It was true, they did. Not only did they talk about the wedding, but my mom loved good coffee. Declan’s mother had sent her boxes and boxes of some of the exotic flavors she’d invented. I kept telling his mother that she needed to move down here so I could be her guinea pig. I’d love to be able to taste-test her new flavors before anyone else.
“Do you think your parents will ever move down here?” I asked.
I know Declan missed them, especially after seeing them recently. They talked on the phone every single day now. It was heartwarming to see them so close. Declan never thought it’d be possible after they’d lost Elijah. If anything, it brought them closer.
Declan’s lips pulled back slyly. “They probably will,” he said, his smile growing wider. “Especially when we have kids.”
I snorted. “We’ve definitely been practicing a lot for it.”
Declan kissed me. “Hey, I’m not complaining.”
Neither was I. I couldn’t wait for us to start having children. The prospect of having kids had been a topic of ours ever since we got engaged. Our plan was to start as soon as we got married. However, there was one situation in our lives we hadn’tdiscussed yet. It was on my to-do list without a check mark beside it.
“Declan?” His brows lifted and I pointed out the entry on my list markedwhere to live. “We need to decide where we want to live. Do we want your house or mine? I’m fine with either way.” His house was a little bigger, but I had the swimming pool. I would miss it if he wanted to stay at his.
Declan’s eyes sparkled mischievously. “That’s what I wanted to talk to you about. It turns out I had a spontaneous offer come in on my house just out of the blue. These people happened to drive by and want it.”
That was the craziest thing I’d ever heard.
“An offer to buy? Seriously? How did that even happen? Your house isn’t even on the market.”
He stood and held out a hand. “The buyers are actually on their way to my house now. I’d really like for you to be there with me.”
Flabbergasted, I took his hand, and he helped me up. I had to admit, I was a little overjoyed at the thought of us living at my house.
“I don’t know what to say,” I said, squeezing his hand as we walked down my driveway and over to his.
Declan looked over at me with knowing eyes. “Ayla, I know you want to stay at your house. You’d miss your swimming pool too much.”
Sheepishly, I bit my lip and laughed. “You’re right, I would.” We walked up his front porch stairs to wait on the buyers. “But you know I’d do anything to make you happy. If you wanted to stay in your house, I would’ve made the move.”
Declan pulled me into his arms and kissed my forehead. “I know you would’ve. And I love you for it. You’re happy in your home and it’ll make the perfect place to start a family.”
Excitement bubbled in my chest. “Yes, it would.”
A white SUV came down the road and it started to slow down by Declan’s driveway. I couldn’t see who was inside, but I knew it had to be someone new to town. As far as I knew, none of the original townsfolk were looking for new homes.
“What do you know about these people?” I asked, looking up at Declan. “Are they from Magnolia Grove? Are they young or old?”
He shrugged, but there was still a mischievous twinkle in his blue eyes. “You’ll see.”
The vehicle turned into Declan’s driveway and stopped halfway down. The sun shone through thefront windows, making me squint from the glare. I couldn’t see who was inside.
Both the driver’s and passenger’s side doors opened and when I saw who stepped out, I slapped a hand over my mouth in surprise. Was it really them? Were they the buyers? Kat and Jonah waved and held hands as they made their way to us.
Heart racing, I grabbed Declan’s arm. “Are they moving here?”
Declan chuckled and tickled my side. “They are. Why don’t you go greet our new neighbors?”
I raced down the stairs and Kat let go of Jonah’s hand so she could run to me. We barreled into each other, my arms wrapping tightly around her neck.
“Please tell me this is real,” I squealed.
Kat screamed in delight and we jumped up and down, still holding onto each other. “I wanted to tell you. Jonah and I had been talking about it for the past month.” She let me go and tears fell down her cheeks. “We always talked about having our kids grow up together and be best friends like we are.” Her gaze averted to Declan, then back to me. “Now that you’re getting married, we can make that happen.”
“What about your dental office and Jonah’s job at thehospital?”
She smiled. “It just so happens he was offered an amazing job at a hospital down here.”
