Chapter 20: – Chapter 20

There’s a soft knock at the door that forces me to fully wake up. I’ve been lying in bed for half an hour thinking about Chase.

It’s hard not to when his bed smells like him. It makes being away from him a little more bearable. I miss him. I didn’t realise how much until last night. We spoke briefly before I went to bed. I must admit it was nice.

They had gone back to the hotel room for a few quiet drinks because Arden had planned them a full day of viewings and meetings with builders.

I had fun with the girls. Ally, Nat and I had a few drinks while Millie and Julia gave us makeovers. We listened to girlie music, danced like no one was watching and had fun. It was a first for both Millie and I.

It’s also been a few years since Julia had done something like that as well.

Nat spent most of the night telling us how lucky she was to have us all in her life now. In a way, she is fast becoming a mother figure for all of us. If anyone is lucky, it’s us.

The door to the bedroom opens and Ally makes her way into the room. She crawls under the covers beside me and sighs.

“What’s wrong?” I ask rolling on to my side so I can see her.

“I miss him.” She sighs again.

“Maybe you should stop avoiding him then.”

“You caught on to that?”

“Yes, I did. It wasn’t’ hard to see.” I grab my phone off the bedside table to send Chase a good morning message. He’s beat me to it.

Chase: Good morning pretty girl

Yasmin: Morning handsome xo

“Do Chase and Arden know?” Ally speaking distracts me from my phone. I drop it on my pillow and give her my attention.

“Chase yes, Arden I don’t think so.”

“I have to keep my distance. It’s better for both of us and the group.”

“You can still be friends, Ally; you’ve been friends for years. That doesn’t have to change.” It’s true. I’ve noticed in the past week she’s been staying away from Rhys, but they were friends first. Maybe they need to try and be friends again.

“I’m trying,” she whispers.

“What do you want to do today?” I ask. Millie and Julia are going to Julia’s. Martha promised it was okay for Millie to be there. I know she’ll be safe especially with Ralph driving them around and staying at the house as well.

“No idea. I kind of want to go to New Hope. I didn’t want to go because I didn’t think I could be around Rhys, but you’re right. We’ve been friends for years; nothing has to change.”

I’m excited Ally brought it up. I’d love to surprise Chase. “Let’s do it. Chase said they were viewing the apartment block at lunch time. We can surprise them there.”

“Are you sure?” Ally asks a little hesitant.

“Yep, we can take Wander for a cruise. It’s been a while since she’s had a good drive. Go shower, I’ll go tell the girls and Mumma Nat.”

Ally comes closer to give me a hug. “Thank you, Yasmin. I have no idea what we did before you came along. I’m glad you’re here.”

“I’m happy I’m here as well.” And it’s true. I am. I have no idea what I did before I had these people in my life.

After Ally leaves, I head to the kitchen to see if the girls are awake yet. I don’t find the girls, but I do I find Nat standing in the kitchen staring out the window in her own little world.

“Morning,” I say, trying not to startle her.

“Morning Hun want some coffee?” she says.

“Yes please. Are the girls up yet?”

“No, I don’t think they’ll be up for a while. I could hear them giggling at about four a.m.”

I’m not surprised Millie and Julia have become best friends. I love that they have that friendship. Especially considering what they have been through. When you grow up with absent parents, making friends is harder. Well, for us it always has been.

“Sorry,” I say apologetically.

“It’s fine. Honestly, it was nice to hear. How are you feeling this morning?” she asks, looking me over.

“I’m good. Thank you for making me eat before bed. It helped. Ally and I were thinking about driving up to New Hope to surprise the boys. What do you think?”

“That’s a good idea. A night away will do you both good. Plus, you and Ally need to have a say in the house. Since it’ll be your house as well.”

Wait. What? I knew Ally was moving with the boys, but we haven’t discussed me moving is as well.

“What do you mean mine?”

Mumma Nat laughs at my question. “Do you really think they are going to let you move into a room on campus? Even if something happens with you and Chase, Arden wouldn’t let you stay on campus. From what I hear, the apartment he wants to renovate will allow you to have your own space anyway. Maybe you need to talk to them.”

“I hadn’t thought about it. I knew what Arden wanted to do, but I didn’t want to step on anyone’s toes,” I say, hating the way my voice sounds uncertain. This is years of insecurities clawing their way back to the surface.

