“Most of this will be delivered by Friday,” she said when they’d finished ordering. “When are you planning to move in?”
“Saturday.”
“Can we help, Mama?” Alex asked. “I want to see Grace’s new house again.”
“Of course, we’ll help,” Merry said.
“Thank you.” Carlisle gave her a smile that warmed her clear to her toes. He really had to stop looking at her like that.
“Our pleasure.” A thought occurred to her, and Merry laughed. “I hope you like the bed you bought without trying it out first. I could never do that.”
“One can hope,” he said with a sigh. “We’ll be settled in our new home by the Christmas ball. It’s less than a week away. You’ll still attend with me, won’t you?”
Merry nodded. Another evening to cherish.
“That reminds me. I need to see when my mother wants me to come in for my final fitting. It might be Saturday.”
“If so, perhaps she’d be willing to move it to Friday,” Carlisle suggested.
Merry texted her mother, who responded that Friday would be fine.
“Saturday’s open,” Merry said. “Would you rather see if we can get a sitter for the kids?”
“Grace has been looking forward to this, and it would break her heart were she not to be allowed to help with the moving in.” Carlisle sent his daughter a loving glance. “We don’t really have that many things anyway. Bart will help me load everything and has offered to lend me his truck.”
“Alex and I will bring treats to your new house then.”
* * *
On Saturday,it surprised Carlisle how quickly the transfer of his and Grace’s belongings took place. Besides Bart and Lizbeth, Nia and her husband arrived to help.
“It really was unnecessary for you to take time off on a Saturday to do this,” Carlisle said as he extended his hand to greet them.
“You’ll want more time to put your house in order, so helping get your stuff there sooner is important.” Nia grinned. “Besides, I wanted to see the place. The pictures never show the true scale of things.”
As they worked, Carlisle’s thoughts drifted back to Merry’s reaction to that first house on the list. He was used to women who pursued him because they wanted to be part of his social group and have access to his bank account. Now, he’d fallen in love with a woman who actively didn’t approve of either.
Buckling Grace into his Land Rover, he thought about spending the day with Merry as they made the new house a home. He wanted her to be part of that. Pausing, he glanced up the street.
“How are things going in England?” Nia asked, pulling him from his musings.
Carlisle told her what his uncle had said. “Reggie’s only stipulation is that if he’s to take on the responsibility, he must have control.”
“Your grandfather and uncle sure sound a lot alike.” Nia waved to her husband and called, “Coming.” She pinned Carlisle with a firm look. “Don’t lettheirsquabbling keep you fromyourhappiness.”
“It might not be in my hands,” he said with a sigh. “We’ll see you at the house then.”
“Where’s Alex?” Grace whined as they drove away from the B&B.
“I told you they’ll meet us there. Miss Merry said she needed to pick something up on the way.”
“What?” his daughter demanded.
“I don’t know. It must be a surprise.”
When Carlisle saw Merry’s car parked to the side near the garage, his heart gave a lurch. Were they inside?
The front door burst open and Alex came running out, followed by Merry. The sense of rightness struck him again. Nia’s car drove up, followed by Bart in his truck.
