Page 86 of Kissing Kayley
“Fine,” I said. “I’ll let you know after we look at it.”
“Excellent,” Derek said, standing. “I look forward to welcoming you aboard.”
Once we were alone again, I shot another glare at Jordan. “Why do I feel like I was just shanghaied?”
He grinned. “Because you were.” He made a little flourish with his right hand as he tipped his head at me. “Annnnd you’re welcome.”
I did convince Jordan to let me return to the room first, where Vic was lounging in the hot tub with another mug of coffee.
“She’s in, chief,” Jordan said as he perched on the edge of the hot tub.
“No, I’m not! Not yet, anyway.”
Jordan waved my protest away. “Formality. She wants to go look at the house. Wait’ll I show you the ideas I have for paint, and?—”
“Hold on!” I stared from him to Vic and back again. “Can we back up a few steps?”
Jordan crossed his arms over his chest. “Don’t make me call Leo in here to tag-team you.” He winced. “Wait, that sounded wrong.”
Vic—who must have been anticipating our return because he wore a bathing suit—sat up and moved over to the side of the hot tub closer to me. “Yes, I’ve already talked to Derek. Yes, I knew he was talking to you this morning.” He glanced Jordan’s way. “Yes, Jordan’s ready to move us in yesterday.”
“If you don’t let me tell her I’m going to explode, dude,” Jordan said.
“Tell me what?”
Vic indicated for Jordan to go ahead. “We bought a piece of land on Rawhide Ridge.” Jordan grinned. “We’re going to build a house there. Then we can come out here whenever we want for Elliot to have fun on the Ranch.”
“Why is this the first I’m hearing about all of this?” I asked Vic.
He shrugged but he wore that playful smirk of his that always melted me. “I really want this to be your decision,” he said. “And I don’t want you making it because of me. We’ve already proven that I can be a dumbass?—”
“True story,” Jordan snarked.
“—and I am being completely honest when I say that whatever you decide, I’m all for it.”
I sank into one of the patio chairs and let those details run through my brain. “What about my parents?” I finally said.
Jordan threw his head back and groaned. “Oh. My. Gawd.” He looked at me. “They’re retired now, you know that. They’re thinking about selling their house and moving, but they don’t want to move away from you if you’re staying in Laguna Beach.”
He started ticking off points on his fingers. “Earthquakes. Firestorms. Mudslides. Lather, rinse, repeat. Add insurance and property taxes and you could probably build three houses for cashherefor what you’re spending a yeartherejust on all of that.”
I considered it. He had a valid point.
“And,” Jordan added, “you’ll be close to Leo here. To Cedro and his family. There’s Robyn’s Nest, the new B&B on the Ridge, so it’s not like vanilla family can’t visit. In fact, your parents could probably build somewhere nearby andliterallynever worry about money again after they sell their house in Laguna Beach.”
I felt like I’d been drop-kicked into aTwilight Zoneepisode. “Let me guess—you’ve been talking to them.”
“Duh,” Jordan said. “You’ve always said you regretted that you don’t get to spend more time with Leo and your parents all together. Well, now you can. And Vic’s family, too.”
This felt… overwhelming.
Jordan pulled the keys from his pocket and jingled them. “You know you want to look at it.”
I swiped the keys from him. “Okay, fine.”
Vic smirked.
“What?” I asked him.