“You aren’t stepping on anyone’s toes. Trust me, I know those kids. You’d know if they didn’t want you around.”

“Do you think this is all happening too quickly?” I query. I feel like I need the reassurance. Dad’s words still hurt, and I’m second-guessing everything.

I may have only known these people for a few weeks, but they are family. Well they are what I assume family feels like.

“Yes and no. I always knew there was something special between you and Chase. I could see it when you were babies. It was amazing at how you could calm each other down without even realising. Deep down I always hoped you would find each other again. It’s almost as if this was written in your stars. So yes, it may seem like it’s moving quickly, but I think you both are just making up for lost time.” She offers me a smile that reaches her eyes and I believe every word.

“I knew the moment I saw New Hope University online that it was the school I wanted to attend. Maybe it was fate.”

“Probably. But I think you and Ally need to go and surprise the boys. You’ll have to be prepared to argue with Arden though. Someone needs to reel him back in. He told me some of the plans for the house. You may want to be there to squash them. Unless of course you’re okay with stripper poles and a waterfall.”

“Oh god no… ALLY move your ass; we have to go!” I yell down the hall.

Mumma Nat starts laughing. “Go get changed I’ve got today off so I’ll make the girls breakfast and then Ralph can come and pick them up.”

“Thanks, Mumma Nat,” I say giving her a quick hug before going to get ready.

***

An hour and a half later I park Wander in front of a massive apartment block. It’s four storeys high with twenty three-bedroom apartments and a big garden in front. I have no idea how much Arden plans on spending or why we would need such a big space, but I heard Arden mention earlier in the week that he wanted to add a fence to offer some more security.

“I have no idea what Arden was thinking? What’s wrong with just getting a four or five-bedroom house?” Ally asks me while she observes the building.

“He said he wanted us all to have our own spaces as well as a together space. You’ve known him longer; this shouldn’t surprise you,” I say to Ally.

“You’d think I’d be use to it and then he goes and does something like this that reminds me just how much money he really has.”

“I like that about Arden. He doesn’t flash his money around you guys. It’s nice.”

“Yeah it’s always been like that. You know he has groceries delivered to Chase’s every week?”

“No, really?”

“Yeah, Nat would never take money from him, even when things were really bad financially. So, Arden started the grocery delivery. He argued that it was only fair because we ate there almost every night.”

“How’d she take that?” I ask as we get out of the car.

“Not well at first. She didn’t want us to wear that burden. But she stopped fighting it after a while.”

“Arden’s just full of surprises,” I say as we round the corner and walk towards the building.

“THIS WAS NOT PART OF THE AGREEMENT!!!” Arden yells from inside one of the ground floor apartments.

“It was. We told you that Ella stays in her apartment.” An older voice I don’t recognise responds to Arden in a calm soothing voice.

“I paid over the asking price. I thought that made it clear that I wanted the ENTIRE building,” Arden responds. It’s evident he is irritated. I look at Ally and she shrugs. We make our way inside the apartment, not bothering to knock.

All eyes land on us as we enter the room. Chase finds me and smirks, coming over to give me a quick kiss. “This is a nice surprise,” he whispers in my ear, making me smile.

I notice Rhys look in Ally’s direction before quickly averting his gaze elsewhere.

“We decided to surprise you and to talk Arden out of the waterfall.”

“Thank god you’re here,” Arden says from the other side of the room. In a typical Arden dramatic tone.

“What’s going on?” I ask noticing an older couple standing opposite of Arden.

“Apparently the apartment building comes with a tenant.” Arden says with extra agitation in his voice.

“That’s not a bad thing,” I say in response, still not fully understanding what the problem is.

“It is, because I was planning on turning that apartment into the sauna and gym,” Arden says. He’s close to breaking point, but the amused look on both Chase and Rhys’ faces tells me they are enjoying this a little too much.

“I’m sure we can find somewhere else for the sauna; can I see the plans?” I ask him.

He heads towards the table in the middle of the room. The entire apartment is empty except for this table. I follow him and can’t help but gasp when I look at the paper in front of me.

“You designed this?” I ask shocked. I was expecting a blueprint I could barely understand. But that isn’t what this is. I can see his plan for each floor, the details are incredible.

“I did.” Arden says.

I look over the plans, taking it all in. He wants to knock out almost all the internal walls. The top floor is split into five sections, each identical. They are open plan, kind of like penthouse apartments. There is a room that looks like it is designed to be a spare bedroom or office. There are also large walk-in robes and bathrooms. Then an area for the bed, a small kitchenette and a spacious living area.

