All My Love (All #5)

by Natalie Ann

  “So it wasn’t for me,” he said, joking with her.

  “It was. But that was just another reason.” She smiled shyly at him, then walked over and turned the machine on. “Why don’t you go sit in the living room? We’ll be more comfortable there and I’ll bring them in.”

  “Sounds good.”

  He walked across the hall to her living room and sat on the couch, looking around. She didn’t have a lot of furniture, but there was enough that it didn’t look too sparse.

  He wondered if she ever watched TV. She seemed the type that spent all her time on a computer.

  A few minutes later, Jordyn walked in holding two mugs and handed one over to him, then seemed to hedge on where to sit. He took the decision out of her hands and pulled her down next to him on the couch. “Talk to me.”

  “About what?”

  “Whatever you want. Let’s just talk.”

  He could tell she was nervous about him being in the house and he didn’t want her to feel that way. He didn’t want to come out and ask about her experience with men, but he really wanted to know what he was dealing with.

  She bobbed her head side-to-side, then blurted out, “What made you want to be an electrician?”

  It was a good start, he guessed. “It wasn’t my first choice. Like I said, I went for construction. I guess you could say it came to me naturally. My father was always including Brynn and me with his projects around the house. It was something I was good at and just continued. I’d never say this to Brynn, and don’t you repeat it, but she was more of a natural at it than I was.”

  “At what? Building things? I thought she just sold the properties. I didn’t know she actually helped build.”

  “She did and still does when she can. Just not to the extent that she used to. That’s a story for another time. Anyway, I was getting bored with the construction, and electrical seemed to go hand in hand and it interested me, so I pursued that too. Now I do both. I have the best of both worlds here. What about you, why programming?”

  “I like to know how things work. Then I realized I could have a part in creating them. I guess you could say it sort of came naturally to me too.”

  “So you had your face in front of a computer screen from day one?”

  “No, my mother couldn’t afford one, so I went to the library and used that one, or the ones at school. I started working part time so I could put money away and buy my own. Then it snowballed from there.”

  “What was your first job? I can’t imagine you working in a retail store or a fast food chain, nothing being around people, actually.”

  She wrinkled her nose at him and lightly punched his arm. The action felt natural just then, like she reacted to his teasing and returned it good-naturedly.

  “I worked in the library. Then when I got my computer I started doing small web designs and selling them. MySpace used to be big and people were more than willing to pay to have their page designed for them. It just evolved from there.”

  He should have figured she was making money off of that early on in life. “So, what type of programs do you write now? Anything I would know?”

  “Probably not. I work for a firm that sources out for what clients need. I’m the person who works on software for databases for manufacturing. The clients tell me what they are looking for, what type of data they need stored and analyzed, and I create the software for their product, then upgrade as needed.”

  “Darn, I was hoping you created video games.”

  “I’ve done that.”

  His jaw dropped, “Seriously? Which one?”

  She looked away embarrassed. “I’d rather not say.”

  “Why? I think that is awesome. Tell me,” he urged her.

  “It’s silly. It’s not even on the market anymore. I wrote it when I was in college and lucked out. It was bought for enough so that I could finance everything that scholarships didn’t cover and give my mother a lot of breathing room.”

  “That’s amazing. Now I really need to know.” He stared at her until she confessed the name. Then he burst out laughing. “You created a game for little girls to have interactive parties with each other?”

  Not what he would have imagined. Not someone who was as socially inept as she seemed. Talk about ironic. Then again, maybe it did make sense. There would be no face-to-face interaction that way.

  “What’s your favorite color?”

  He put his arm around her and gave her a side hug. “If that’s your way of changing the subject, it’s pretty weak.”

  She blushed, and he expected no less. “Sorry. I’m all embarrassed now. I’ve never told anyone about that game.”

  But she told him and he was happy that she trusted him enough to do so.

  “Well, since you’re already embarrassed, I’m just going to ask, because I need to know.” He hedged, trying to delicately find a way to ask about her experience. “How many boyfriends have you had?” There, that wasn’t too bad.

  “Why?”

  Crap, guess not. “Just curious.”

  “Am I that awkward that you think I’ve never dated before?” she asked, looking horrified.

  “No, not at all.”

  “Oh my God, you think I’m a virgin, don’t you? That’s what this is about. I am so awkward. I must kiss really bad, too. Why else would you ask or say ‘since I was already embarrassed’?”

  She tried to stand up, but he reached for her and put his arm around her again, sliding his hand up and down, trying to soothe her.

  “No, you aren’t a bad kisser. Yes, you’re awkward, but it’s endearing and I kind of like it. But I’m not sure if you are a virgin and I’d like to know.”

  “At least you’re honest,” she said, grumbling, her blush intensifying.

  “Well?” he pushed. “You can ask me too.”

  She snorted. “I don’t need to ask you. I know you aren’t. I don’t even want to know how many women you’ve been with. I already wonder why you seem to be interested in me, and now I’m wondering even more.”

