“Yeah, that’s true. And if I sell it now, I can at least hope to recover some of the cost,” Harmony shrugged.
“Exactly. Hey, where’s Xander?”
“He was still in the shower when I came out and heard you at the door,” Harmony said quietly, pointing toward a doorway on the other end of the living room. “That’s the bedroom. And you know, I don’t know about selling my stuff either, now that I think about it. What if I sell it all and then Xander and I don’t work out?”
“Yeah, but it’s not like you’re making minimum wage with AWG,” Whitney laughed.
“Hmm. Good point ... I’m not planning to do anything with it just yet though. I think even if I do move in here, I’m going to keep the apartment for a while – just in case.”
“I think that’s a good idea. It’s just good self-protection,” Whitney said. Her face brightened as Xander walked through the doorway into the living room, fastening a belt around his waist, his button-down draped over his shoulder. “He looks happy,” she whispered, turning slightly to wink at Harmony.
“I think he is,” Harmony answered, her expression softening as Xander wandered through the living room.
“I think he’s not the only one,” Whitney teased quietly, poking Harmony’s side with an elbow, just before Xander walked through the kitchen doorway.
“You girls finished with the lady talk, or should I go back and pretend that I need to change my belt or something?” Xander grinned, stepping between the pair and further into the kitchen. Slipping the button-down shirt from his shoulder, he tossed it carefully over the edge of the kitchen table and slid the palm of his hand over the thin undershirt he was wearing.
“We’re not done talking just yet,” Harmony laughed, slipping her arm around his waist as he stepped close to her. “But you could go and get the grill ready while I get dressed, and then we’ll bring you the meat that needs cooking. Then you can be macho grill-man instead of trying to pretend you’re into fashion.”
Xander nodded, his blue eyes twinkling. “Well, that’s all fine, but then who’s making your breakfast? I don’t know if I can do waffles successfully on a grill.”
“Oh, the waffles! I forgot,” Harmony laughed.
“Wait, waffles? There’s waffles?” At this, Whitney propped a hand on her hip and tried to look stern. “No one told me there were waffles.”
Rolling her eyes, Harmony hooked her arm through Whitney’s and tugged her from the kitchen. “I guess do breakfast first, if that’s okay, and then Whit and I can set up the kitchen after while you do the grill. You sure you don’t need help with anything?” she asked, glancing over her shoulder to direct the question to Xander. He grinned and shook his head, waving the girls on and laughing as they walked arm-in-arm through the living room.
“Okay, this room is huge,” Whitney said quietly, looking around as she walked with Harmony into the bedroom. “Very comfortable, with all this heavy furniture to balance things. He’s either got great taste or a really good decorator.”
“I think it’s probably a mix of his taste and his sister’s skill. Xander says Bethany has always been into interior design and things like that, so she’s really good at this kind of thing. And coming over here to put this house together helped distract her when she lost her husband. I think Xander actually just had an apartment until right after Bethany’s husband died, and then he moved here. I’m not really sure of the timing, but I know Bethany helped him pick out stuff for the house when he moved in.”
“Well, she did a great job. Is there much that you’d want to change, if you moved in here?”
Harmony turned, closing the bedroom door before walking over to open the closet. “Not really,” she answered, pulling a pair of jeans from a shelf and lifting three hangers from the closet rail. “Honestly, my biggest thing about moving in here, other than the obvious concern that we’re moving so fast, is just – what am I gonna do with all my stuff? I mean, I just bought everything I have, and it doesn’t fit here.”
“Well, if you decide to sell it, I’ve been thinking my house needs some new stuff,” Whitney said, shrugging lightly as she took the hangers from Harmony and looked through the shirts that had been brought out. “When Dad bought the house and gave it to me, he said it was up to me to fill it with whatever I wanted. So I have the stuff I moved with and you’ve seen that awful couch I bought. I’ve just been putting off any really serious shopping, but I do have some money in savings. So if the price is right, I can take some of that stuff off your hands if you do end up choosing to move in here.”
“I don’t know, Whit,” Harmony answered, digging through the top drawer in her dresser. She didn’t have a lot of clothing at Xander’s house, but she did love knowing that he’d made a place for her. Could she really live here? With him? Was she ready for that step? “I just feel like it’s all so fast. Like, what if I do it and it’s a huge mistake?” Harmony sighed. “I’m not even sure I’d have dated him in the first place if not for your nudging.”
“Well, are you sorry you went for him?”
“Not a bit. I’m happy, Whitney, I really am.”
“It’s not a big stretch then, to wonder if you’re ready to live with him? Is there any part of you that wants that? At all?” Whitney asked.
Harmony sighed again, moving into the bathroom and closing the door slightly. When she emerged again, she wore a sunny yellow pair of boy-short panties covered in white daisies and a matching camisole that hugged its way down her torso.
“I wish I could find a bikini that looked like that,” Whitney laughed. “The daisies? So cute.”
