Her Second Soulmate | Steve Rogers

Chapter Thirty Five

~Noelle's POV~

I stared at the mess in front of me. Since last weekend, when Steve took the injections of the super soldier serum, he had tried to complete every possible task that he had been struggling with over the past couple of months.

Today, this meant carrying Angie around on his shoulders and dressing up with her, dancing around to music and re-enacting Disney films with complete dedication to the script and music.

Which was amazing, and incredible, and as I watched them from the doorway after my nap, the sight bloomed precious memories that I would cherish forever.

But now it was early afternoon, and Steve had taken Angie out for a surprise shopping trip. Again, this was great for me, as I could try and rest without the distractions, but no matter how much I played whale music, or pulled the black out blinds down, I was wide awake.

I wanted to be asleep. I wanted to curl up comfortably.

But the baby was kicking and fighting, and no matter how I lay or sat, I couldn't get comfortable.

He had promised me the mess would be gone by Angie's dinnertime, but I couldn't leave it like this.

I moved slowly, the belly making it difficult to move quickly, but I piled all of the dress up costumes back into a basket I kept in Angie's room. I stacked the DVDs back onto the shelf near the TV, and gently pushed the small sofa back towards the middle of the room.

I felt a twinge around my belly at that, and my back began hurting after bending down to scoop Angie's stuff up, so I took a moment to sit down.

Something crinkled as I rested my back against the cushions, and I dug behind me for the source of the noise.

A sheet of paper had been folded and stuffed down the side, hidden by the cushions I was now sat on.

I didn't recognise it, but then again, my short term memory was terrible at the moment. Steve found my hairbrush in the freezer after I made dinner last night. I had cried for ten minutes trying to find it.

I opened it up, hoping it wasn't a letter about a school trip I had missed, when my heart fell through my stomach.

PLANNING PERMISSION: ACCEPTED

Underneath the block capitals were details of some kind of planning permission, followed by sketches of a lay plan.

I saw my name, and Angie's, with arrows pointing to specific rooms. Plus a kitchen, with a list of items already bought and ready to install, plus a balcony and swing set to be used in the garden.

Was Steve building us a house?

Without telling us?

I glanced around the room, now tidy of the playing that had taken place that morning. It wasn't the biggest space, but we could have stayed here longer.

I knew our old place was no longer an option. Even with the group who had been watching us all in jail, it wouldn't feel safe anymore.

I glanced back at the paper, noticing the address for the first time.

It was going to be above the gym.

An overwhelming surge of love for him flooded my body, tightening my chest as the tears welled in my eyes. He was building us a house!

I had been excited to help organise and design the layout of the gym itself, but this was a whole place to live, with rooms and gardens and... and...

I wiped my cheeks, trying to gulp some breaths of air. Logically I knew I shouldn't be sobbing as much as I was, but the baby was making me so much more emotional.