Owen shook his head and crossed the hall.
“Hey,” he said, coming up behind Gracie and resting his hand on the small of her back. Once again, the scent of strawberries addled his brain, as did the lean lines of her throat as he angled her chin to meet his gaze. “Come for a drive with me?”
“And abandon our posts with so much testosterone in the room?” She directed a raised eyebrow at two thirteen-year-old boys who were trying to impress two thirteen-year-old girls by head-butting balloons. “That sounds very irresponsible, Dr. Bennett.”
Resisting the urge to show her a testosterone display in a more age-appropriate way, Owen said, “Natalie’s driving the girls home, and I’ve provided replacements to take over for the last hour. Sam and Isaac.”
“You got Isaac here?” Her gaze zipped past his shoulder, and her eyes widened. “That’s some impressive favor you must’ve called in.”
“You’ve no idea. So will you come with me before the clock strikes midnight, Cinderella?” He linked his fingers with hers, stroking his thumb over her knuckles. The silkiness of her skin sent a tingle to places he didn’t want tingling in public.
“Okay.” She offered him a sweet smile. A sweet, neutral smile—one that released a lethal dose of doubt into his system because, suddenly, he couldn’t get a read on her.
She skirted the dance floor with him, allowing him to guide her with their linked hands out into the cool night air. Sam had driven Owen’s car to the school, leaving it parked under a streetlight.
“No Hummer?” she teased as he opened the passenger door for her. “Or has it turned back into a giant dragon fruit for the night?”
Owen climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine. “It was a little over the top,” he admitted. “But I’d hoped if it made you smile, that was a point in my favor. And maybe it would sway your decision whether to go to Morgan’s dance with me.”
“I wouldn’t have said no.”
“Because I put you on the spot with Morgan and Olivia there?” He reversed out of the parking space, keeping his gaze locked on the rearview mirror.
She remained silent as he completed the turn and drove toward the exit. Even above the rumbling engine he heard her soft inhale.
“That wasn’t the only reason. I wanted to see you.”
“I’m glad,” he said. “I was pretty desperate to see you, too.”
The corner of her mouth kicked up as he hit a stretch of open road. She kept quiet as he drove them through the nearly empty streets of town and out toward the beach. Instead of taking the usual left turn toward his house, he signaled and drove along the foreshore in the opposite direction. She sat up straighter, and in the dimness of the dashboard light, he caught the movement of her sideways glances. A short distance past the last streetlight, he parked. Outside the car, the silhouettes of pohutukawa trees waved at the star-studded sky.
“We’re here?” Doubt sharpened Gracie’s voice as she peered through the windshield.
He knew what she’d see—a gated and deserted property, with tree branches hanging low over the fence. Behind the trees, the outline of a house loomed, with no welcoming lights to guide them.
“Are you reconsidering the wisdom of driving with me to a deserted house in the middle of nowhere?”
“Do you know how many times I’ve watched Poltergeist?”
“Thirteen,” he said. “Wait there.”
He had the gratification of seeing her eyes widen at his knowledge of her love of horror movies.
“I listened,” he said.
He climbed out of the car and opened her door, extending a hand to help her out.
“I’m impressed,” she said. “You hate horror movies, so I thought you would’ve tuned out the moment I started ranking my top five.”
He squeezed her hand, and they walked toward the gate.
“Do you know how fake the blood looks in those movies? Unbelievably inaccurate.”
“Here’s me, thinking you didn’t like horror because it makes you jump and squeal like a little girl.”
He laughed as they walked along the wide driveway to the veranda spanning the house’s lower level.
Patronus, his mind supplied. She’s definitely your patronus.
“You know I’m up for most anything.” Her heels clicked across the wooden decking. “But breaking and entering won’t look good on our permanent records.”
He dug for the keys, which’d burned a hole in his pocket all evening, and unlocked the front door. “No breaking in required.”