  “I am interested in you, more than I thought I would be. And I’m sure I haven’t been with nearly as many women as you’d like to think. But you’re stalling. I’d really like to know about you.”

  “I’m not a virgin.”

  That was good. Maybe. Because right now she wasn’t looking too convincing. “So you’ve been in relationships.”

  “I’m not sure I’d classify them as that. I’ve dated before. If you must know I dated two different guys in college. Both for just a few months and then two other people after college. If I seem inexperienced it’s because I haven’t been on a date in years. Not since I moved home to take care of my mother.”

  “I’m sorry if you’re embarrassed. I just wanted to know.”

  So that I didn’t hurt you. But he kept that to himself. He didn’t want to put a huge amount of pressure on her but wanted her to know he was really interested.

  “I like you, Jordyn. I’m not just looking for a good time or a roll in the hay, if that’s what you’re thinking. I’m not that type of person.”

  “So you want to date. Exclusively.”

  He hadn’t thought of it that way. It had never really been brought up quite that directly before after a second date.

  “Yes. Only if you want to.”

  “Why do you want to date me?”

  “There you go again, all full of confidence.”

  “I didn’t mean to say that out loud.”

  “But you did. I’ve told you before: I like you and I think you’re beautiful. You intrigue me and I’d liked to spend more time with you. Is that enough, or do I need to pour my heart out?” he asked, smiling at her.

  “I guess that’s enough.”

  “Do you want to date me? I mean fair is fair. I just told you what I like; you can do the same.”

  She smiled, lifted her hand and ran it down his arm, looked into his eyes and said, “You’re pretty hot.”

  He threw his head back and roare
d with laughter. “That’s it? That’s why you want to date me?”

  “Well, you asked,” she said. “I was being honest. Obviously I’m not very good at this flirting thing either.”

  “Don’t try so hard. Just be you. And if you must know, I think you’re pretty hot too.”

  Her neck and chest were almost as red as her face now, telling him she was about to say something she was unsure of voicing.

  “I like you as a person too. Being hot is kind of a side benefit. I’ve never before been on a date with a man and seen other women stare at him then look at me enviously. It’s kind of powerful.”

  “Oh, so I’m a boy toy to you?”

  She jumped to the side. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean that at all.”

  “Jordyn, wow. We need to come to terms here. I’m joking. See, I’m smiling. You have to learn to not take everything so seriously. And I don’t have a problem being your boy toy.”

  She searched his face for a minute, while he held his breath waiting for her response.

  “I never thought I’d have one before. It might be fun.”

  Time

  “I didn’t hear you come in last night.”

  Drew looked over at his father in his truck. They were on their way to look at the two-story house Brynn had told him about. It’d taken a few weeks to get an appointment to look it over.

  “I was a little later than normal and went straight downstairs. Sorry, was there something you wanted to see me about?”

  “No,” Andy said. “But you normally say good night or hi when you come in. How are things going with Jordyn? You’ve been seeing her for a few weeks now, correct?”

  “Yeah, a few weeks. Things are good.”

  He thought they were good. They seemed to enjoy each other’s company; at least he always had a good time with her and he felt she did too.

  For someone who kept to herself so much, she was a pleasure to be around. There seemed to be so much she’d never done before and he liked that he was the one to introduce her to new things.

  “Is it getting serious?”

  Drew knew that tone of voice. That meddling tone his father used when he was going to start to interfere.

  “Not yet. We’re just having fun. She’s new to the area, so I’m showing her around.”

  “There isn’t that much to do here this time of year. What have you been showing her?”

  “I brought her to the casino, a few restaurants, a local brewery and we did a tour on beer making. Surprisingly, she seemed to find the most interest in that.”

  Of course he shouldn’t have been shocked that she did her research before so she could follow along on what was being said. She even tried the beer, though she said she’d never liked the taste of beer before.

  “That’s good. You’re young yet. Enjoy yourself.”

  He shook his head and chose not to respond to that. He didn’t know where his father was going with this conversation and was opting to ignore it.

  “Brynn should be there waiting for us.”

  His father laughed next to him. There was no getting anything past Andy Palmer. “We’ll change the subject then. I’d like to buy this house with you.”

  “What?” Drew said, turning back sharply. “No. I’m going to buy it if I like it and it’s worth it.”

  “You said you wanted me to live in one of the apartments, so that means I’m buying it too. I’m not living off of my kids, nor do I need to.”

  “You aren’t living off of me, Dad. You’re going to help me work on it. That’s enough. It’s time I have a place of my own. It’s a good starter home. Someday I’ll rent it out too.”

  “Already thinking of moving into another house?” Andy asked slyly.

  “No. I’m saying at some point I’m sure I’ll have a family of my own and I’ll want a house not an apartment. You can stay at this place if you want and take care of what needs to be done for the tenants too.”

  Andy shook his head. “We aren’t done discussing this.”

  “We are,” Drew said when he pulled in behind Brynn’s SUV. His parents took care of him and Brynn their whole lives. It was time to give back.

