“I actually think that’s part of its appeal,” Connor said. “Against all odds, she’s crazy about it. I’m the one who’s skeptical. That’s why I want Dad to check it out, see if it’s worth renovating.”
Megan smiled. “If Heather has her heart set on this house, for whatever reason, she’s not going to be persuaded by logic if it turns out to be a construction nightmare. You do know that, don’t you?”
Connor sighed. “Yes. I just need to know how expensive this nightmare is going to be.”
Heather couldn’t seem to stop thinking about Driftwood Cottage. She had no idea how she could afford to buy a house, even if she sold her tiny apartment. It wasn’t so much the timing. These units in the heart of town were always in demand, and summer, when tourists flooded the community, was the perfect time to sell. The problem was the likely income from the sale compared to what it would take to buy beachfront property, even outside of the town limits. Still, she couldn’t seem to keep herself from daydreaming about that house.
Two days later, when she hadn’t heard from either Connor or the Realtor, she dug the slip of paper out of her purse and called the Realtor herself. This time Willow Smith answered right away.
“I’m calling about a house on Beach Drive,” Heather told her. “I couldn’t spot a number, but it’s called Driftwood Cottage. Could you tell me what the asking price is?”
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” Willow exclaimed. “I just got a contract on that house yesterday.”
Heather’s spirits fell. She’d been so certain the house was meant to be hers. “Oh, no, I loved that house.”
“To be honest, you can do much, much better,” the Realtor assured her. “I have several other properties that might suit you if you’re looking for something on the water.”
Heather sighed. “No. I had my heart set on that one.”
“I suppose I could take your name in case the contract falls through,” the Realtor offered, “but I wouldn’t hold out much hope. The buyer’s background is solid. He’s not going to have a bit of trouble getting financing. Of course, you never know. Sometimes people get buyer’s remorse. That could happen, especially once they start assessing the cost of doing renovations or a tear-down.”
“They might tear it down?” Heather asked, horrified.
“That’s certainly what I would do,” Willow said. “But I don’t know what the buyer has in mind.”
“Well, please take my name and number anyway,” Heather said, though she knew she was clinging to a false sense of hope. It was obviously too late. The house had slipped right through her fingers. Unreasonably, she blamed Connor for that. He’d jinxed it all with his doubts. If only she’d made that call herself much sooner, instead of leaving it to him.
She was staring despondently at the phone when someone knocked on the door, then opened it with a key. Connor again, she knew. His timing couldn’t have been worse. She frowned at him.
“What are you doing here?”
“I came to see if you were in a cheery mood today,” he said, grinning at her. “Guess not.”
“Go to—”
He cut her off with a chiding look, then asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Somebody bought my house,” she told him.
“Really?” he asked.
Something in his tone caught her attention. “Do you know anything about that? You’d already talked to the Realtor, hadn’t you? That’s why you came by, to let me down gently.”
He shook his head. “Not exactly.”
“Oh? Were you planning to gloat?”
“No.” He tossed something at her, which she snatched instinctively from the air.
“What’s this?” she asked, clasping what appeared to be a rusty piece of metal.
“The key to your dream house,” he told her.
She stared at him incredulously. “It was you? You bought my house?”
“I did.”
“But why? You hated it. Did you just do it to torment me?”
He seemed startled by the accusation. “Of course not. Why would I want to torment you? You wanted the house. I bought the house for us, for our future.”
“But there is no us,” she said, unable to stop the sense of betrayal that washed over her. “That means you bought it for you. How could you, Connor?”
He held up a hand. “Hold it a second. You fell in love with that house. Heaven knows why, but you did. I bought it. My dad’s going to renovate it to your specifications. I’m not seeing the problem here. I thought you’d be happy.”
“Happy to have you living in the house I wanted?” she asked incredulously. “Why would that make me happy?”
Connor shook his head. “Okay, I think we need to back up the train a minute. I thought I explained this. I bought the house for us,” he explained patiently. “You, me and little Mick, in case I wasn’t clear enough.”
“I’m not going to move in with you again just because you bought a house,” she said with exasperation.
Suddenly he laughed.
“Now you’re laughing at me? Just go away. I don’t want to see you right now.”
“Not going anywhere,” he said, pulling a chair over beside the sofa and sitting down. “I guess I forgot to mention that the house is my wedding present to you. You know, for when you decide to marry me.”
Heather tried not to let the suddenly rapid beating of her heart influence her reason. “But we’re not getting married,” she reminded him.
“Maybe not right away,” he said agreeably. “But we will.”
“I told you—”
“You’ve told me a lot of things and, believe me, I’ve heard every one of them. I’m just choosing not to accept that particular statement. I get why you said no. Who could blame you? I’ve been a pigheaded idiot for way too long now, but I have seen the light. I want what you want.”
She studied him with a narrowed gaze. He seemed sincere. And he had bought her the house she wanted. “What exactly is it that you think I want?” she asked cautiously, wanting more than anything for him to pass the test.
“Happily-ever-after,” he said at once. “A family, a house and a husband who loves you to distraction.”