Owen felt along the wall until his fingers hit the switch. Unflattering, harsh white light blasted away the shadows from peeling floral wallpaper and scuffed wooden floors. Just to add to first impressions, the house creaked ominously.
“If some dude in a hockey mask jumps out of there”—Gracie stabbed a finger at the first door past the entranceway—“I’m shoving you into his arms and making a run for it.”
“Fair enough.”
She smiled at him, but she might as well have had a giant question mark tattooed on her forehead. An is this his idea of after-ball romance, question mark.
He tugged her down the hallway and popped open the door in question, feeling for the light switch while she remained a step behind. Light burst into a large, empty bedroom with the same ugly peeling wallpaper.
“See?” he said. “No maniacs hiding, though there are two more bedrooms downstairs and another two up.”
“Right.”
“Follow me, and I’ll explain.”
She pulled her mouth down in the cutest whatever frown. “I’m assuming the murder mystery party is happening in another part of the haunted house.”
He laughed, reaching out to tuck a strand of her long hair behind her ear, letting his fingers linger at the curve of her jaw. “Do you trust me, Gracie?”
He hadn’t meant to ask, but his voice grew raspy saying her name.
“Yes.”
And the lack of hesitation and truth in her voice warmed him, returning some of the confidence he so desperately needed.
“Then close your eyes and keep them shut.”
Gracie closed her eyes, and for a moment, Owen just stared at her sweet, beautiful face. A face he’d never grow tired of waking up next to. He slid his arm around her waist and pulled her close to his side.
“No cheating.” He guided her down the hallway to an old fashioned pair of double doors. He pushed them inward and helped her through the doorway.
“Open now.” Open your eyes and your heart. Please.
He watched her and not the flicking light of the battery-powered fake candles. He’d positioned two dozen of them a few minutes before the Hummer driver arrived to pick him up earlier that evening. Her long lashes fluttered open then widened. Gaze jumping around the huge empty room, Gracie slipped her arm from around his waist and crossed over to the floor-to-ceiling glass windows and the view beyond. He moved to her right, sliding open the glass door leading out to the back veranda.
“Come outside,” he said. “You can see halfway to the Cape from here.”
Past the overgrown backyard and the sturdy wooden fence that kept the sand dunes at bay, spread an arc of pristine sand and surf that glimmered pewter in the starlight.
Gracie came out to stand beside him at the edge of the veranda. “The candles are a nice touch.”
“Would’ve been nicer if they were real. But the real estate agent wouldn’t be impressed if I burned the house down before my offer was finalized.”
Her fingers tightened on the handrail, knuckles whitening. “You’re buying this house?” she asked. “Moving from your architectural wonder to this old villa with peeling walls and a garden gone feral?”
“My needs have changed in the past two months. I need three bedrooms now for Morgan, Charlie, and William, so they’ve got space to breathe and be kids.”
Gracie’s jaw went lax, her pink-slicked lips parting. He badly wanted to kiss her, but since she wasn’t speaking, he k
ept talking.
“And a fenced-in yard for the puppy they’ll no doubt talk me into adopting. I also need a wide, flat driveway where Mum and Dad can park the Rambling Gypsies whenever they want to stay with us.”
“You’re keeping the kids?”
“Yep,” he said. “All these weeks you were teaching them, and it’s me who needed to learn how empty my life is without them—”
“I’m so happy for you all.” Her voice cracked, and she half twisted toward him. “You’ll make a wonderful home for them here.”
Owen moved along the railing until his hip bumped hers. “You didn’t let me finish. My life is empty without the kids, but it’s a wasteland without you. I didn’t buy this house to make a home just for Morgan, William, and Charlie. I bought it because I want to make a home with you.”
Her spine stiffened in increments, and her long lashes feathered down to her cheeks as she closed her eyes.
“I was a coward for too long, and I’m sorry.” His gut knotted thickly when her eyes remained shut. “The fear of falling in love with you, of losing you and half of my heart if you walked away, made me react like an idiot.” He gave a rueful chuckle. “I’m a doctor who has restarted stopped hearts—fixed damaged hearts. But I was helpless to guard my heart against you.”
