Page 66 of Until You

Hope: Cora. Oh my God. Are you okay? What did you say?

Me: I cried. Obviously. Like a fire hydrant. Very sexy, very dignified.

Jules: As one SHOULD when their devastatingly hot cowboy buys them a HOUSE

Me: There's a nursery.

Hope: Stop.

Me: He already painted it. Soft yellow. Mimz helped him pick the color.

Jules: I am going to SOB

Hope: I'm already sobbing, Jules, keep up

Jules: Does it have a good kitchen?

Me: Gas stove. Big island.

Jules: He's perfect. I hate him. Why doesn’t he have more brothers?

Me: There’s Payton. He’s the sweetest.

Jules: He’s a child. A giant man-child.

Hope: What does the kitchen look like?? Send photos!!

I take a quick photo of the kitchen from where I'm sitting—the warm light, the butcher block, the window—and send it.

Hope: Cora. That's a DREAM kitchen.

Jules: I'm literally tearing up over a countertop right now

Jules: The man has been quietly building you a LIFE

Hope: He really has. Since the beginning. Even when you two were being stubborn idiots about it.

Me: Rude but fair.

Jules: There's a PORCH SWING, Cora

Jules: He got you a porch swing

Me: He said it was non-negotiable.

Hope:

Jules: Okay but real talk. How do you FEEL?

I stare at the screen. My fingers hover over the keyboard. Through the window, I can see Oliver on the porch, phone to his ear, his free hand resting on the railing. The evening light catches the planes of his face. He turns slightly, sees me watching through the glass, and gives me that smile. The full one. The one that's only mine.

Me: I feel like I'm home.

Me: For the first time in my entire life, I feel like I'm actually home.

Hope:

Jules: You deserve this. Every single square foot of it. Don't you dare let that voice in your head tell you otherwise.