This talk about EJ was making Jordan’s heart ache. “You must be almost finished with your degree by now, right Katie?”
She beamed. “One more assessment, then it’s all over. Thank goodness.”
“Any more plans for what’s next?”
She shook her head. “Gran said she has a surprise for me when I finally finish, so I’m hoping it’s something awesome, like a plane ticket to go see her and Liv in England. Wouldn’t that be the coolest?”
“That’s probably a bit warmer than it is here at the moment. I think that wind is coming straight from Antarctica.” Elinor shivered, thrusting her hands into her parka’s pockets, as Katie went to offer the bag of marshmallows to a family with small children.
“You want to go up to the house, Ellie? We’ve got the fire going, and Mum has made lots of scones.”
“It’s fine. I’m waiting for the fireworks; then I’ll head in. I’m on projector tomorrow at church, so I don’t want to stay up too late.”
“Still doing that, huh?” he asked.
“Yep. Still looking forward to the day when a tall, handsome man walks into the place and has the skills to relieve me.”
“So you can quit small-town life too?”
Elinor sighed, her voice quieter. “I don’t want to sound like I’m complaining. I know there’s a lot to appreciate about living in a small town. But it just feels like my options are limited. Know what I mean?”
“I’ve heard EJ say the same many times.” Many,manytimes.
Her nose wrinkled. “And look, I don’t want to sound ungrateful, but I feel like life has stalled at the moment. So it’d be good to have something different happen. Even to get a real nine-to-five permanent job instead of juggling all the part-time work I do.”
“Maybe you could move in with EJ and get a job in Sydney.” Now that was an idea. If EJ had someone else living there, someone who could act like a chaperone, that’d have to keep her safe and help her make good decisions. The more he thought about it, the better the idea seemed. “You should talk to her about it.”
Her nose wrinkled. “I don’t think she’ll love giving up her independence for a younger sister to stay with her. Besides, I’d still need a job.”
“There is that.”
She exhaled. “I don’t know. Maybe I should just go to England and visit Liv for a couple of weeks. She keeps asking if any of us could come.”
“She’s not planning to come here?”
“I don’t know. Everyone is wondering when Liam is going to pop the question, and I wonder if he’s old-fashioned enough to want to come out here and ask for Mum and Dad’s blessing.”
“You think it’s that serious?”
“One hundred percent.”
“Well, he seems like a nice enough guy.”
“He owns Pemberley, Jordan. That makes him perfect, as far as Mum is concerned.”
He chuckled, but the words remained true. Liam Fitzbrowne held some kind of fancy English title, and he owned a manor house that had once been used as Mr. Darcy’s Pemberley in the 2015 film adaptation ofPride and Prejudice.The fact that he’d fallen for Olivia Bennett still seemed a little surreal to certain members of the Wattle Vale community, his mum being one of them. But Mum was also a sucker for the fairy-tale romance aspects of it. It wasn’t any wonder then that EJ’s mum now had high expectations for the rest of her daughters.
“So, nobody on your horizon?”
“Nope. You?”
“Same.”
She eyed him, a smirk playing about her mouth, then shrugged. “If you say so.”
“Don’t.”
“Can’t help it.”