He stroked a palm down her back, and her wide blue eyes slayed him.
“I love you, Gracie.”
Suddenly, the words didn’t seem too hard to say, even if she didn’t feel the same. Fear and insecurity and doubt didn’t stand a chance against love. He’d jumped off that cliff in the hope Gracie would take the plunge, too.
“I know it’s fast. I know it’s crazy. And if you need more time, if you need to ski the Rockies, we’ll make that work. I need you to be part of my life, the biggest part of my future…”
Gracie’s gaze softened, her mouth parting slightly to release the softest of sighs. She pressed herself against him, warm curves fitting perfectly into his arms, her palm flat on his chest, where his heart beat a frantic rhythm only for her.
“I’m not going anywhere without you,” she said. “Because I love you, too.”
In the medical world, the last thing you wanted was a venous air embolism careening through your body, but bubbles—joyful bubbles—were the only description that popped into Owen’s mind.
Gracie Cooper loves me back!
He dipped his head toward her mouth, but she arched her chin away, blue eyes flashing.
“You’re not alone in being scared.” Her hand slid up to cup his jaw. “But over these last eight weeks, you’ve taught me what it is to be brave. To put yourself out there for people you love, to go the distance, and give more of yourself than you may be comfortable giving.”
Her thumb stroked across his lower lip and made his blood surge.
“I ran when I thought you didn’t love me. I told myself I’d almost paid off my debt, that I had nothing to stay for if a simple summer affair was all you wanted. I got as far as the Bounty Bay sign, and I couldn’t go any farther. I knew—the same way I knew from the beginning that you just needed a little push to fall in love with your sister’s kids—that we were worth fighting for. And I would’ve created a guerrilla campaign to convince you the connection between us is real, and strong, and could last a lifetime.”
“You’re here to stay, then?”
“I’m done running,” she said quietly. “I’m done looking in my rearview mirror and finding the things I thought were behind me are much closer than they appear. I saw my father this week”—her mouth tightened a fraction—“and while we’ve got years of damage still to repair, he’s still my dad, and I want to make the effort to get to a better place with him.”
“He wants to salvage things between you, too.”
Her brow crinkled then smoothed, her hand dropping to curl around his neck. “You spoke to him?”
“I called him earlier this week with a very important question to ask.” The knots in Owen’s stomach coiled even tighter, as without taking his gaze off Gracie, he dug into his other pocket for a small velvet box. “It’s a little vintage, but I wanted his blessing to propose to the woman I love.”
“Propose?” Gracie said, her voice pitched half an octave higher than normal.
“Yeah. Remember, according to William, it’s when you ask someone if they wanna do something and hope they say yes.” Owen got down on bended knee and took Gracie’s hand. “So will you say yes to a man who’ll love you unconditionally for nearly, almost eternity? Will you say yes to being the center of the family we’ll create together, and to teaching me, every single day of our lives, how to love you more?”
He flicked open the jeweler’s box, the ring—a cushion-cut, sapphire and diamond design as beautiful and unique as the woman it was intended for—sparkling in the candlelight.
Gracie’s eyes filled. “Call it crazy and impulsive, or call it women’s intuition,” she said, “but hell, yes to it all.”
Owen slid the diamonds onto her finger. He rose and kissed her until somewhere in the world a clock struck midnight.
“Are you ready for forever?” he asked.
“Bring it.” Gracie twined around him like ivy, tilting back her head and smiling. “I hope you’re ready for the challenge.”
“Oh, I’m ready.” Owen swept her off her feet, and her laughter soared over the sand dunes and into the night. “They don’t call me Dr. O-for-Awesome for nothing.”