“And you think you can give me that?”
“I know I can,” he said with total confidence.
“But you don’t believe in happily-ever-after,” she reminded him.
He hesitated, and that was all it took to ruin everything. That one shining moment of hope dimmed. She regarded him sadly.
“It’s okay, Connor. I know you want to want that, but it’s just not who you are. I’ve accepted that. You can stop trying so hard.”
To her surprise, his gaze never wavered. “Not a chance, sweetheart. I’ll never stop trying to prove that I’m ready for this.” He gave her a chagrined look. “It’s going to be a little hard to top buying a house for you, but I’ll come up with something to convince you.”
Heather regarded him with surprise. This was a Connor she’d never seen before. His words were familiar, but there was a glint of determination in his voice, an air of confidence about him that was new. And for the very first time, she wondered if maybe things were different, after all.
Though he’d worked very hard to present a determined attitude in the face of Heather’s skepticism, Connor was thrown by the fact that she was still resisting his proposal. He joined Will at Brady’s, in need of some masculine company. Men made sense. In his recent experience, women did not.
“So, I go against every instinct I possess to buy that godforsaken house for her to prove just how committed I am to our future, and what does Heather do? She says no. Even worse, she’s mad at me for buying her house.”
Will laughed. “Buying the house was Jess’s idea, wasn’t it?”
Connor stared at him. “In a way, yes. How’d you know?”
“Your sister is a big fan of the grand gesture. She was very impressed when Trace bought that house for Abby to prove he was ready to settle down.”
“Come to think of it, Abby wasn’t much happier about that than Heather is about what I did. Maybe I need to stop listening to Jess. She doesn’t seem to have her finger on the female pulse, after all.”
Will chuckled. “Oh, Abby liked the house well enough.”
“Then why did it take so long for Trace to actually get her down the aisle?” Connor asked, thinking back to how rattled Trace had been by Abby’s refusal to set a wedding date, even after they’d been living together for ages. He met Will’s gaze. “Do you know?”
“Actually, Kevin is the one who nailed it,” Will admitted. “He figured out that Abby kept waiting for Trace to morph into some kind of control freak the way her first husband did after they were married. She was sure he’d suddenly start demanding that she quit work, live full-time in Chesapeake Shores and so on. Once Kevin called her on that and told her that Trace was nothing like Wes Winters, she decided it was okay to follow her heart.”
“I see,” Connor said, considering the information. “Do you suppose something like that’s going on with Heather?”
Will looked puzzled. “I’m not following. Heather’s never been married before. Her one big relationship has been with you.”
“And we both know that I insisted for a very long time that I would never get married. She obviously doesn’t think I’ve changed, even though the words coming out of my mouth say I have.” He paused, then added, “Or she doesn’t want to believe me.”
Will nodded. “Okay, I’m with you so far. What are you thinking?”
Connor wasn’t sure he could put his suspicions into words that would make any sense, but if anyone could grasp what he was getting at, it would be Will. He not only had the training, but he had excellent insight into human nature.
“Okay,” Connor began slowly, trying to pull together his thoughts. “Heather’s parents have had a rocky marriage. From what I gather, there was always a lot of tension in the house. Heather prides herself on having risen above that. She insists she still believes in love despite all evidence to the contrary in her own home.”
Will nodded. “I get that. Keep going.”
“But what if that’s just a line she’s sold herself?” Connor asked, warming to his theory. “What if down deep she’s as scared as I am that marriage doesn’t stand a chance? She can hardly admit that to me, of all people, not after she’s taken such a strong position on the subject.”
“Makes sense,” Will agreed.
“Wouldn’t that mean she has to come up with a thousand and one excuses to keep turning me down, trying to lay the blame right back at my feet?”
“So essentially you’re saying that now that she has the real option of getting married to you, she’s the one who’s gotten cold feet?” Will said slowly, his expression thoughtful. “You know, it could be. She might not even be aware that the tension in her parents’ marriage has influenced her so deeply.”
Connor’s momentary sense of triumph at having unraveled an emotional mystery was short-lived. “So how am I supposed to fix that? I’ve always been the doubter. I’m new to being the one who thinks marriage is the answer.”
Will gave him an amused look. “If I tell you that, I’ll have to charge you for a session,” he taunted.
“Bite me. Don’t start holding out on me now. I’m about to buy a house for my family. I don’t want to wait around till we’re in our seventies to work things out and move into it.”
“You might have to wait a while,” Will told him realistically. “Not until you’re in your seventies, of course, but it could take time for you to prove to Heather that your sudden turn-about is real and for her to recognize that it’s her subconscious that’s now holding her back.”
Connor frowned. “Isn’t there a way to speed up the process? Lately I’ve been thinking about a fall wedding.”
“Then you might have to call her on it,” Will said. “Lay out your suspicions. Turn the tables on her. See how she reacts to this theory of yours.”
“You really think she’ll admit it?” he asked doubtfully. Heather was as stubborn as any O’Brien.
“No,” Will said cheerfully. “But once the idea’s out there, she’ll have to at least consider it.”
