“Oh?” She thought of how long her parents had been dreaming of moving to Pride. “That’s wonderful.”
“Yeah, your folks apparently found the place for them,” Robin said to Conner.
“They did?” he asked with a frown. “Where?”
Robin shrugged. “It’s on Clark Avenue. I guess it was on the land where your mother grew up?”
He smiled. “My grandmother’s old lot.” His smile slipped slightly. “The old house burned down a long time ago when my parents were just dating. My grandmother almost died in the fire, but my mom pulled her out just in time. Then shortly after my parents married and after my grandmother died, they had a new home built on the property and have been renting it out as an investment property ever since. I would have rented it out myself, but my folks told me they were having some things done in the place.” He smiled.
“How wonderful,” Kara said to him.
“It’s just down about three blocks from our place.”
“Are they going to sell their place?” Kara asked Robin.
“Sounds like they already have an offer on it,” Robin added with a shrug.
“They’ve been waiting our entire lives to move here,” she told Conner. “It’s their dream come true.”
He smiled down at her. “And by this time next year, we’ll all be neighbors,” he said easily.
She thought about his words for the rest of the night. Did that mean he wanted her to move into his new home with him? He hasn’t asked her or for that matter even talked to her about it. Sure, he’d consulted her anytime Rose had had questions about his build. But as far as she knew, he just wanted her opinion.
His statement hadn’t gone unnoticed by Robin either. The following morning, Kara received a text message from her sister.
“So, with what Conner said last night, does that mean he wants you to move into his new house with him?”
“I don’t know. He’s asked my opinion each time a question has come up about the house,” Kara replied as she glanced at the closed bathroom door. All night long she’d dreamed about her future with him in the home overlooking the water.
What would it be like? Did she really believe he was the one for her? Her heart and mind kept screaming yes.
She had never been with anyone who was as attentive as Conner was. She figured she could easily get spoiled and had even gone out of her way the last time she’d been in Edgeview to stop by Victoria’s Secret and had surprised him with a few sexy outfits, which he had thoroughly enjoyed.
The Jordan men had reputations around town as being completely devoted to the one they loved.
“Have you asked him?” Robin asked.
“No, I’m almost too nervous to do so,” she admitted.
“Well, in a relationship, you have to be open and honest,” Robin texted.
Kara thought about all the exes in her sister’s closet and chuckled.
“Right, like you were with Matt? Or Carl? What about Tom?”
“Ouch, that stings. Go ask him. Take hints from my past mistakes.”
Before she could respond, Robin texted her again. “Do you think he’s going to ask you to marry him?”
Kara couldn’t stop her heart from skipping at that thought. She’d been wondering that herself for a while now. Sure, they’d been dating for less than two months, but this was it. In her mind, Conner was the one, and she hoped that he felt the same about her.
“I don’t know,” she texted back, biting her bottom lip.
“Do you want him to ask you?” her sister asked.
“I haven’t even thought about it yet, but… at this point I wouldn’t say no.”
“Eeeee!” her sister texted along with a little dance emoji. “So happy for you. I wish I could snag me a man.”
“He’s out there somewhere. Conner does have a big family…” she replied.
“I’ve met the rest of the Jordan men, remember. The only ones left are players. Besides, I’m far too busy right now to worry about men.”
She felt guilty about spending her free time with Conner instead of being there to help Robin like she used to before Conner.
“I should be there helping you more,” she texted back.
“Care Bear, go, talk to your man about how you feel. I’ve got this handled today. Love you. Bye.”
Her sister’s use of her old nickname made her smile.
“Thanks. Love you too.”
When Kara walked out into the kitchen, she was surprised to see the kitchen table set and a beautiful breakfast laid out.
“What’s all this?” she asked, walking over and placing a soft kiss on Conner’s cheek.
“I had today off so I figured we could head up and watch them break ground on our new home.” He wrapped his arms around her but must have felt her tense slightly at his words. “What?” He frowned down at her.
Titling her head, she looked up at him. “Nothing.” She felt her heart skip at the lie but then he narrowed his eyes slightly and she knew she wasn’t going to get away from talking to him. Sighing, she held onto him tighter. “You keep calling it our new home.”
His frown grew. “I was hoping you’d get used to it.” His eyes searched hers. “I was going to ask you over breakfast.” He motioned to the spread on the table. He dropped his hold on her, walked over, and pulled out the chair for her to sit.
Since he’d made it clear he’d planned it all, she figured she’d go along and moved over to sit down.
He sat down across from her and held up a glass of orange juice. She picked up her own and smiled.
“Kara.” He smiled across the table at her. “I don’t think it’s a secret how I feel about you, but I realize that things are moving fairly quickly between us. But I can’t imagine moving into the house without you. Please tell me you’ll come with me.”
She smiled. “Of course, I will.” She lifted her glass to his and tapped it.
She had never spent a better day. Even the light freezing rain couldn’t damper the joy she felt helping Conner push the shovel into the dirt and toss it aside and then standing there for almost half an hour as they watched a massive bulldozer clear the pathway where their home would soon be. Her parents’ lot had already been cleared a few days earlier and there were men working on building forms where their foundation would go.
Once the rain started coming at them sideways, they climbed in their truck to watch the dozer work through the cold rain before heading out and meeting her parents for lunch at Baked.
After hearing from Robin last night that they were moving to Pride, Kara had called them and talked to them both. They were overjoyed at the possibility of finally living in their dream town.
Even though they weren’t officially moving for a while, they had decided to start bringing some of their things down. Her father was retiring from his engineering position in Portland and her mother had already found a new job at the medical clinic just outside of Edgeview as a physical therapist.
Sitting in the crowded pizzeria across from her parents, she listened to them talk about how excited they were for the move.
“I start work at my new job Monday,” her mother said with a smile. “The facility is state of the art. There is even an aquatic setup.” Her mother practically squealed with delight.