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“We’ll come back for whatever you need. I promise.”

Aaron nodded and took his outstretched hand. There were some good-natured giggles from some of the students, and Caleb couldn’t help but grin.

“This is quite a surprise,” Aaron said once they were in the hall and headed toward the door. “How are you even here?”

“Sweeping the series means a weekend off.” Caleb grinned and thought it was a good sign that Aaron hadn’t pulled his hand away.

“I’m sorry about—”

“Don’t say it. You don’t have to apologize for what you said or how you felt. It’s important we communicate to prevent even more problems.”

They made their way outside to the school parking lot. They got to his car, and Caleb opened the passenger door for Aaron. He’d never done that before. Maybe it was to make sure Aaron didn’t try and run away.

Aaron got in and was facing the driver’s door when Caleb joined him. Without any indication where they were headed, Caleb started the car and pulled out of the lot. He’d considered a lot about how to do this and was still second-guessing himself.

“So, I need your opinion, which is one of the reasons I’m here. Can you get the… the thing out of the glove box?”

“The thing?”

Caleb saw Aaron’s perplexed look from the corner of his eye. “I can’t remember what the stupid thing’s called right now. It’s the only thing in there.”

Aaron opened the compartment and pulled out the contents. “Paint colors? You want to talk about paint colors?” He sounded as confused as he looked, which was adorable.

“Did you know there are a couple dozen variations on white? It’s insane,” he said, turning toward downtown. “But I’m curious what you consider white. I mean, is it as simple as what’s labeled white? Or is it Frost or something like Silky White or Polar Bear. It’s important to get it right.”

It was good that Aaron’s gaze seemed to go only between the fan deck of paint chips and Caleb. He’d picked a weird route to get them where they were going, and so far Aaron hadn’t seemed to notice.

“You realize you’ve completely lost me. Why are you asking me?”

“Because your opinion matters.” Caleb pulled into the driveway of their destination. “It’s your vision.”

Aaron looked out the windshield and then out the passenger window. Caleb was sure Aaron would notice the large Sold sign in the front yard.

“What did you do?” Aaron’s hand covered his mouth. As Caleb put the SUV into park, he noticed an almost imperceptible shudder from Aaron in the passenger seat.

He hustled out of the car and around to open Aaron’s door. He couldn’t control his happiness and thought his smile might be permanently etched on his face. “I need a place here, in Foster Grove, and I’m hoping you’ll join me and make this our home.”

“Oh my God. Caleb. Seriously?” His voice cracked, full of emotion.

Tears crept out of Aaron’s eyes. He didn’t sound angry. Caleb hoped he wasn’t making a mess. He knew this could go very wrong and only highlight Aaron’s arguments.

“It’s one hundred percent ours.” Caleb took Aaron’s hand and led him to the front porch. “Now, about the paint color. I had them drop off some samples that we can put it on the trim to see how it looks.”

The paints and a few brushes were right where Grant had said they’d be. He’d really pulled off some miracles in the past three days, and Caleb was going to give him a giant bonus.

“Having looked at the book thingy, I think regular white looks really good.” Caleb reached down and grabbed the white, shook it as directed, and opened the container. He laid on a couple strokes of paint to the trim around the front door.

“What are you doing?” Aaron stood on the porch, still shaking.

“Trying to get you to pick a color.” Caleb gave him a shy smile.

“You bought a house.” Aaron’s voice cracked as he looked around. “That’s… I don’t have words.”

“Some might say crazy.” Caleb set the paint down carefully and took Aaron’s hands in his. “But I wanted to show you how serious I am about us. I want my life to be in Foster Grove, with you… if you’ll have me. I want us to fix this place up. I remember the night we ended up here. You’ve already got great ideas for it—like the trim color.”

Aaron opened his mouth, as if he were searching for the right words but couldn’t quite find them.

Caleb pressed on. There was certainly no stopping now. “Come on inside. I’d love to hear more about what you want to do to our home.” He pulled the keys from his pocket and unlocked the front door. He gestured for Aaron to go first and heard his breath catch as he crossed the threshold. The interior was brightly lit given the sunny day.