Chapter 36

Just staring out of the window, Tressa was already in love with the house as she stepped out of the vehicle, gazing at it. The realtor hadn't arrived yet and Drew was on his way, apologizing for being late. She told him the realtor hadn't arrived yet, so he was fine. All through text messaging – the man didn't like talking on the phone for some reason, which she was fine with. Wearing a white maternity sundress that had a black sash around the waist, Tressa leaned against the car with black shades over her eyes since the sun was beating down on her. It was 80 degrees in Tampa, currently, but at least the humidity took a break today. Turning, she saw a car pull up and smiled at the sight of Drew stepping out moments later, heading toward her.

"Glad you could make it, Highlander." She accepted a soft kiss on the cheek from him and felt his arm wrap around her shoulders, giving her a one-armed hug. "Still waiting on the realtor."

"You're on Florida time, lass," He chuckled, using his free hand to drop his sunglasses down over his eyes. "Apparently, that means being fashionably late by up to an hour." He snorted at the look she gave him. "Aye, that's the look I probably had on me own face when I learned that."

Culture shock had been a real thing for him when he had moved to the states, and then came the other bits of learning various regions' personal slang and dialect. Americans were confusing as hell. In Scotland, all he had to worry about was various inflections on the general language, here words all seemed to have different meanings.

"Well, until they get here, let's look around the outside, shall we?"

Being this close to him was doing things to her body again, but Tressa figured he wasn't interested. Or maybe he was holding back because of what she said regarding never having a relationship again. Hell, she wasn't sure anymore and decided she would have to invest in some kind of sex toy to get off with before she went out of her mind with horniness. It was a real thing and a very big struggle for a pregnant woman. All she knew was this man smelled damn good, looked incredible, and the hunger inside of her had increased. They walked around the property for a good half hour before the realtor finally showed up and let them inside the house.

Drew had dressed for the Florida heat. His hair was in a braid, he had worn loose, comfortable shorts and a black beater. One thing he did enjoy was the warmth, and the humidity was a little oppressing at times, but one got used to it. He had to duck to get inside and was glad the ceilings weren't low like some places, though he would have to mind the trim when going from room to room.

"You'd best hope the wee one doesn't inherit my height." He informed her with a good-natured grin, his eyes sweeping over the first room thoughtfully.

"It's just the doorways, the ceilings are cathedral." Tressa pointed out with a grin of her own, looking around the house and venturing into the kitchen.

She loved it, gliding her fingertips along the granite counter and couldn't believe how big this place was compared to her apartment. He also had to duck to get inside that one too. Drew was freakishly tall and a big man, so she could only imagine how big his doorways were just so he didn't have to duck to get in them. Tressa would find out soon enough because she was going over to his place after they left here. Leaving the kitchen, she looked at the living room before going to the room Drew just walked out of and then proceeded to look at the rest of the rooms.

There was no peeled paint or damage to any of the walls or floors, which were mostly carpeted besides the kitchen, dining room, and bathrooms. Three bathrooms, four bedrooms…and the outside had a huge pool with plenty of space for other things, like a playset or swing set in the future. The pool…it was nice, but would definitely have to be baby-proofed, maybe a deck built around it or something. Once they both looked at the house thoroughly, Tressa and Drew walked out of the house with the realtor following and she shook the woman's hand, letting her know she'd be in touch with a decision.

"Okay, tell me what you really think of it, Highlander." She requested, once the realtor was gone, and looked up at him with her sunglasses on top of her head.

"I think ye need to invest in a hard top, lock cover for the pool, and a fence." He said seriously, knowing accidental drowning was one of the leading causes of baby, toddler, and young children's death. "I dinnae ken, lass, the neighborhood is nice and all, just…" He shrugged. "I dinnae ken you well enough to know if this is ye style. Look at the others on ye list and then decide. Me, personally, I'd add a bit of moss and some dampness, and it'd almost be like living back home." That was a joke obviously.

"I don't like it. I thought I did, but…walking around it and then the backyard is a huge factor. If I'm going to have a pool, I'd want it somewhere I KNOW the baby can't get to it." She did have a few more she wanted to look at and had appointments set up for them. Would Drew want to come with her though? "I know I asked you to come look at this one, but…I do have others to look at today. The next one is in about 20 minutes, actually." Tressa had checked her watch and already told the realtor she'd be over there to look at it, with or without Drew. "If you're coming, follow me. This is the last one of the day." Tomorrow would be two more and then she could make her decision, but this one was definitely nixed off the list.

Ah thank God, he hadn't liked that pool at all. Not where it was located anyway, it was too close to the house. Whoever had put it in obviously hadn't thought that one through. "Where's the next one?" He asked, having nothing else planned for the day.

Spending time with her in helping to find a place for her to live along with their unborn child was the least he could do. That just seemed weird and sounded wrong, even in his head. He took the piece of paper she offered him, frowning.

"No idea where it's at." He hadn't familiarized himself with the entire Tampa area, or even half the neighborhoods around him. "By the way, pet," He took her hand, twirling her in a slow circle. "I like the dress."

"You do?" She was legitimately surprised by his compliment and the way he twirled her, feeling his eyes devouring her whole. It made her feel…good and beautiful. The roses in her cheeks bloomed and she had a genuine smile on her face for the first time in what felt like ages. "Thank you. Follow me, I can put it in my GPS." She leaned up on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek before getting in her car, waiting for him to do the same.

Moments later, they were on their way to the next house.

