Accidental Bride(51)

“North Georgia isn’t that far away.”

“I know.”

“It’s not Grandmama, is it? Because you can’t let her keep you from doing what you want to—”

“I’m not. It’s not that. I just don’t think it’s the right thing for me.”

“For you and Peter,” Rose corrected.

Kelly was washed with guilt and confusion and frustration. “Right. For me and Peter. It doesn’t feel quite right.”

That wasn’t true. The big house had felt exactly right for Peter. And, if it hadn’t meant Kelly would have to move so far away, she would have felt like it was exactly right for her too.

She and Peter had always talked about running a bed and breakfast or hotel together. They’d just been daydreams to Kelly, though—not something that she could ever actually bring to fruition. Just the idea that other people took the idea seriously terrified her.

She didn’t know why.

“Well, you never know. Maybe things will work out so it is the right thing. Or maybe there will be another, better opportunity.”

“Maybe.”

***

A couple of hours later, they’d all eaten burgers and hot dogs on the patio, and the group had dispersed again.

Rose had needed to rest, so she’d taken Julie and Jill inside to watch a movie with Grandmama. James was cleaning his grill, and Mitchell and Deanna were sitting nearby, chatting with him.

Peter and Kelly were stretched out on chaises on the far end of the pool deck, catching the last of the sun.

“You saw that I did the best cannonball, right?” Peter asked her, turning to gaze at her with a teasing grin. “Even the girls had to admit that I beat their daddy.”

“Naturally. Everyone was suitably impressed.”

“Are you included among those who were suitably impressed?”

She gave a huff of amusement. “Yes, I was absolutely blown away by the size of your splash. It was far bigger than any other man’s splash. Probably the biggest and most impressive in the world.”

Chuckling, he reached to take her hand in his. “Good. I’m glad you recognize that.”

He didn’t release her hand. Instead, he brought it over to rest on his thigh, and he stroked her palm gently with his thumb. He’d been touchy that way all week. She loved it. She wanted to touch him too.

But, more and more, all of his little touches were causing her stomach to churn with nervousness, even more than having sex with him did.

She didn’t pull her hand away, though. She knew it would hurt his feelings, and she wasn’t willing to do that, no matter how confused and nervous she felt.

“Listen,” Peter said, after clearing his throat. “I wanted to tell you…”

Her heart jumped with a flare of urgency, like something important was about to happen. “Tell me what?”

“I…I called Harrison Damon yesterday.”

She straightened up, pulling her hand back as she readjusted. “You did? I thought you weren’t going to do it.”

“I wasn’t sure. But I’ve been thinking about it, and I realized you were right about me being so stubborn and not accepting help when it was offered. So I called him after all.”

“Why didn’t you tell me yesterday?” She was almost hurt that he’d done something so important without even mentioning it to her.

He shook his head and reached to take her hand again. “I don’t know. I felt…weird about it. I wasn’t even sure I was going to do it until I did.”

“What did he say?”

“He’s interested. He wants me to put together a business plan, which I’d have to do anyway.”

“So you’re really thinking about Eden Manor?”

“Yeah. It’s perfect. It’s exactly what we’ve always talked about.”

She felt that surge of poignancy again—the one that was always fighting with her nerves. “Yeah. Yeah, it is. You should definitely do it.”

She’d dropped her eyes, and he ducked his head down, as if he were trying to see her expression. “I need to go back up there and get inside the house to make sure it’s what we think it is and then see how much work needs doing. I called the seller’s realtor, and she sounded excited to show it to me. I was thinking about going up tomorrow.”

“That’s good. That’s a good idea. You don’t want to wait too long.”

He was still searching her face, like he was looking for something particular there—something she didn’t understand. “If you were able to skip your class on Monday morning, you could come with me.”

She blinked. “You want me to come?”