He gives her a polite semi-smile and then stops, turning back to me. “Are you coming?” It’s clear he won’t move without me.
My heart expands. Though we’re twins, I’ve always been in Rose’s shadow. It wasn’t her fault. But when we were younger, every guy I ever liked fell for her. She was flirty and sexy, where I was perky and nice. She was the bad girl, not afraid to take dares, whereas I was the good girl, the teacher’s pet, the one who got friend-zoned.
Ronan blinks at my blinding smile. “Yes,” I say, “I’m coming.” He takes a step back toward me, leaving Rose standing at the threshold holding the door and watching us with speculation as Ronan clasps my hand. We walk into the house together, and we’re once again embraced by the heat and chaos of my childhood home. But this time, I feel like I have someone there just for me, and it feels right.
I watch my family laughing and joking. I see Belle running around with my cousins’ children. I check out Ronan trying to slip under the radar while still holding everyone’s attention without even trying. And I think maybe, just maybe, change isn’t always bad, just as Rose said.
If I hadn’t been dumped by Derek, I’d still be living in my old house and wouldn’t have taken this nanny position. If I hadn’t lost my job at the school, I wouldn’t have the space in my life to think about what dreams I want to pursue. And it makes me wonder what other blessings, disguised or otherwise, are out there waiting for me.
* * *
Later that night,Ronan offers me a choice. I can stay with my parents for another night or go back home with him and Belle. He said if I wanted to stay, he wasn’t due to be on set till the afternoon tomorrow, so I could return to the lake house in the morning.
“I’m not sure.” I deliberate. “I’m not packed. Plus, there will be a lot to clean up. I don’t want my parents to have to do it.”
“I can wait while you pack,” he says, his face neutral. “And you planned the whole party. Aren’t there other people who can help?”
“Get out of here, Pops. We got the cleanup,” Rose says. “The big stud is right. You arranged everything by yourself. You have to let other people help.”
“Stop worrying about what you should do. What do youwantto do?” Ronan asks.
And that part is clear. I want to go home with him. Perhaps I should have enjoyed having several days off. Though, technically, “off” isn’t correct. I just switched roles from nanny to party planner. But I missed being home. Not this home where I grew up. But the lake house.
It’s dangerous because the lake house is only my temporary lodging. But I missed the people there. Terribly. Ronan, with his long silences and indomitable presence. Belle, who transformed from a withdrawn child to a bubbly little girl. They’ve both lodged themselves into my heart, and I’m holding on tight for as long as I have them.
Which is less than two weeks.
So I’m not going to miss one more night.
“I’ll come home,” I say. My eyes widen at my use of the word. I might think it, but I hadn’t meant for it to slip out.
Something bright flares to life in Ronan’s eyes.
“Good,” he grunts. But I think I detect a smile before he turns away.
The next twenty minutes pass in a flurry of packing and goodbyes. When, bag in hand, I look for Ronan, I find him in the kitchen, loading the dishwasher. When I’d left to pack, the kitchen counter had been stacked with dishes, but now, it gleams. There is plenty more to do, but he took on what I would have considered my portion to clean up and did it himself, as if he understood that even though I chose to leave, the guilt of not helping would have weighed on me.
“Hey, thanks. But you didn’t need to do that,” I say, touched.
“I didn’t do it all myself. I made your uncles help.”
I burst out laughing. “My uncles? How did you drag them away from sports on the television?”
“I don’t think they were happy, but they did their part.”
“I wish I’d seen it. That’s a once-in-a-lifetime sight.”
He snorts. “It shouldn’t be. They ate. They should clean up.”
This man just keeps surprising me.
“Should we find Belle and go home?” I did it. I called it home again. I wasn’t struck by lightning the first time, so I’m just going to keep pushing my luck.
Emotion fires the ice in his eyes.
I fiddle with my bag, and he silently takes it from me, tossing it over his shoulder as if it were a Barbie accessory. We get Belle and, together, we all go home.
CHAPTER20