On the third floor, there is a dedicated apartment that spans down to the ground floor that looks like it has been designed for the staff. Similar to the setup at Arden’s dad’s house in Canary Bay. The rest of the space on the third floor has an entertainment room and spare bedrooms.

The second floor has some more rooms and a large open space. I’m not sure what Arden has planned for that space.

The ground floor it over-the-top. He’s put in a sauna, a gym, open plan living, kitchen and dining area that opens out on to a large patio area. The more I look at it, the more I see the similarities to his current home.

“This is incredible Arden. But the waterfall in the dining room needs to go. If you need to put one in, install it in the pool.”

“No,” he argues.

“Yes. There is no need to have one in the house.” It’s a ridiculous concept and the constant running water will make me want to pee every time I’m in that room.

“But I want one,” he says and stomps his foot like a demanding toddler.”

“Should we vote?” I taunt, fully aware that everyone will agree with me.

“Fine,” he huffs. “No waterfall. Can I at least keep the aquarium?”

“Yes, but half the size and move it to here.” I say pointing at a wall on the side of the house.

“Okay, I can work with that.”

“As for your sauna, why don’t we block off this end of the patio, close it off and put the sauna and a bathroom in there?” I ask showing him with my finger what I’m talking about. Everyone else has crowded around the design, including the elderly couple. Chase steps up behind me, letting me know he’s there. My body responds on its own and steps back into him.

“If we do that, it’ll block off the ground floor corner apartment and still give us our space. You could extend the patio out further to make up for the missing space,” I add.

“That could work. I’ll check with the builder when they come through soon.”

“It means that there will be a bathroom off the gym and when the tenant moves out later on, you can renovate it and leave it as a spare apartment for visitors.”

“Okay, so where can I put the stripper pole?” He asks. I’m not sure if he is joking or not.

“No.” Ally and I say at the same time.

“What about mirrors on the ceiling?” He asks hopeful.

“No, how about we compromise?” I ask sweetly. He doesn’t answer, but eyes me suspiciously.

“You can put mirrors on the roof and put in a stripper pole, in YOUR room.” Everyone agrees with me. Leaving Arden out numbered.

“Fine,” he huffs finally admitting defeat.

“I’m glad we got that sorted then,” The older gentlemen says. “Can you let me know when construction is going to start? I’d like to let my niece know so that she knows what is happening.”

“I’ll know more when I talk to the builder soon. I’ll let you know. But construction will be finished by Christmas. We plan to move in early January,” Arden says giving his full attention to the gentlemen. Chase pulls me into his arms, and I relax in his hold.

The elderly couple finally say goodbye, leaving us in the empty apartment.

“I haven’t even shown you the best part,” Arden says excitedly. Chase chuckles and Rhys rolls his eyes.

“What?” I ask dubiously. I don’t think I can compromise with Arden anymore today. If he is about to show me an indoor swimming pool or something else just as equally ridiculous, he’ll get what he wants.

He pulls away the top piece of paper and I look down.

“Holy shit… Is that a…”

“Yep,” Arden cuts me off.

“Arden decided that we need a workshop,” Chase adds.

“Where’s it going to go?” I ask looking at the plans. He has everything planned for a fully functioning workshop including a paint booth.

“Underneath,” Arden says.

“Underneath?” I’m not sure how that will work.

“Underneath is already a car park for the apartment building. But since we don’t need so many car parks, we are turning it into a workshop so that we can all work together on cars if we want.” Arden sounds a little uncertain.

“I love it. As always you’ve thought of everything Arden.”

“Not quite everything.” He says looking over my head at Chase. He spins me around so I’m facing him.

“Yasmin, will you move in with us next year?” Chase asks me quietly. My mind quiets. The world stops in that moment. I look into his eyes for any uncertainty that may be hidden. I can’t find any. I replay what Mumma Nat said this morning.

Fuck it. I need to take the chance. I’m not going to run away from the first family I’ve had that cares.

“Yes,” I answer.

Chase releases the breath he was holding and Arden ‘whoops’ behind me.

Before I even know what’s happening, Chase’s lips are on mine, his tongue seeking permission. He pulls me close and punishes my mouth in the best kind of way.

He’s telling me he loves me without saying the words.

So, I do the same.