Page 27 of #Resort Romance
“I know, I know, but…thinking about it coming together makes me happy.” She shrugged. “And I’d rather focus on the positive and be…you know…happy.”
“Then that’s what we’ll do!” Reaching over, Jayce brought her hand to his lips and kissed it. “Now, what are we going to do today?”
Chapter Seven
For the next five days, Jayce could say he was living his best life. He and Kelsey spent every minute together and he enjoyed getting to know her again. They had so much in common and it didn’t matter if they were talking about food or movies or current events—the conversation just flowed so easily. He was loving it.
And her.
Yeah, the more time he spent with Kelsey, the more he fell in love with her. It didn’t matter that they’d only been together for a week. He knew. Deep down in his soul, he knew that Kelsey Brooks was his forever.
He just hadn’t had the courage to say anything because he didn’t want to freak her out or—even worse—scare her off. The plan was to bide his time, but he only had another three days here at Lakeview Harbor Resort. She was staying a few days longer than him, but he had to get back to Raleigh to start on a new project.
“It’s not polite to keep an old lady waiting,” his grandmother said as she walked across the path toward his cabin. He was standing out on the porch and was about to walk over to get her, but she beat him to it.
“Sorry, Gram,” he said, meeting her halfway and kissing her on the cheek. “I lost track of the time.”
She hooked her arm through his and gently turned them in the direction she wanted to go, which was toward the lake. “I feel like the two of us haven’t had a lot of time to visit with everyone around. That’s why I orchestrated it so everyone was busy this afternoon except for us. I knew your mother and Kelsey would love to go to the signing at the local bookstore, your father had been complaining about not getting any time to play pickleball so I signed him up for the tournament, and your grandfather always wants to take an uninterrupted nap, so I’m letting him. Now…I can finally have some time to have you all to myself. I haven’t seen enough of you.”
“Really?” he asked with amusement. “Because I feel like we’ve seen each other every day since I arrived.”
“We have, but it’s always with everyone else around—your grandfather, your parents, Kelsey…” She sighed. “Our party is tomorrow night and all your cousins and aunts and uncles will be coming, so I want to make the most of this afternoon.” Squeezing his arm slightly, she added, “I’m worried about you, Jayce.”
“Me? Why?”
“You’re dragging your feet! Do you need a house to fall on you or something?” she demanded.
“I have no idea…”
“The perfect girl reappears in your life and you’re going to let her get away again,” she said with disdain. “We all can see that she’s crazy about you and you’re crazy about her and yet you’re not making any plans for after this trip!”
Ah…okay. This he could handle.
“Gram, I’m just trying to…”
“Remember the day on the boat?” she interrupted. “Your mother and I asked Kelsey what her plans were—was she planning on staying in Rochester or maybe starting someplace fresh?”
He nodded. “O-kay…I had that conversation with her as well.”
“She says she feels guilty about moving away, even though it’s something she’d like to do.” Looking up at him, she continued. “I told her about my parents and how they moved to America from Ireland and how sometimes you have to just take a leap of faith.”
Jayce nodded again, unsure if he should say anything.
“I told her, your memories are always with you, Kelsey,” she went on. “And then I explained how she might not be able to walk to the park she used to play in or go to a restaurant her mother or father loved, but those places only a car ride or plane ride away. Then I finished with how they wouldn’t want her to stay there just because of the memories.”
“That all makes sense, Gram,” he reasoned. “You made some great points.”
“I know,” she said with a very satisfied smile. “Sometimes taking that first step is the hardest part. But I tried to make her see that amazing things can happen when you take a risk. If my parents hadn’t moved, I never would have met your grandfather. We never would have had your mother. She never would have met your father, and then they wouldn’t have had you. And that would be a real shame.”
“I have to agree.”
Pausing, she smiled up at him. “You see all the things that never would have happened if two people didn’t take that leap of faith and decide to start fresh someplace new? That is the exact question I asked Kelsey.”
Now he was truly invested in the story. “And what did she say?”
She shrugged. “She said she wasn’t sure where she would go, but I said she should follow her heart and go where it leads her!”
“And?”
