Page 65 of Love Songs

We moved together as one. Dallas making love to me was like nothing I’d experienced before and everything I wanted to experience for the rest of my life. Every touch meant more, every hushed word spoken carried more weight, every brush of skin against skin sang the sweetest notes. And when we came, one right after the other, I knew this was it. He was it.

I found love. I found a family. And I was never letting either go.

“I DON’T KNOW,”Haider said as he pointed to a corner for Phillip to drop a box. “I still think the house is haunted, but it looks really good in here, so maybe the ghost is a nice one.”

“It’s not haunted,” Conor, Sam, and Ryan all called out in unison.

Haider waved them off and leaned closer to me. “Tell me the truth. Haunted, right?”

I laughed and handed him a stack of napkins. He furrowed his brows.

“What do you want me to do with these?”

“Put them on the patio table, for the pizzas I ordered.”

“Oh, well,” Haider jumped off the counter he’d been sitting on. “I can do that.”

He sashayed outside, and I chuckled as I returned to my task of unboxing the kitchen.

Today was the day we officially moved into our new forever home. The three of us—me, Conor, and Jaylin. I marveled at all the changes that had happened in my life these past six months. It still amazed me that I’d bought the house that Conor haddreamed of owning, and thought, more than once, that there must have been greater forces at work to pull off a coincidence like that.

Maybe, in a way, the house was haunted.

I’d made sure Conor and Jaylin had a hand in all the design ideas and that they each knew this was their home and they needed to put their mark on it, too. Conor’s friend Ryan, who I’d become close friends with during the extensive renovations, had done all the fine and finishing woodwork, and Sam, Ben, Adam, and Phillip had helped with hard labor as much as possible. Haider worked hard, too, or so he’d said, as he’d directed from the sidelines and fed us too many delicious chocolates from his shop.

When I’d gone back to New York after Memorial Day weekend, I hadn’t been able to handle being away from Conor. I’d felt like an essential part of me was missing, making me antsy and grumpy when we were apart. I’d racked up so many air miles points flying back and forth that he’d finally told me enough was enough. That Jaylin and I needed to move into his little rental house in Caldwell Crossing while we finished our new home. Jaylin had been ecstatic about that, and the weekend after school let out for the summer, we moved in full time.

I ended up taking the job at Waylon Music as a vocal coach and was loving it way more than I’d ever imagined. My first big show was going to be a concert for Christmas, since I’d also taken on the role of the local choir director. I was already nervous. Just like when I was getting ready to go on stage with my old Dallas Blade Band. Preparing for the choir concert was nothing like planning a world tour, but was just as amazing and exciting. I’d even started offering private singing lessons at home and writing music for other musicians and bands.

Jaylin had settled in at her new school and had already made a couple of good friends—including Conor’s nieces. Shewas constantly on me about getting a horse, but first we needed to get settled into our new home for that to happen. Maybe for Christmas . . .

Ian, the teen who also worked at Waylon’s Music, walked in with a box in his arms while Jaylin showed him where to put it. The two of them had been thick as thieves from the moment they’d met. I wasn’t sure I liked Ian quite as much as I had when I’d first met him. As far as I was concerned, Jaylin, who’d turned fifteen on October sixth, was much too young for—gasp—aboyfriend. Thirty would still be too young.

But when I put my dad hat aside, Ian was a good kid and treated Jaylin like the princess she was.

Jaylin stopped at the bottom of the stairs to snag a caramel bonbon from the Harmony Chocolates box Haider had brought over earlier, while Ian continued up. She and Haider had become instant besties, always conspiring together and giggling like school kids. I loved that Conor’s friends had accepted us so warmly into their fold. And Haider, when he’d found out that Jaylin’s birthday fell on Mad Hatter Day, had gone all out creating an Alice in Wonderland themed party for her. We’d all had to wear ridiculous hats for the entire day and drink fruit-flavored teas, and Haider was, of course, the Hatter. We’d had a fantastic time, laughing until we had stitches in our sides, and I didn’t think I’d ever seen Jaylin smile so much as she did then.

Yes, this was home. This was the right move. Conor was the right man.

Speaking of the right man. He stepped through the front door with another box and when his gaze landed on mine, his smile stretched so wide and bright my knees weakened. The sight of his infectious smile, of his piercing blue eyes so full of love, had my heart swelling with happiness and contentment.

I walked over and took the box from him, placing it on the floor.

“What?” he asked with a slight cant of his head.

I pulled him close, slid my hands around his back and under his shirt, and kissed him.

I kissed him with all the feelings I couldn’t contain.

I kissed him because words weren’t enough.

I kissed him until someone—or someones—cat-called and wolf-whistled.

He was smiling at me when I broke the kiss and stepped back, his eyes glittering.

“Not that I’m complaining,” he said, sounding a little breathless. “But what was that for?”

I shrugged. “Because I love you.”

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