“Yeah, yeah. Just can’t get dressed in there; it’s still hot from Xander’s shower.” Lifting her jeans from the end of the bed, she stepped into them and tugged them on, finally meeting Whitney’s questioning gaze. “You know what though? I think there is a part of me that wants to take the risk and move in here, and there has been for a while. But I am really terrified of taking that step.”
“Does he know that?” Whitney held out a black tank top, standing back as Harmony pulled it over her head.
Harmony nodded, smiling sweetly to herself as the memory of her conversation with Xander came back to the surface of her mind. “He says for me to keep my lease on the apartment, for the sense of security. So I’d still have my place, but I’d be staying here. Like a trial run.”
“Sounds pretty risk-free, then,” Whitney shrugged. “Are you thinking you’ll do it?”
“I don’t know,” Harmony shrugged. “Maybe.”
Chapter Forty
“Hey, welcome, Mr. Kingsley,” Xander said later, turning away from the grill as Harmony led her family out onto the back patio. His voice was strong and sure, though the tension through his back and shoulders was plainly visible to anyone looking. Taking a breath, he settled the grilling tongs on a cutting board before turning fully to offer his hand to Adam Kingsley. “Welcome,” he repeated.
“No need for formality,” Adam answered, stepping forward to accept Xander’s firm handshake. “You can just call me Adam. And thank you for the welcome.”
“Alright then,” Xander laughed, his stance becoming somewhat more relaxed. He followed Adam’s gaze, watching as Harmony opened a soda and handed it to one of her brothers.
“Harmony gave us a bit of a tour on the way out here,” Adam said quietly, tipping his chin in Harmony’s direction as he spoke. “You’ve got a very nice home for such a young man. It seems you’ve done well for yourself then, with the wrestling.”
“Thank you, Sir, uh, Adam,” Xander answered, nodding slightly as the tips of his ears went pink with embarrassment.
“You’re pretty nervous, to be just standing here with me,” Adam observed, his face serious.
“Maybe a little,” Xander hedged.
“Hmph,” Adam grunted. “If I had to guess, I’d say it’s because you’ve slept with my girl there.” He watched as Xander stiffened, nodding as he went on. “And maybe it has to do with my wife
telling me that you want Harmony to move in here and live with you. Am I getting warm?”
“You’d be pretty warm, I’d say,” Xander answered, clearing his throat as embarrassment heated his face. “Pretty close.” He stepped smoothly away from Adam, turning to look down at the food on the grill in an attempt to hide his nervousness. Lifting the tongs he’d been holding before, he closed his eyes and sighed, consciously working to release the tension from his body.
“And do you think you’d be good for her?” Adam asked, taking a serving platter from the table beside them and holding it close to the edge of the grill. “You haven’t known each other very long.”
Xander nodded silently, tipping his head to check that the meat on the kebabs had finished cooking before lifting the first of the skewers from the grill. “You’re right, Harmony and I haven’t known each other for very long,” he said, calmly moving along the line of food, moving the skewers from the grill to the platter in Adam’s hand while he spoke. “But let me ask you something.” As he finished pulling the food from the fire, Xander turned away from Adam to set about the work of shutting down the grill.
“Okay,” Adam said, adjusting the weight of the platter in his hands. “Ask away.”
“That’s your wife, right? Eva, Harmony’s mother?” Xander nodded toward Eva, glancing over as Adam nodded silently. They watched together as Eva laughed, her faded green eyes sparkling in the sunlight of the afternoon as she leaned into Harmony’s embrace. The women laughed together, wiping their eyes as Harmony’s brothers elbowed each other playfully at the end of the patio. “Is she the only woman you’ve ever been with?” Xander asked quietly.
Adam’s dark eyes darted up to meet Xander’s face, narrowing slightly before he answered. “No. Why?”
“How did you know that Eva was right for you? What was that moment like? And how long were you with her before you knew?”
Adam sighed. “Listen to me, Son, I’ve had a thousand of those moments since I met that woman, and I couldn’t see most of them until they’d long passed.” He watched his wife reach out to gently press her palm to the cheek of their youngest son; he smiled slightly, turning back to look at Xander. “But when I look back, I can admit that I knew she was right, right from the beginning. What are you saying?”
“Harmony isn’t the first girl I’ve been with, either. And I know that we haven’t been together long, Mr. Kingsley. Adam,” Xander said, correcting himself before going on. “But I’ve seen her at work, and she’s a professional. She’s charmed the audience right from the beginning. I’ve seen her with kids, and they all love her to death. And I see her every day, and she charms me all over again every day. I don’t need to know her for forty years to notice that she’s something special.
“Alright ...” Adam prompted, waiting to see what else Xander had to say.
“Well, really. Look at her over there. I know you can’t help but see a little toddler, probably with messy hair and sloppy nail polish, but I see ... more.” He lowered his eyes, gathering his thoughts.
“What exactly do you see?” The question was asked quietly, as Adam stood watching his wife and his children joke and play together, unaware of the conversation going on behind them.