  “Hi, Dad,” Brynn said when Andy climbed out of Drew’s truck and walked over to give her a kiss.

  “Where’s my granddaughter?”

  “She’s with Alec’s mom right now. Isabel said she wanted some time with her granddaughter alone.”

  “How come I don’t get any alone time with her?” Andy asked, pouting slightly. His father had always been a hands-on parent.

  “You can have her any time you want. And you even change diapers, unlike some people I know,” she said, looking pointedly at Drew.

  “I like having her for the fun stuff. Diaper changing isn’t fun,” Drew said, laughing.

  “Your day will come.”

  He ignored her and said, “Let’s get this show on the road. Dad and I both have a lot of work to do today.”

  Brynn opened the lockbox, pulled the keys out and walked forward to unlock the door. “Jordyn’s kitchen should be done today, right?”

  “Yeah. The appliances are being delivered this morning and then the guys will finish up the final touches and move on to the bathrooms next. She said she was fine with them doing the hall bath upstairs and the small bath downstairs at the same time, then doing her master bath last.”

  “They’re moving along then. How does it look? I haven’t seen it since I stopped over that one day before you started doing the electrical.”

  No use denying that he was at the house often, even though he wasn’t working on it. It was no secret he and Jordyn were dating, not even with the crew at this point.

  “It looks great. She said she’s going to put everything away tomorrow and take some final pictures for the website then. I’m sure she will send them to you.”

  “That would be great. Make sure you tell her I said so, too,” she said, winking at him.

  “I will.” His sister could be bossy when she wanted to be.

  “So what do you think?” Brynn asked him thirty minutes later.

  They’d walked through both apartments, inspected everything from the electrical, to the plumbing, to the two furnaces and even checked out the roof as best they could. Everything looked in decent order, at least nothing that he and his father couldn’t easily fix.

  “I like it. It’s got good bones, just needs a lot of updating. What do you think, Dad?”

  “I think it’d make a great project.”

  “What about living here at some point?”

  “Neither of you need to move out of the model home anytime soon,” Brynn said.

  “I know,” Drew replied. “But since this is a foreclosure property, it could take months before the bank makes a decision and we close, then months after doing repairs in our free time. We’d be lucky to have it ready by next summer anyway.”

  “That’s true,” Brynn said.

  “Well?” Drew asked, looking at his father.

  “I like it. It’s a good investment. By next summer you’ll know if I want to live here or not. Until then, I think you should make an offer.”

  That his father didn’t push to buy it with him was good. He wouldn’t have to argue about it again. But his father didn’t agree to move in either. There would be time for that still. But for now, he was getting one step closer to being a homeowner.

  ***

  “Did you get everything put away?” Drew asked Saturday afternoon. He’d just come from Isabel and William Harper’s house.

  Isabel had wanted to throw a party for the grandchildren. Most were too young to really go trick or treating and she thought it would be nice to get them all together in their costumes.

  That meant not just her grandchildren, but their group of close friends too.

  Last Thanksgiving he’d had an eye opener on how big the group actually was. Between the four Harper siblings, in-laws, and their friends with their kids, there were easily thirty people, with the kids
ranging from newborn to elementary aged.

  He’d looked around at that group today, the adults all older than him, and saw how fast they were having kids. Most had a child their first year of marriage and many another shortly after, if not pregnant now.

  Being twenty-nine, he thought he had all the time in the world. After all, all the men there were mid to late thirties. Still plenty of time.

  But then all of a sudden he realized they must have thought the same thing and now they were hurrying to have their families while they were still young.

  His parents had been young when they got married, and in their early twenties when they started having kids. He’d always figured kids were in the picture for him, just down the road, but now he thought maybe that wasn’t the case. His mother was only forty-five when she died.

  Looking around the yard at everyone today made him realize that they all had young kids and forty-five wasn’t that far off.

  He thought losing his mother at twenty was bad; he couldn’t imagine being any younger.

  Maybe it was time to start looking at life a bit differently. Time could creep up on you, as he was realizing.

  “Yeah, I did. Come on back and you can see it all finished now,” Jordyn said.

  He followed her to the back of the house and looked around. She’d done a nice job decorating. She had simple tastes and style, but it suited her and was classic. Classic lasted a long time.

  “It looks great in here. Sorry I couldn’t help out.”

  “No problem. Did you have fun at the party? What did Grace dress up as?”

  He’d thought about inviting her to go and hedged about it for days. He even brought it up once to see her reaction, but she didn’t jump on it. He figured it would be too many people at once and more than she would want to deal with, so he didn’t ask.

  “Grace was a donut,” he said, laughing. “It was a blast. The little ones not walking yet didn’t do much but look around or sleep. The toddlers couldn’t run from one thing to another fast enough. Then there was Zoe, the oldest, telling everyone where to go and showing them what to do.”

  “Who’s Zoe? I thought it was only Grace, Phil’s son Ian, and Kaitlin’s twins. I’m sorry, I forgot their names.”