“Just don’t close yourself off yet,” Aurora pleads. “Let Grant talk to him and find out where his head is at.”
“You can’t tell him I told you. You can’t tell him any of this,” I beg.
“Hey.” Grant grabs my hand. “I promise I won’t tell him, but I do want to hear his side now that I’ve heard yours.”
“You two can’t possibly be okay with this?”
“Why not? There’s no law that says sisters can’t marry brothers from the same family,” Aurora counters.
“Incest is illegal, Rory,” I joke.
“Stop it. You know what I meant.”
“I mean, my mom and the rest of my family already dubbed you an honorary Riggins, so this way you’ll get the name to go with the title.” He smirks.
“Whoa, back up the cookie truck. No one is talking about marriage and changing names.”
“It’s worth it. You should try it,” Aurora tells me.
“You two”—I point at the two of them—“are in this love bubble and want everyone to have your happiness.”
“Is that so wrong? You’re my sister, and I love you. I want you to find a good man to spend your life with. How do we know that’s not Conrad?”
“How did this conversation go from possibly dating to marriage?”
“It’s the magic,” Grant says, deadpan.
He really does believe in all of this magic of finding love stuff. I don’t know what I believe. I know Conrad is constantly on my mind. I know I’ve spent more time replaying my time with him in the cabin than anything else this past week. I know every time he comes into the bakery, I question my decision and wonder if any time spent with him would be worth the heartache.
“Hey, Mom,” Grant says, pulling me out of my thoughts. “We’re home. Aspen is here.” He pauses. “We’ll be there. Okay. I’ll tell her.” Another pause. “My wife is perfect. We’ll be there, Mom. Love you,” he says, ending the call.
“Mom wanted to make sure we could make it to Sunday dinner.”
“Our first one as husband and wife.” My sister sounds so happy it brings tears to my eyes.
Grant leans in and presses his lips to hers. “Our first of many.” He pulls away and pins his gaze on me. “Mom also insisted you be there.”
“I don’t think that’s such a good idea,” I say as my phone rings. Grabbing it from the table, I see Lena Riggins’s name flash across my screen. “Hi, Lena,” I greet her, and both my sister and brother-in-law grin like fools. “I appreciate the invite.” I listen as she tells me that she’s not taking no for an answer. “Okay. Thank you. I’ll be there.” She tells me I better be, or she’s sending one of the boys to get me before ending the call.
“She knew you would try to decline.”
“How?”
“I told you. We could all see the tension between the two of you. Not to mention the dance and the way Conrad’s eyes would follow you no matter where you were in that cabin.” Aurora smiles at me.
“I think I’ve had enough of the love matchmaking for today. I’m beat. I’m going to head home and get some sleep.”
“Be safe. We love you.” Aurora stands to give me a hug, Grant doing the same.
“I’ll talk to him. We’re going to get to the bottom of this.”
“There is nothing to get to the bottom of.” It’s a lie, and we both know it. After another round of hugs and the promise to see them tomorrow, I head back to my place above the bakery. The entire drive home, I’m thinking about what they said. Is there a chance that Conrad really does want more?
Once in my apartment, I kick off my shoes and plop down on the couch. I am exhausted. I haven’t been sleeping well. In fact, that last full night’s sleep I got was that night I spent in his arms.
My phone rings, and it’s Conrad. Taking a deep breath, I place the phone next to my ear. “Hello.”
“It’s good to hear your voice,” Conrad greets me.
“Hey.” I don’t know what to say to that. His words have my heart tripping over in my chest.
“What are you doing?”
“I actually just got home. I went to see Aurora and Grant.”
“How are the newlyweds?”
“Definitely in the honeymoon phase.” I laugh softly.
“I love that sound.”
“What sound?”
“Your laugh.”
What do I say to that? I ignore him instead of trying to find a reply. “What are you getting into tonight?”
“Holding down the couch.”
“Really?” I’m surprised he’s not at a club.
“Yep. My girl has a job where she gets up really early, and she’s been blowing me off a lot lately. So, it’s just me tonight.”
“You’re dating?” My heart feels as though it’s stuck in my throat.
“Depends.”
“O-On what?” I croak. I don’t want to know, but I need to hear him say it. To confirm that I was right.
“Are you ready to say yes?”
“Wh-What?” I’m a stuttering fool when it comes to this conversation.
“You’re the only one I want, Aspen.” His voice is low and deep.
“Conrad.” I sigh.
“I know I need to prove it to you, and I’m going to. I told myself that I would give you more time before I told you about my plan, but I can’t wait anymore. I’m going to prove to you that I want you. That you’re the only one I want.”
“Say you do. Then what?”
“Come on, baby, you know how the story ends. Then we live happily ever after.”
I clamp my hand over my mouth to stop the sob. I want that. I want him and all he’s offering, but it’s only been a week. He’s still caught up in our time at the cabin. He needs more time to make sure this is what he wants. Without a doubt, he is who I want. I know that. We have led two very different lives up to this point. He’s been wild and carefree. That’s a big deal to give that up.
“Will you come to Sunday dinner with me tomorrow?” he asks.
“Your mom called me earlier and invited me.”
“Did you tell her you’d be there?”
“I did.”
“Can I pick you up?”
“I’ll be there.”
“I’ll take it. You sound exhausted. Get some rest. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“Night, Con,” I whisper.
“Night, beautiful.”
The line goes dead, and I’m both giddy and fearful at the same time. Every interaction with him, I fall a little harder. That only confirms what I already knew. I would never survive losing him if he was mine.
Chapter 20
Conrad
When I was in high school, there was this girl, Lucy Anderson, new to our high school, and all the guys wanted her. Even me. She agreed to sit with me at the basketball game, and the night before, I didn’t sleep well. It took forever to fall asleep, and I woke up hours before I needed to. I was excited that she picked me.