“I don’t know how to describe it ... I don’t have words for her,” Xander answered. “She’s sunlight in the morning. She’s moonbeams; she’s the star I follow when I’m on the road and she guides me home.”
Adam nodded, a slow smile spreading over his lips. “She’s good morning,” he said, nodding slightly as Eva looked over and met his eyes.
“And she’s goodnight,” Xander finished, watching Eva turn to whisper something in Harmony’s ear.
“Does she know how you feel? That you’re in love with her?”
Xander chuckled, his face going pink in the afternoon sun as Harmony turned to smile at him over her shoulder. “No, I haven’t told her that. It’s true, what you heard – I want her to move in with me. But until she gives me an answer on that, I can’t tell her.”
“Well why not?” Adam laughed.
“I don’t want her to feel obligated, I guess,” Xander answered simply.
“Hmph,” Adam grunted quietly. “Well I have to say, I respect that. But looking at things as an older man more aware of wasted time, I’ll tell you this: if you have something to say to her, say it while you can. Because nothing in life is guaranteed, and you never know how long any of this is going to last. And besides that, that might be what’s holding her back.”
“You think so?” Xander asked, arching an eyebrow. He’d been wanting to tell Harmony how strongly he felt about her for weeks, but hadn’t been able to bring himself to do it. The truth was, he wanted more than just to wake up beside his girlfriend every morning – he wanted to marry her. He wanted to watch a diamond sparkle on her finger, and he wanted to watch her hair fall down the back of a wedding gown. But wasn’t it too soon to say those things? Wasn’t it too soon for the ‘L-word’?
“She’s a girl, Xander, a young woman. They love hearing things like that. And I’ll tell you this about my daughter – playful and fun as she is, she’s serious about things that matter. Maybe she just wants to know what’s in your heart before she decides what to do with hers.” Adam turned, lifting the now-cooled platter of kebabs from the table behind them. “Now, let that sit for a while, and you’ll know what to do soon enough. In the meantime, let’s eat.”
Chapter Forty-One
“You looked pretty comfortable earlier,” Harmony whispered quietly, raising her head to look into Xander’s face. The barbeque was long over, the Kingsley family had been gone for hours, and Harmony had been resting, curled against Xander’s chest as he watched the evening news.
“When?” He looked down as he questioned her, his fingers curling lightly through the ends of her hair as he waited for her answer.
“With my dad.”
He nodded silently, swallowing as he looked into her face. “He seems like a good guy.”
Harmony smiled, lowering her face again, pressing her cheek against the firm muscle of his chest as his arm tightened slightly around her waist. “He is a good guy,” she said. “I didn’t mean to leave you alone with him for so long without a buffer, but –“
Xander laughed. “I didn’t mind, after the first few minutes. He made a point of telling me that he knew I wanted you to move in here, and that he knows ... other things –“ he broke off, laughing again as Harmony groaned and turned her face more firmly against his chest.
“Oh my God, he what?”
“Hmm. Well, if you’re thinking of moving in with me, he can’t exactly assume that we’re waiting for marriage before we get down and dirty,” Xander teased, tugging Harmony into his lap.
Smiling, she adjusted her position, turning to straddle his lap as she spoke. “Well, I don’t expect him to think I’m perfectly pure,” she said. “But still. Please tell me you two talked about something less disturbing than our sex life.”
He laughed again, reaching up to gather her hair and arrange in behind her shoulders. “We talked about your mom, and how much he loves her.”
Harmony’s face softened; she smiled down at him before leaning closer to press a soft kiss to his lips. “They’re the family love story.”
“Is that so?”
“Very,” Harmony laughed, nodding. “They are the girl and the boy next door, lifelong best friends fallen in love.”
“Wow, really?”
“He didn’t tell you?” Harmony laughed softly, obviously thinking back to times when she’d heard her parents’ love story. “I’m shocked – he usually tells everyone. He’s very proud of finally ending up with my mom.”
“He didn’t tell me their story,” Xander answered quietly, shaking his head as he met Harmony’s eyes again. “I think he was a bit more interested in a different love story at the time.”
“Oh really?” Harmony said, grinning. “And exactly what story would that be?”
“This
one. Ours.”
Harmony sat back, chewing her bottom lip thoughtfully. “This is a love story?” she asked.
“It is for me,” Xander said, taking Harmony’s hands in his own, their linked hands resting on the flat plane of his stomach. “I know we haven’t been together for very long, Harmony, and this may not be the best time for me to say certain things to you. I don’t want you think that I’m trying to push you or sway your decision about the idea of moving in with me ... but ...” He paused, watching Harmony’s face as her eyes grew wide, but she said nothing; she waited silently for him to finish speaking. “Harmony, I’m willing to wait patiently for you to decide what you want to do. But I want you to know that I love you, regardless of what you choose to do.”
Harmony’s lips parted; she took a shivering breath as she looked down at their joined hands, and then brought her eyes up to meet his. “What if I still keep my apartment?” she asked, her voice quiet, breathless.
Wrestling Harmony (The Kingsley Series) Page 27