Too Good To Be True?

Chapter 22 Ⅱ

"David!" I laughed, pretending to peek out from under the blindfold that was tied around my eyes. "Tell me where we're going!"

He pressed his hand to my face with a chuckle, making sure I wasn't cheating. "You'll see soon enough!"

I pushed his arm away and stuck my tongue out in his general direction. "Both hands on the wheel, mister."

"Hey, look mum, no hands!"

"David!" I scolded, earning a hearty laugh in return.

"I'm just kidding, geez. You know I'd never do something stupid like that, not after..." He paused and I could imagine that guilty look he still got whenever he thought about the accident. "Well, you know," he finished, turning up the radio.

I huffed and sank back in my seat, humming along to the songs since it was the only form of entertainment I could currently enjoy what with being deprived of my sight.

I could tell that he was nervous from the way his foot tapped against the floor mat and how he kept shifting in his seat. I wasn't sure what he had planned but since he was usually so calm and collected with his surprises it had my interest piqued.

Eventually, the car pulled to a stop and the engine shut off, leaving us in silence.

"Well, are we here?" I asked, turning my head to the window as if I might be able to sense where we were through the blindfold, but no such luck.

He tried to cover up the nervous breath that he took but I could still hear it, further amping up my curiosity. "Yep... we're here..."

"So can I take this thing off now?" I asked, lifting my hands to untie the fabric but he quickly stopped me.

"Nuh uh uh! Hold on a second!"

I sighed, drumming my fingers impatiently on my leg as I heard him get out of the car. A moment later my door was whisked open and he took my hand, guiding me up and out of the seat, setting me on the sidewalk and standing beside me. I smiled as I felt the sun on my skin and listened to the breeze rustling in the trees. I felt his hand give mine a quick squeeze before letting go, stepping behind me and setting his hands on my shoulders.

"Are you ready?" he asked, his voice a little shaky.

"Yes! You know I can't stand waiting, let me see!"

"Alright, here goes nothing..."

The blindfold was whisked away from my eyes and I blinked against the bright sunlight, lifting my hand to block some of the piercing rays. I looked up at the structure in front of us, tilting my head in confusion.

"Whose house is this?" I asked, inspecting the pristine white walls and light blue trim decorating the windows. "Are we visiting someone?"

"Well, um..." David shuffled on his feet, gently kicking a pebble as he shrugged. "It actually doesn't belong to anyone, yet..."

My brow furrowed further at this and I turned to face him, seeing his gaze lowered timidly. "Okay, so... what are we doing here then?"

He took a deep breath, finally turning to me and taking my hands. "Angel... I know you've been saying that you're happy with my old place, but something just, I don't know, something hasn't felt right... We still have a bunch of boxes that we haven't touched and we're running into issues sharing the office and..." He shook his head, softly squeezing my hands. His gaze flickered up to meet mine, a small, hesitant smile struggling to form on his lips. "Angel, I don't want to just live in any old house with you. I don't want us to have to deal with all the baggage that's in those walls. I want to build a home with you, Princess."

He looked over at the house, rubbing his thumb over my knuckles. "It doesn't have to be here, obviously, if you don't like it, but I don't know, there was just something about it..." His eyes took on a dreamy sort of look as he gazed at the house, unable to finish his thought.

I looked back up at the house, adjusting my mindset to inspect it as a possible living space rather than just somewhere to visit. The lawn and driveway were well kept, the architecture not quite modern but more so than our current place. It was smaller than his house but he said there had always been extra space there that he hadn't found a use for so I didn't hold that against this place.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" I asked, squeezing his hand excitedly. "Can we go in and check it out?"

His chest inflated pridefully, still not getting his hopes up but glad that I hadn't shot down the idea. "Yeah, let's do it."

I grinned and pulled him up the walkway, watching as he slid a key out of his pocket and into the lock.

As soon as we stepped inside, a contentedness washed over me, my hand slipping out of David's grip as I walked from room to room in a trance. There wasn't any furniture and the walls were all white but as I inspected the spaces my mind started churning with ideas of how they could be decorated, images of furniture pieces popping up in my vision as if they were already there.

I walked up the stairs with a nervous David at my heels, still lost in my own little world. I peeked in the empty rooms, imagining two wicked offices across the hall from each other and a lovely, relaxing layout in the master bedroom for the two of us.

I stopped in the middle of the last room, staring at the space in front of me with a small smile on my lips, my eyes beginning to tear up as I imagined all the possibilities this place could hold for us.

"Angel...?" David asked hesitantly from the doorway. "What do you think?"

I heard his soft footsteps as he set himself beside me, his voice pained as he took in my expression.

"Oh, Princess..." he murmured, pulling me into his embrace, tucking my head under his chin. "I'm sorry you don't like it... I know I shouldn't have been doing this without you, I'll stop, I promise, I just thought..."

I giggled, gently creating enough distance between us that I could look up at him. I could tell he was trying to hide his disappointment, how much he really loved this house, but it was being overshadowed by his confusion as he took in my bright smile.

"David..." I whispered, tightening my arms around his waist. "Can this be our home?"

His gaze slowly softened, his eyes shining with unshed tears. "Really? You're not just saying that? 'Cause we can look somewhere else, or stay where we are, I'm fine wi-"

I pressed a finger to his lips, stopping his rambling. "I'm 100% sure." I gestured around the room, out the window which was letting the sun pour in and engulf us in warm light. "This place is perfect for us, Charming. My mind is already churning with ways to make it our own and I honestly can't wait to hear what ideas you have for it." I tilted his head down, placing a kiss on his cheek. "I'm ready if you are."

With that, I was suddenly swept off my feet, laughing as he swirled me in a circle.

"I love you so much, Angel. Thank you, thank you, thank you." He finally set me down, both of us laughing giddily as we gazed into each other's eyes. "I'll talk to the realtor first thing tomorrow." He softly took my face in his hands, kissing me passionately as he breathed, "Welcome home."