Chapter 25
“What do you mean you live here?” Charli’s eyes widened as soon as Kean closed the door of his apartment behind him.
When he’d woken up that morning, he hadn’t expected his life would take such an unpredictable turn. First he’d bumped into Vanessa and discovered she was getting married in two months. He was happy for her, though a bit jealous because his dream of marriage, a family, and a happy life had effectively withered when Charli left him and took his heart with her. Then the woman who’d ruined him for anyone else had come out of the blue, running like a pack of wolves were after her, and finally the cloud that had been hovering over his heart had lifted and dissipated. Charli was like the sun peeking out from the clouds on a misty day, like the first day of summer, and the best Christmas present. Ah, damn, he was thinking like a character from a cheesy romance novel now. But even though he knew his brothers and his friends would make fun of him until the day he died if they heard him, he couldn’t stop smiling like an idiot as more, even cheesier lines came to mind.
He shrugged. “You said I should aim higher, so when opportunity knocked, I did. I took up a project that could save my company, so I moved to Portland and rented an apartment.”
“Seriously, Bob? Of all the things I said, the only thing you decide to take me up on is the one you should have ignored? Figures.”
She crossed her arms and huffed. Her reaction left him a little dizzy. They’d had a fight because she put her career before anything else, and she’d accused him of not having goals. And now that he’d gone out of his comfort zone and followed her advice, she was mad at him?
“I think you’ve just lost me.”
She rolled her eyes and threw her hands in the air. “Ugh! Why are you so dense?” She moved closer, stomped actually, so that they were standing toe to toe, and fisted his shirt. “I left everything just to move back to Spring. I threw years of hard work out the window. I used all my savings on the advance for a house, and had to ask for a loan that I’ll have to spend years repaying. And you know why I did all this?” She pulled at his shirt. It had been a while since her eyes had shot fiery daggers at him that way. He’d almost forgotten how much he loved it when she did. “For you, Kean Cavanagh. Just because I couldn’t bear to spend one more day away from you. Because I was sure you would want the other half of the house. And what do you do? You move.”
When her words finally registered, his heart stuttered. No, it actually stopped. Did she just say…?
“Wait, you bought a house? To live with me? In Spring?”
“That’s what I just said.”
“But when, why—”
“Have you suddenly become deaf? I bought it because I wanted to be with you, but now you want to play the city boy while I want to live by the beach.” She pushed against his chest and took a step back.
“Charli, wait.” He grabbed her wrists and pulled her back to him. “I had no idea you’d ever come back. You never gave me any hope your stay in Miami would be temporary. And when this job showed up on my doorstep, I couldn’t refuse it. I needed the money so my parents wouldn’t have to sell their house. It’s my fault they have no savings left and—”
“You don’t have to worry about that anymore. They’ve already sold it.”
Now his heart effectively stopped, then shrank and crumbled to dust. “What do you mean they sold it?” The words somehow managed to squeeze past his tight throat.
She lifted one shoulder. “They received a good offer from someone who promised to take good care of it and not tear it down. They found a cute little place a few hundred yards down the road, so your grandpa can keep using his workshop. They seemed pretty happy with how things turned out.”
“How do you know all this?” He frowned. Why hadn’t his mom said a word about this when they spoke on the phone just two days ago? And why was Charli privy to information he knew nothing about?
“I bought it.”
Huh?
He pushed her slightly away and inspected her face, waiting to spot the signs she was teasing him.
“You bought my parents’ house? Are you kidding me? Because, honestly, it’s not funny.”
She rolled her eyes and let out a loud, very annoyed huff. When her gaze met his narrowed one, he could see the annoyance now held a sparkle of mischief, too. That sparkle he’d missed so much.
“You can be really thick, Bob. Do you want me to spell it out for you, make a drawing or maybe explain it in sign language? Because I’m not sure how else I could make you understand.”
“You bought my parents’ house,” he said, as the words slowly sank in.
“I did. Your parents and I had a long heart to heart via Skype, just before I booked my flight out of Miami, and I offered to buy it.” She took his hands and squeezed. “I knew I wanted, needed to come back and try to win you back before you married your small-town girl, and I knew your parents’ place would be perfect for what I had in mind. Plus, I figured once I won you back, you’d be happy to live there, your parents would be happy because the house would stay in the family, I could turn my dream into reality, and everyone would win. I still have to sign all the original papers when I go back to Spring, since we did most of the legal stuff via e-mail, but technically it’s a done deal.”
“You thought I was engaged? Two months after you left?” Hadn’t she realized how much she meant to him? How she’d broken his heart when she chose that job over him?
“What would I know? Sophie was talking about being a flower girl again, and you are a family guy. I thought meeting your first love had sparked something I could never compete with.” She shrugged. “But it doesn’t matter anymore, since you’re not coming back to Spring with me.”
She let go of his hands and took a step back. He wanted to bang his head against the wall in frustration—life had such lousy timing sometimes.
“Charli, I can’t leave right now. I signed a contract and accepted a down payment. I’m supposed to complete the job.”