Connor tried to envision the conversation. He couldn’t see any scenario under which it would turn out in his favor. And yet, what choice did he have, unless he wanted to remain in limbo?
“Maybe you could drop by, have a chat with her?” he suggested in desperation.
“I don’t do sneak-attack sessions,” Will said. “If she wants to come to see me, I’m happy to work through this with her. I’m just not sure I’d want to be in your shoes if you suggest it.”
“Believe me, I get that. I didn’t take it too well when she told me I ought to see someone to deal with my issues.”
“I think on behalf of my profession, I’m insulted,” Will said.
“You shouldn’t be. Why would I go hire a stranger, when you’re my friend?” He slapped Will on the back. “And a darn good one at that!”
“Then you can pay for our drinks,” Will said cheerfully. “The check’s not as much as I usually charge, so consider yourself as having received the friends-and-family discount.”
“Gladly,” Connor told him. “But I will remember this moment when you come to me looking for a shoulder to cry on about my sister.”
“I don’t need anyone’s shoulder to cry on about Jess,” Will claimed, though his expression turned despondent. “That ship sailed a long time ago.”
“Really?” Connor said innocently. “I was pretty sure it was still at the dock. Maybe you need to check.”
Will shook his head. “I’ve already surpassed my threshold for pain in that department. I’ve moved on.”
Connor was about to argue, but then he saw the genuine hurt in Will’s eyes. That alone was enough to silence him. He’d always thought of Will as a roll-with-the-punches kind of guy. That Jess had truly hurt him was a little shocking.
After watching everyone in his family do their share of meddling, Connor had vowed never to do the same, but these circumstances were different. It was Will and Jess, for heaven’s sake, one of his best friends and his baby sister.
One of these days, when he thought the timing was right, he was going to have a whole lot to say to his sister about being blind to one of the best men he’d ever known.
20
They’d had their morning coffee together and Megan was about to head to work, when Mick decided to join her. He had some things in town that needed doing, and he saw no reason to put them off.
“Mind if I tag along?” he asked, following along as Megan headed for her car.
She stopped and stared. “You want to go to the gallery with me? Since when?”
“To be honest, I was thinking I might drop in next door,” he admitted.
Megan’s expression immediately turned to dismay. “Mick, you’re not going over to Heather’s to interfere, are you? Connor will have a fit if you do.”
He gave her a defiant look. “Well, somebody has to get those two to work out their differences. This has dragged on long enough. I want a wedding. I want more grand-babies before I’m too old to play with them.”
“We have Carrie and Caitlyn, Kevin’s two boys and now Bree and Jake’s little girl,” Megan reminded him. “And, of course, there’s your namesake. Let’s not forget that little Mick’s a part of our lives, mostly because we haven’t chased Heather off by pressuring her.”
“I’m not going to pressure her,” Mick insisted indignantly. “I’m just going to check out the lay of the land, so to speak. Besides, I have the perfect excuse. Connor wants me to renovate that house for her. I need to get her ideas down on paper, don’t I?”
“An interesting approach,” she conceded. “But the last I heard, Heather was still furious that Connor bought the house she wanted for herself. You may be rubbing salt in a very fresh wound.”
“Or giving her some much-needed perspective,” Mick countered
, convinced that he was doing what needed to be done. His wife might have very fine instincts about people, but she had more patience than he did. “Heather probably just needs someone older and wiser to help her see that Connor was only thinking of her.”
“If I were Heather, I’d probably think he was trying to blackmail her into marrying him, just the way he did when he told her he’d get her out of the hospital if she agreed to marry him.”
For an instant, Mick was shocked. “He did that?”
“According to Bridget, he did. Oh, he didn’t mean it to come out that way, but Heather’s obviously touchy about this sudden attitude shift of his. She doesn’t trust it.”
“Maybe I can make her see that it’s real,” Mick said optimistically.
Megan didn’t look entirely convinced, but she waited until he’d settled in the passenger seat before starting the engine and heading for town. If she’d been truly annoyed, she’d have had time to drive off without him. He took heart from the fact that she hadn’t.
After she’d pulled into a parking spot behind the gallery, Mick said, “I think I’ll walk around to Sally’s and pick up a couple of croissants and some coffee.”
His wife regarded him with amusement. “Are you thinking that if you come bearing baked goods, Heather won’t toss you back onto the street?”
“It can’t hurt,” he admitted. Despite his earlier display of confidence, he wasn’t all that sure of his welcome. Megan was the one who’d established a real rapport with Heather. Perhaps she was the one who ought to be inter-ceding. He gave her a hopeful look. “Maybe you should come along with me. The two of you seemed to bond after she left little Mick with us.”
Megan backed up a step. “Don’t involve me in your scheming. I need to keep those lines of communication open. Right now I may be one of the few people in our family Heather trusts.”
Mick shrugged. “Suit yourself. Can I bring you anything from Sally’s?”
“I’ll take a coffee, but you can skip the croissant. I feel as if I’ve been eating nonstop with Nell fixing all these family meals every couple of days.”
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