Chapter 25
Aspen
He’s moving. He bought a house to prove to me he’s serious about us. Talk about a grand gesture. It’s not just a house. It’s a beautiful house—huge and perfect. It’s my dream house. The moving truck just loaded the last of the boxes and the furniture.
“I still have a few things to pack, but we can come back and get that. I need to meet them there to let them in,” Conrad tells me.
“Why don’t you drop me off at my place? I’ll grab some clothes for tomorrow and pick up lunch.”
“That sounds perfect. I’m starving. I’m going to call my parents and my brothers on the way. What do you think about having them over tonight for pizza? I know they’re going to want to see the place.”
“That’s up to you.”
“Yeah, but you’re a part of this.”
“Conrad, I love your family.”
“Good. They love you too. I’ll set it up for later, maybe seven? That gives the movers time to unload and for us to have some time together.”
“Okay. I’ll stop at the store on my way and grab some drinks, and paper plates, things like that.”
“Here.” He reaches into his pocket and pulls out his wallet. He hands me a one-hundred-dollar bill.
“I’m not taking your money.”
“It’s for my family.”
“Who has told me multiple times that I’m one of them. I have money, Conrad.”
“Aspen,” he warns.
“Take it or leave it. Either I pay, or I just stay at my place.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Try me.”
He stares at me for a few seconds, but I can tell he’s going to concede. “Fine,” he grumbles, shoving the money back in his wallet. “You win this time.”
“Come on. We need to get a move on. The movers are going to be waiting on you.”
“They get paid by the hour.”
“That doesn’t mean you waste time and money. Come on, slowpoke.” I pull him out the door and to his car. He drops me off at my place with a quick kiss to my lips and a promise from me that I’ll be right behind him.
When I walk into the bakery, Aurora is all smiles. “Well?”
“You already know.”
“But I haven’t seen the inside. How is it? Is it as pretty on the inside as it is on the outside?”
“It’s gorgeous.”
“Are you moving in with him?”
Reaching into my purse, I pull out the keys and the garage door opener he gave me. “He said these are mine to use as I see fit. He also says that as soon as I decide that I’m ready to move in that he’s ready.”
“Well?”
“We just started dating.”
“So? You’ve known him forever.”
“A little over a year is hardly forever.”
She waves me off. “He’s in love with you.”
My heart stalls in my chest. “Did he tell you that?”
“No, but he didn’t have to. You can see it the way he looks at you, and he bought a freaking house, Aspen. A house for you.”
“He bought it for him.”
“For both of you.”
“Well, I’m not moving in. I did tell him I would stay with him tonight, but I’m not moving in.” Not yet. It’s too soon, right? We’ve been official for a week. We need to slow this train a little.
“It’s been longer than a week. The minute you two got snowed in at the cabin, this started, so it’s been over a month.” My sister sticks her tongue out at me.
Before I can fire back a reply, her phone rings. “Hello, husband.” She smiles. She’s quiet while she listens. “Sure, sounds good to me. I’ll whip up something to bring with us. See you at home. Love you,” she says, ending the call. “That was Grant. It seems his little brother is having a small gathering at his new house tonight.”
“I was getting to that,” I tell her.
“I’m going to make something to take. Any requests?”
“Nope. You know they’ll eat anything you make. I’m going to run to the store and grab some drinks, and paper plates, and napkins before heading over there.”
“I assume you’re helping him pack this weekend?”
“He’s mostly packed. We just met the movers at his place, and they took all the boxes he had packed and all of his furniture.”
“Damn. He’s not messing around.”
“No. No, he’s not. You good here? Need any help?”
“Nope. We’ve got it. Gloria and McKenzie are finishing up lunch. I’ll go back and make something when they get back.”
“Love you, Rory.”
“Love you too, little sister.”
“Marshall is picking up the pizza,” Conrad tells me.
“That’s nice of him. I have the drinks in the fridge, and Aurora is bringing a dessert.”
“And they’re all coming at seven. That gives us three hours to take a nap. I’m exhausted.”
“I can’t believe all the furniture is placed and put back together. Hiring movers is definitely the way to go.”
“We’ll do that when you move in too. It makes it nice to not have to do all of the heavy lifting.”
“You sure you don’t want to unpack some more?”
“No. I want to go down the hall to the master bedroom and lie in bed with my girlfriend, and take a nap. The work will be here tomorrow.”
“Okay,” I say, covering a yawn.
“Come with me.” With his fingers laced with mine, he leads me to his bedroom. It’s weird that his bed is all set up, and his dressers are all placed. This all happened so fast. “We have to make the bed first.”
“Um, do you know where the sheets are?”
“No clue.” He laughs.
“Did you mark the box?”
“Yeah, it should say bed shit.”
“Eloquent,” I tease him.
“Hey, it’s done. That’s all that matters.”
We begin to look at the boxes in the bedroom when I finally find the one that reads master bedroom shit—clean and one that reads master bedroom shit—dirty. “Look at you being all organized.”
“I had an ulterior motive. I was afraid you wouldn’t want to nap with me on dirty sheets.” He shrugs. “I packed that one this morning.” He lifts the box onto the bed and pulls out a clean set of sheets and a soft, fuzzy blanket.
“Is that yours?” I ask.
“Yes. Mom bought us all one a few years ago for Christmas.”
“It’s so soft.”
“We can use it all the time when you move in if that’s what it takes.”
“Conrad, I can’t move in with you.”
“Why not?”
“We’ve been dating a week.”
“So? When you know, you know.”
“Stop.” I chuckle. “Help me make this bed. You promised me a nap.”
In no time at all, we have the bed made and are cuddled up with one another under the super-soft blanket. “This moment right here, this is one I’ll never forget.”