It was the one. It had a pool in a different, separate sector of the house with a lock on the door, which required a key. The house was a lot bigger than the first one, with higher doorways and ceilings, so Drew didn't have to duck to enter. The backyard was completely fenced in and safe, full of luscious grass and a small area for a garden, though she would probably never use it. Tressa did not have a green thumb at all. The kitchen was twice the size of the other house and the rooms were bigger too.

Three bedrooms, two bathrooms – it was damn near perfect. They spent a fair amount of time there looking at the place and once again, there were no stairs, it was all one floor, no basement, which she preferred and there was a huge shed, brand new, in the back to store whatever needed. When it was all said and done, Tressa made an offer on the house, and Andrew informed her it was just down the street from his place, even closer than the first house. She didn't need to see any others – this place called out to her the moment she pulled up to it.

"Well, if ye ever decide to take a job closer to home, that'll be a fine house to live in." As it was, his own was pretty basic and spartan just because he was rarely here and he also kept a residence in Scotland that he preferred when he had longer breaks. Jetting across the states was already a pain in the backside, doing it to another country entirely was practically impossible. "Ye ken, I always wondered why practically every house here has a pool when the beach innit that far…" It was a strange thing to wonder, but there it was. "Ye ready to go see me lair?" Drew flashed her a smile, though to be honest, he was a bit nervous.

This was the mother of his unborn child and he was very aware his relationship with said child hinged on his relationship with her. No matter what happened between them, Tressa would never take Andrew away from his child. A child was not supposed to be used as a pawn. She hated women who did that, who used their children to gain funds and whatever, to manipulate the man. It wouldn't happen with her and she hoped Andrew would come to see that eventually.

"Your lair, eh? Ready as I'll ever be." She could feel the nervous energy pulsating through him as they walked to their cars, separating to drive. Tressa didn't realize how nervous she was until she pulled up to where Drew lived, parked the car, and stepped out to join him.

It was not like her house at all. It was more square almost, more modern looking, and two stories. He had a pool, but it was currently covered with a hardtop because he didn't like it opened when it wasn't in use and he wasn't leaving himself liable for any accidents if someone trespassed.

"Dinnae laugh." He said seriously, procuring a key from his ring, and unlocked the front door, pushing it open. "Ladies first." He swept his arm, gesturing her inside, and smiled when he realized she was just as nervous as he was.

This was new territory for them.

Why would she laugh? The place looked nice enough on the outside and she assumed it was nice on the inside. It was…a bachelor pad, to put it mildly. The walls were bare, mostly, though there were odds and ends that spoke of Andrew's character. A lot of Scottish – hell, she was surprised the place wasn't decked out in plaid. The room they walked into was the living room, or sitting area, which connected to the kitchen. She assumed the bedrooms were all upstairs and noticed the pool on the patio. Minimal furniture – it made sense since he lived his life mostly on the road and he had mentioned having a place in Scotland as well.

"Now why would you think I'd laugh at your place, Highlander?" She asked, breaking the silence between them, and turned from the window to look at him curiously.

There were definite touches of home throughout, though he was the first to admit the motif was bare. His bedroom definitely had the plaid thing going, his family's tartan no less, which was the traditional plaid of their 'clan', or what would have been called clan back when. "It's bare." He chuckled, though he opened the patio door and took her hand, leading her outside back into the sunshine. The landscaping was not him, he had had input, but obviously, he wasn't the one doing the maintenance since he was never home. "It's not Highland heather," He pointed to the pink and purple flowering shrubs that were kept low to the ground. "It's Mexican Heather, it does better here because of the hot climate, about as close to home as I could get."

"That's your favorite flower, isn't it? Highland Heather?"

Of course, it was because this man was a true Scotsman at heart. She bent down gently to touch one of the Mexican Heathers and smiled, the smell pleasing. Drew was right behind her and she could feel his hands burning through the sundress as soon as they landed on her hips.

"You have a nice place, Andrew, and it's beautiful out here." She felt their fingers lace together as they walked around the backyard, just enjoying the fresh air and tranquility.

Being on the road, they never got to just…be and it was nice doing something as simple as walking hand-in-hand with Andrew, enjoying the breeze Tampa had. His backyard was bigger than average for the normal Tampa resident and that had basically been the only requirement he had had. Besides tall ceilings, of course. He had grown up outside it seemed and, when he WAS able to come home and enjoy it, he wasn't spending all that time inside.

"Thank ye." He was smiling down at her, genuinely, his blue eyes sparkling as he guided her to the very sturdy, custom oak swing he had built. "Moss campion won't grow here at all nor would bog myrtle…which sounds disgusting, but it smells…citrusy." He waited until she was seated before easing himself down next to her, draping his arm along the back of the seat, and used his feet to gently rock them back and forth. "My mam grew flowers and I always took them for granted. Now, so far from home, little things like that I seem to miss."

Scooting closer to him, Tressa enjoyed the swaying back and forth, leaning her head against his side. "Your Mom sounds like she was a wonderful woman." She murmured softly, feeling his arm tighten around her waist a little more and her hand resting on his thigh, sighing gently. "I know I shouldn't want to get away from my own mother, but…I've never liked Minnesota and it holds too many memories for me. I do not have a green thumb either, so…you're going to have to teach the young one about botany if you want him or her to have an education in it or to learn how to plant." That was a problem Terri had with her, actually, though she wouldn't get into that mess with Andrew.

The court date was set for next week and she couldn't wait to finally stick it to the old hag once and for all.