She leaned up and looked at him as she rested her chin on her hand that was covering his chest. “Today’s events mixed with your own past?” she asked softly.
“Yeah.” He’d had enough sessions with the on-staff shrink to know that the job was hard and sometimes it messed with your mind. Especially after he’d pulled his first body out of the water. He sighed and pulled her down to kiss her. “Part of me has always wished I could have met the man. After all, he’s the one who molded my dad, aunt, and uncle into who they are and, in turn, they have raised everyone in the Jordan clan.” He smiled thinking of his large family.
Kara’s smile brightened up the darkness of his mind, sending the rest of the dark thoughts retreating even further. He pulled her down and kissed her.
“I really am sorry I woke you.” His hands ran up her back as she arched against him.
“Hm, I think I know of a way you can make it up to me,” she purred as she rolled on top of him.
The following morning, as they were eating breakfast at Sara’s Nook, Kara answered a call from her parents.
Every person he’d run into so far had congratulated him on a successful rescue. Becca even gave him a free coffee and donut, which he quickly scarfed down before enjoying his breakfast quiche.
He remembered as she was talking to her parents that they had dinner planned at his cousin’s place later that evening. For a moment, he thought about trying to get out of the family get-together, but then he remembered the last time he’d tried to get out of a family dinner and knew he’d rather suffer through the evening than suffer through another year of hearing about missing the dinner.
“Okay, see you soon,” Kara said before hanging up her phone.
“Your folks are coming?” he asked.
“Yeah. They wanted to look at the land and meet with Rose and Jacob. I guess they’ve been talking to her about floor plans and options.” She rolled her eyes. “Which I’m sure you’ve been thinking about yourself for your place.”
He frowned. “No, actually, I haven’t even thought about it yet.”
She sighed. “Their visit shouldn’t interfere with our dinner tonight. I’ll have to stop by my place and grab a change of clothes.”
“We can do that after breakfast. What time will they be here?”
“In about an hour. They were on the highway already.”
“Maybe we can meet them up at the job site and then grab some lunch after?” he suggested. Her eyebrows slowly rose. “What?” he asked, curious about the look she was giving him, as if she was trying to figure him out.
She shook her head and then smiled. “Nothing, it’s just…”
Suddenly, he could see a flash of nerves behind her eyes and realized that she was probably nervous about him meeting her parents.
Reaching across the table, he took her hand in his. “You do realize that I’ve met your parents before, right? I may not remember every detail of the meetings, but I’m pretty sure I’ve been around them my entire life.”
“Oh?” Her eyebrows shot up and then she sighed. “Right.”
He smiled. “I know you guys have been coming here forever, but this will be the first time with this.” He held up their joined hands.
“Right.” She smiled. “I don’t think that will be an issue. My parents have worshiped all things Jordan for years.”
He chuckled. “Good, then maybe they won’t hate the idea of us living together.”
She bit her bottom lip and winced slightly.
“Or not?” he said.
“Let’s just leave that part out for now,” she suggested. “It’s not that they’re old fashioned or anything, they just wouldn’t want...” She sighed and then chuckled. “Never mind. It’s better if we told them later.”
He shrugged slightly. “They’re your folks. You know them better than I do. But you will let Robin in on it?”
She laughed and nodded. “I’ve already talked to her about moving out.”
“And?” he asked, feeling a little nervous.
“She was excited and happy for me. She claims she’s going to turn my room into an office,” she replied with a grin. “What about your parents?”
He chuckled. “Something tells me my mother is going to be thrilled. I actually think she was rooting for us before we even kissed.”
Kara’s smile doubled. “Yeah, I’d agree to that as well. I think the day she showed up on the beach to talk to me, she was already plotting out how to get us together.”
He chuckled and lifted her hand to his lips. “I’m so glad it worked.”
“Me too,” she said before pulling out her phone and calling her parents back.
Chapter Twenty-One
There was nothing more nerve-racking than watching your parents casually interact with the man who had spent all of last night completely pleasing you in bed. Especially when Conner couldn’t stop touching her and sending her heart rate spiking.
Oh, she knew that her parents surmised that they were together. Of that there was no doubt less than five minutes after they’d met them at the construction trailer.
The doubt most likely fled their minds when Jacob blurted out that he was thankful Conner was at least taking a real date to the family dinner that night since he was stuck taking Rose.
Rose immediately slugged Jacob on the shoulder and scowled at him.
Rose then ushered her parents into her office, where they spent the next hour or so going over each floor plan and options.
Who knew there was so much that went into picking out a new home? Not only were there subtle changes in each floor plan, but then there were color options for the exterior of the home, including brick choices and window and door choices. Then there was the inside. Her mother seemed to be enjoying picking out flooring, cabinets, door handles, sink shapes, and the hardest choice yet, toilet bowl handles.
An hour and a half after her folks had stepped into the trailer, they walked out of it with Jacob to go stroll through the lots and finally decide which one they preferred. Kara was still rooting for her favorite lot at the base of the hill for them.
She was a little shocked when Conner asked her to stay behind to give her opinion on his own home choices.
Kara could tell that Rose was trying to act as casual as she could, but she noticed a spark in the woman’s eyes that clearly showed she was wondering about their relationship.
Was this a subtle hint from Conner that he wanted things between them to move beyond living together? She hadn’t even officially moved in yet.
Okay, facts first, she thought as Rose went over the many options with Conner.
Kara had technically known Conner most of her life. She had faint memories of playing with him and all of the other Jordan kids whenever they visited Pride during her childhood.
Had he ever stuck out in her mind? Maybe.
There had been one summer where she’d had a crush on him back in fifth grade. Though she was questioning whether it had been him or his brother Jacob at this point. In all honesty, she’d been crushing on all the Jordan boys, so she didn’t blame herself for not remembering if it was Conner or Jacob that summer.
Next fact—her feelings for Conner were deep, even at this early point in the relationship. He wasn’t like the other guys she’d dated over the years. She doubted he would cheat on her or decide one day that he no longer wanted to be with her. Well, at least she hoped.