“Where? When? Were you looking?” my brother fires off a round of questions.
“No, I wasn’t looking. However, it popped up on my phone this morning, and it caught my eye. I called the realtor, just looked at it, and put in an offer.”
“That’s… wow. Where is it?”
“We’re going to be neighbors. I bought the two-story brick just down the road. I timed it. We’re three and a half minutes apart.”
“For real? That’s a nice place. They’ve been working on remodeling from the trucks that have been there.”
“They did. The entire place is brand-new inside. Eleven acres, with a two-acre pond, in-ground pool.” I continue to name off all the attributes that I loved about the place, which is everything.
“And you bought it? Just like that?” Aurora asks.
“Yep.”
“What about your condo?” Grant asks.
“Selling it. The realtor is coming over Monday morning to list it.”
“You’re giving up the bachelor pad? You were stoked to find that place.”
“Yep.”
“You feeling all right?”
“Never better.” Well, one thing that would make it better would be for Aspen to be mine, but I’m working on that.
“What brought all this on?” Aurora asks.
Here goes. I look her in the eye and make sure she can see how serious I am. “Your sister.”
“My sister?” she asks, confused.
“She’s my magic.” I shrug.
“Son of a bitch,” Grant huffs out a laugh.
“What? Why is that funny?”
“Told you so.” He grins, pulling Aurora into a hug.
“I’m going to need some more information. Come on.” Aurora slides out from underneath Grant’s arm and grabs my hand, pulling me into the living room. “Sit.” She points to the couch, and I do as I’m told. “Tell me all the things.” Her smile is wide, and her eyes are focused on me.
“We spent time together at the cabin. She’s… amazing, and I want to spend more time with her.”
“Have you told her that?”
“I have. She seems to think that our time together was circumstantial. That’s fine, though. I get it. I’ve preached the entire time that she’s known me that the magic wasn’t real, and it was an excuse the oldest Riggins men used to be pussy-whipped. I understand why she feels that way. So, I’m going to show her.”
“So, you bought a house?” Grant clarifies.
“I’m over the party life. It was fun, but I’ve grown out of it. I’d slowed down a lot even before my week with her at the cabin. Now, I have no desire to go back.”
“You love your condo.”
“Yeah, I did. It was convenient after a night out, but that’s not me. I want a home.”
“Wow,” they say together.
“I promise you I’m not playing games with her.”
“I believe you,” they say again at the same time.
“This newlywed finishing each other’s sentences stuff is creepy as fuck.”
Grant throws his head back in laughter while Aurora giggles. “Just wait, brother.”
“If that’s what it means to have her in my life, bring it.” I didn’t really plan to just come out with it like that, but I’m not hiding how I feel for her, not from her and not from my family. She needs to see that I’ve changed, that I mean what I say. I’ll give her not only the actions but the words too.
“Listen, can you all keep this between us? I want to make sure the offer goes through and all that before I tell her or the rest of the family. You all were close, and well, I needed to tell someone.”
“We’ll keep your secret,” Aurora assures me. “I’m excited for you and for my sister. I hope the two of you can work things out.”
“Me too, sis, me too. All right, I need to get home and tidy up my place a little, so I don’t have to do it tonight. I’ll see you all later at Mom and Dad’s.” With a hug to both of them, I let myself out.
I take my time driving by the house and pull in to take a few pictures on my phone. Life is changing, and I’m excited about it. I just hope this house isn’t the only change coming soon. I hope my relationship status changes as well.
Chapter 21
Aspen
All day long, I’ve racked my brain, trying to come up with an excuse not to go to Sunday dinner at Lena and Stanley Riggins’s house this evening. The only excuses I could come up with are lies, and that’s not me. So, here I am, standing in front of my closet, looking for something to wear. I don’t want to look frumpy, and well, I don’t want it to look like I tried too hard either. However, I need to choose something soon, or I’m going to be late.
It’s February in Tennessee, so I can’t go wrong with black leggings and a long steel-gray sweater. I’ll wear my black Sperry boots and call it good. My hair is in loose curls falling over my shoulders, and my makeup is light.
Making sure I have my phone and keys, I head to the bakery before leaving. I need to grab the box of leftover goodies from yesterday. I hate tossing them, and I know the guys love everything we have to offer. I figure it’s as good a place as any to take them. I sent Gloria and McKenzie home with a box as well. Anything leftover on Saturdays is donated. We usually drop off boxes to local businesses, hotels, nursing homes, bars, and the boxes are always labeled with the Warm Delights logo. It’s a good form of marketing, and I really do feel like we’ve gained a lot of exposure and business from it. However, this week, it’s the staff who got the treats. I had planned to drop some boxes off today, but when Lena called, and I knew I couldn’t get out of it, I combined them all in one.
The traffic this evening is light, so I get to the Riggins’s in record time. However, from the cars in the driveway, I’m the last to arrive. Climbing out of my car, I grab my phone and then reach into the back seat to retrieve the box of goodies.
“Hey, babe, let me help with that.” Conrad takes the box from my hands. “I have been waiting to lay eyes on you all weekend,” he says, grinning. “Come on, let’s get you inside where it’s warm.”
I follow him inside and stop at the foyer to take off my boots and coat. By the time I’m sliding off my last boot, he’s back and pulling me into a hug. “I missed you.”
“Conrad, you saw me yesterday.”
Pulling out of the hug, he laces his fingers through mine and pulls me down the hall and into the laundry room. “That was at the bakery. It’s been over a week since I’ve held you.”
“Conrad, we’re not together.” I say the words, but I don’t want them to be true.
“We are. You just haven’t admitted it yet. Come here.” He pulls me back into his arms, and I’m too weak to resist him. I let him hug me tightly and end up wrapping my arms around him in return. As soon as I do, he exhales and squeezes me a little tighter.
His warmth wraps around me, and it brings tears to my eyes. I’ve missed him more than I was willing to admit to myself. It’s been a week, and here I am, hidden in his parents’ laundry room, stealing hugs.