She lifted one shoulder, and even though she tried to look as if she didn’t care, her drooped shoulders and sad frown told him otherwise. God knew how he wanted this to work. She’d come back for him, she’d bought a house—his parents’ house—just so they could build their future together. And he was tied to this city, at least for the time being. Would she consider…
“Could we try long distance for a while? I could drive home over the weekends and whenever they don’t need me on site.” She cocked her head, interest clearly visible in her eyes. “I should be done in a couple of months, and after that I can come home. I’ll tell the client I’m not interested in the other projects—”
“Stop.” She raised her palm in front of him and he shut his mouth. “You can’t turn down this huge opportunity because of me. His projects would mean a lot of money, and you were the one saying your company wasn’t thriving. You need this job.”
“I need you more.”
Her gaze softened as her gorgeous lips curled in a smile. He moved closer and took her face in his hands. It felt like ages since he’d tasted her soft lips, and he planned to make up for lost time soon, but first he had to set things right, to make sure she’d be okay with waiting for him.
“And I need you, too,” she said. “But you need to save your company first. I’m not going anywhere and if this guy is paying you big money, you could hire extra workers for the next projects so you could be on site only when you’re needed. Perks of being the boss, right?”
He nodded. Mr. Kowalski had liked him for his architectural vision and didn’t care who carried out the work, as long as Kean was the supervisor. He could do the same thing now. With the money he’d get for every new project, he could hire skilled workers.
“Commuters who travel a lot for work still manage to have a family life, don’t they? This isn’t that much different from being a commuter. You said the sites would be in Oregon and Washington, so it’s not like you’d have to take a transatlantic flight every week.”
“You know, I love how your ultra-organized, ultra-smart brain works,” he said, resting his forehead against hers. “And I love you more than I’ve ever loved anyone else, more than I could ever love another woman. I want to plan a future with you, Charlotte Ariela Wingate.”
“Hey, I’m the planner here.” She smiled, nudging him in the ribs. “Leave the planning stuff to me, while you take care of the building side of things. We’ll make a good team if we stick to our tasks.”
“A perfect team.” He nodded, rubbing his thumbs on her cheeks as he pulled back so he could stare into her eyes. “Now, tell me more about your plans. Are you going to become Spring’s official planner?”
Her face brightened. “I am, actually. Ellie’s already booked my services for all of their kids’ birthdays until they’re eighteen, the mayor said I will be in charge of any official town events, and apparently nearly every other resident has an event they want me to plan. Between birthday parties, graduations, and anniversaries I think I won’t be out of work in a while.”
“See? I told you the town would need you.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be so smug, Mr. I-Told-You-So. The town needs me because I’m awesome, not because you said so.”
“And you’re humble.”
“That too.” She smiled. “Anyway, then there’s my other business, for which I’ll need your advice.”
He frowned. “What business?”
If possible, her face brightened up even more, her eyes sparkling with excitement and passion like never before. “Your parents’ house? I have their blessing to turn it into a cozy B&B. Nothing fancy, just a quiet place for couples and families who want to enjoy the charm of small-town life.”
Wait. So she didn’t want to live there, after all.
“Charli, did you inform my parents you were going to tear the place down, before you made them sign the deed?” His tone was harsher than he’d intended, but he couldn’t bring himself to believe that she would take advantage of his parents’ weakness just so she could build her B&B.
She frowned. “Who said anything about tearing the place down? Sure, the first floor would need some small renovations and improvements, just to meet the standards required by the tourism board. I’d like to find a small space for me, where I could also have my office. But I think we would be better off living in your cabin, so we have our privacy while still being available for the guests.” She was on a roll, and her excitement rubbed off on him, replacing the anger. He had a few ideas, and his architect brain was already envisioning how they could move stuff around, perhaps create an external decked patio where guests could have breakfast.
She stared at him with a smile tugging at her lips. “So I’d need a contractor. Do you happen to know someone reliable I could hire? Maybe who’s an architect too, so he could help me put all my wonderful ideas down on paper? Someone who’d like to share this dream with me?”
“Hmm… let me think…” He rubbed his chin and avoided her gaze. She poked him in the chest and he chuckled. “I think I know a certain Bob the Builder who would be happy to take on the job.”
“I’d love that,” she said, encircling his waist with her arms. Then she looked up at him, a sultry look in her eyes that he felt deep down in his soul. “Now, are you going to kiss me anytime soon, Bob? ’Cause I drove three hundred miles to find you, and it wasn’t just so I could stare at your pretty face.”
He chuckled. Here was the feisty Tex-Mex tornado he’d missed and longed for. He pulled her face close to his, his lips only a breath away from hers. Her eyelids fluttered closed and he took a moment to drink her in, this beautiful woman who’d stolen his heart.
“Now would be a good time, Bob,” she whispered with her eyes still closed.
He smiled. “Yes, ma’am.” And when his lips finally locked with hers, the time they’d been apart no longer mattered, as if he’d kissed her just the day before. As if she’d never left. As if he’d never known what loving someone really meant until this gorgeous woman aimed a .45—no, a .38—at his face.
He hadn’t planned for things to go this way when he left Spring, but he was happy that for once, life had decided to take matters into its own hands and mess with his carefully thought-out plans. After all, this unplanned twist of events had been only for the better—just like their unplanned love.