Norah’s face went slack with shock. “Oh my God. No. No.” She spread her hands in the universal sign for no good. “Why on earth would you think that?”
“Because you’re the most hyper-rational person I know and you’ve been behaving decidedly irrationally. Why else would you call us all together like this?”
“You are kinda glowing,” Reed added.
Norah’s face went beet red. “I have completely lost control of this situation.”
“Well that was your first mistake,” Grammy said. “Assuming you were in control to begin with.”
“Need I remind you that you’re the one who thought facing the Inquisition at this hour was a good idea,” Cam pointed out.
“It wouldn’t be a bad thing,” Aunt Liz offered.
Cam and Norah both stared at her.
“Well it wouldn’t! Neither of mine are in any hurry to make me a grandmother.”
“Neither are we,” Cam said.
Norah poured them both cups of coffee. “I’d rather marry him first, thanks.”
“How’s Saturday?”
The ripple of surprise swept through the room. Nobody knew which of them to look at. Cam kept his gaze fixed on Norah. She rolled her eyes at him, vexed. “Even if you were serious, you’re busy Saturday.”
Oh, I am serious. But he let it pass because this wasn’t the time or place for asking her. Instead he dimpled at her. “That wasn’t a no.”
She just arched a brow.
“Okay, I’ll play. What am I doing on Saturday?”
She handed him coffee. “Formalizing your design for a park at Hope Springs and meeting with the new owner.”
Cam felt the balance of power in the room shift. “I’m sorry, what?”
“Even if the referendum fails, GrandGoods can’t touch Hope Springs. It’s permanently out of their reach and will be donated to the city.”
“How?”
“Because I bought it.” And she just sipped her coffee, calm as could be, as if she hadn’t just rocked his world.
“You did what?” Mitch asked.
“I bought the entire parcel of land out from under GrandGoods with cash. Tucker handled the closing. It’s why I saw him first when I got back yesterday. I had to sign the paperwork. And before you get angry with him for not telling you, I had him sworn to secrecy because it was supposed to be a surprise. And he’s acting as my attorney, so that trumps whatever unspoken bro pact thing you think you have with him.”
Cam’s brain was still stuck at the beginning. “You bought Hope Springs.”
“All 254.5 acres.”
“But that had to cost—” Uncle Pete began.
“Yeah, a lot.” Norah winced a bit at that. “I liquidated every asset I had. It’s why I flipped out when I found out what Philip had done. Given I’m two steps away from being broke, my reputation and employability are kind of an issue.”
“Jesus,” Cam said. “Why would you do that? Risk that? Have you lost your mind?”
“Nope. Just my heart.”
Cam took her coffee away, set it aside with his own. “Norah.”