to be.

Nathan pulled a chair out and sat down. “I, uh, didn’t realize you came back here last night.” He took a sip of his coffee.

I nodded. “I did. Your sister wanted me here.” I pulled up a seat across from him, looked him dead in the eyes, and got straight to the point. “I love her very much. I never stopped.” I paused to look over at Farrah, who’d ceased what she was doing to listen. “And I’m not leaving this time, Nathan. In fact, I don’t ever want to spend another night away from her. Given that I live with my father at the moment, that means you’re gonna see a lot of my ass around here until I get my own place. I’d ask you if you were okay with that, but honestly, it won’t matter. I’m not making the same mistake twice. I don’t give a shit what you or anyone thinks anymore. I only care about her. If you have any questions, you can let me know.”

Nathan nodded several times. “I do have one question.”

I tightened my jaw. “Okay…”

He snickered. “What are you making me for breakfast?”

Chapter 25

Jace

Six months after Christmas, I’d kept my promise—I’d spent every single night with Farrah. That was the one constant, despite the many other things that changed.

I’d fully transitioned into my role as head of Muldoon Construction, with my father taking a backseat in the company. If I’d encouraged him to sell, he probably would’ve listened to me, but deep down, I wanted this. Continuing my dad’s legacy was something I’d always be proud of, and running the family business helped ground me here—not that I needed a reason to stay in Palm Creek. Farrah would always be that. But now that I knew I was here to stay, it was time to build roots. That meant having a place where Farrah and I could have true privacy, a place all our own. I’d made a decision I hoped she wouldn’t be upset about. As we drove down the street where Farrah grew up, I was about to find out.

“Why are we in my old neighborhood?”

“Brings back memories, doesn’t it?”

A minute later, I parked my truck at a house diagonally across from the home Farrah and Nathan had grown up in.

Farrah scrunched her nose. “Why are we visiting Old Man Dickie?”

Dick Lombardi—“Old Man Dickie”—didn’t live here anymore, but apparently Farrah didn’t know that. Dickie was a curmudgeon who used to yell at Nathan and me for various things when we were younger. Whether we were speeding by too fast on our skateboards or egging his house, we’d given Dickie plenty of reason not to like us. He was mean even when unprovoked, but we definitely deserved some of his wrath.

“This isn’t Dickie’s house anymore,” I announced.

“He passed away?”

“Yeah.”

“Oh no. That’s sad. As mean as he was, I feel bad for his kids.”

“I actually know his son, Major. He’s a client.”

“Does he live here now? Are we visiting him?”

I unlocked the car doors. “Let’s take a look inside.”

Farrah followed me out of the truck, and I used my key to enter.

Dickie’s house had been completely redone. The old carpets had been ripped up to reveal gorgeous hardwood underneath. The kitchen had been gutted, and new cabinets installed over white Corian countertops. Basically, Dickie’s house was just the shell, and everything on the inside was brand spanking new.

Farrah wandered the place in amazement. “This looks nothing like I would’ve imagined.”

“After he passed away, Major redid everything before putting this place on the market.”

“Oh my God. I love it.”

“Good. Because...it’s mine.” I smiled. “Well, hopefully ours someday.”

Her mouth hung open. “You bought this place? How could you afford it? The houses in this neighborhood are not cheap.”

“I saved a lot over the past five years, and Muldoon is doing really well right now. So I gave myself a raise.”

Farrah ran her hand along the beige sectional in the living room. “I can’t believe this is all yours.” She walked over to the window. “I can see my old house from here.”

“I know. That’s part of why I picked this place. Even though we’ve been trying to forget certain things, there’s much more I’d rather remember in this neighborhood.” Standing behind her at the window, I wrapped my arms around her waist and rested my chin on her head. “A long time ago, you told me one of your greatest wishes was to get back the peace you had before your