I chuckle, peeking out at him from behind my eyelashes. “Well, if the last five hours were any indication, I don’t like being apart from you. There is also something to be said for being practical. I have a house that’s big enough for a family of five, and I live in it by myself. You need a house. We love each other. Move in.”
“People will talk,” Carter tries again, and this time, I realize it’s not that he’s opposed to the idea; he’s worried about me.
“So? People will talk no matter what we do, so we should do what we want.”
“And your parents?” he asks, but I can tell he’s about to agree to it. I didn’t realize I wanted him to move in so badly, but now I’m arguing it, I want him to live with me. And not just because I want to win the argument—though I do love to win. Living together makes sense. And I’m excited to start our life together.
“My parents will respect my decision. As will my sisters. That’s what family does.”
“Okay. Then, when my lease comes up at the end of the month, I’ll move in,” he says. “That gives you a week to change your mind.”
“Not going to happen.”
“And I’ll figure out what I can pay you for rent,” he says quickly. “I’m not sure what it’ll be right now, but I’ll pay something.”
“Carter, Bryn lived with me off and on for over three years and never paid me a dime. Plus, that defeats the purpose of you saving money.”
“It doesn’t feel right to make you pay for everything,” he says, his voice low.
“How about this? We’ll split utilities, and you’re in charge of doing the dishesandthe laundry. And we’ll call it even.”
He’s quiet, and I know he’s thinking through it all. Trying to decide if it’s an arrangement he feels okay about.
“Okay. Thank you. I love you, Kels,” Carter says, placing a light kiss on my cheek.
“I love you too, Puffin,” I say, and he nips playfully at me at the nickname. I know he secretly loves it, though.
I was worried I’d be bored once I was back in Wild Bluffs, but now I know that won’t be the case. Carter’s living situation is solved, and I get my favorite person as my roommate. Not bad for my first night home.
Plus, I have a plan for Carter’s job, I just need to call Jaxon Reid—I mean Steele—first.
Chapter forty-one
Carter
“Youknow,Ialwaysexpect you two doofuses to be stronger, considering you’re professional athletes,” Kelsey says, bringing a large wooden bowl filled with salad to the table.
“We don’t carry boxes around for a living, Kelsey,” JT replies, snagging one of the dinner rolls off the pile in front of him. “And you weren’t complaining when we were helping the Lindens move Carter’s couch and recliner out.”
“They were small,” Kelsey shoots back. “I could’ve moved them with only Izzy to help.”
“Hey!” Izzy cries. “Why am I your choice for weakest member of the family?”
The table breaks out into arguing over the best way to measure strength, and I lean forward to share a soft smile with my mom, who’s sitting on the other side of Izzy.
It’s been like this all day. The Harper sisters chatting or arguing or making fun of Jameson and JT. I was surprised when Lila and JT pulled up in jeans and sweatshirts this morning to help move me into Kelsey’s, but when I asked Kelsey about it, she said they were essentially part of the family now. JT even goes with her dad, Ken, to the old-man coffee group sometimes.
My mom came this morning to help finish packing up a few of my boxes of dishes and kitchen gadgets, but the exertion and new faces were hard on her. I took her home before lunch and told her we could decide later if she felt up to dinner tonight at Ken and Jen’s house.
She’d insisted she wanted to come. I considered telling her not to, just to protect her from the chaos, but Kelsey reminded me my mom is still capable of making her own decisions for now, so I should let her do what she wants while she still can.
Kelsey’s mom, Jen, has been great, chatting with my mom about what I was like in high school as my mom sat at their island, watching as Jen and Kelsey finished making dinner. I was surprised when my mom sat next to Jen at the table instead of me.
“I think you’re overly discounting the local workout classandthe benefit I have by being five inches taller than you,” Izzy says, still arguing with Kelsey about how strong she is.
Kelsey turns an exasperated look my way, but I just shake my head, smart enough to know I don’t want to be in the middle of that.
Bryn catches the look and snorts. “You think Carter is going to save you? He’s said five words total since you two got back.”