Epilogue
One month later…
Gracie glanced out the kitchen windows and finished refilling a pitcher of orange juice. In the neatly mown backyard, which four weeks ago was hidden by stubborn weeds, Charlie, Drew, and Ruby sat on a blanket, having a tea party. Standing near them, beside Sam’s engagement/house-warming gift of an outdoor table and chairs setting, Morgan and Olivia took yet another selfie—unaware that Glen and Nate photobombed them in the background.
Hashtag, HouseWarmingPartyWin.
Lauren, Savannah, Vee, and Natalie sat at the table Gracie had just vacated to come inside. They were poring over Gracie’s designs for a range of winter clothing for Bountiful—Vee’s newly invented name for the three friends’ business soon to kick off. She’d drawn the sketches in the office Owen set up for them both in the spare bedroom next to theirs. A room they both hoped to transform into a nursery in the future.
A drawn-out horn blasted from on the street. William, wrestling on the grass with the kids’ new rescue puppy, Dobby, leaped up.
“Uncle Owen,” he shouted. “They’re here!” Without waiting, William snapped on Dobby’s leash and raced to watch his grandparents back the Rambling Gypsies into the drive.
The five of them had moved into the new house a week ago. Owen took a leave of absence from his job, helping the kids adjust to the “change of ownership,” as Owen jokingly put it. They were all adjusting well, but a lot of work still needed to be done around their new house. Which was why her soon-to-be in-laws were staying with them for a few weeks.
She returned the orange juice bottle to the fridge, and once again, her eyes were drawn to the fresh printer paper attached by magnets to the front.
The New, NEW House Rules.
1. Inside voices, schminside voices. Knock yourself out, though we draw the line at Taylor Swift or Justin Timberlake before 7:00 a.m.
2. Run if you want to. Run with scissors if you must. Your uncle is a doctor, who has stitched many a gaping, open wound oozing blood and other nasty stuff. BUT, you will then accept responsibility for being known from that day forward as “Scar” or “Frankenstein.”
3. Don’t worry if you break something by accident, just don’t break yourselves. Especially around Auntie Gracie—she’s squeamish.
4. Chores done + homeschool projects completed to your auntie’s satisfaction (William and Charlie) and homework done (Morgan) = pocket money.
5. Eat whatever Auntie Gracie says you can eat. We have our own stash of chocolate biscuits hidden where you’ll never find t
hem.
6. Keep your rooms however you like. Don’t blame us if you attract little, six-legged, creepy-crawly roommates, though.
7. Wi-Fi password this week is: UncleOwen&AuntieGracieAreInLURV. Feel free to tell all your friends when they’re hanging out using up all our Internet data plan.
8. Legos stay in the bedrooms, no exceptions. Remember the Lego disaster the morning after we moved in? Enough said.
9. Uncle Owen and Auntie Gracie’s bedroom and king-sized bed is available for nightmares, thunderstorms, and Sunday morning breakfast in bed. At all other times, KNOCK first, there’s probably some kissy-kissy going on, and ain’t nobody wants to see that.
10. Rules are more like guidelines. Just be thoughtful, be kind, love each other, and remember we’re a family.
She smiled, running her fingers along the list and listening to the rumble of voices outside as her friends and family wandered down to greet the newcomers.
Two big hands settled on her waist, and Gracie let out a squeak—which turned into a sigh as hot kisses feathered down her throat, stubble tickling her skin.
“While everyone’s distracted…” Owen spun her around so she was pinned between his hard body and the fridge door.
“Someone forgot to shave this morning.” She wrapped her arms around his waist, one of her hands misbehaving and grabbing a denim-covered butt cheek. “Again.”
“I had more important priorities.” He dipped his head and kissed her forehead. “Like making sure my fiancée worked up an appetite for a pancake breakfast.”
“I was very hungry.”
“Uh-huh.” Another kiss, this time on her cheek. “You have an appetite like mine. Insatiable.”
Her eyelids fluttered down, and Owen took advantage, cupping her jaw and brushing his mouth on hers.
“I love you for being so accommodating with my parents.”
Teach Your Heart: A New Zealand Opposites Attract Romance (Far North Series Book 3) Page 26