“You’re making me nervous.”
He reached over to put his hand on top of hers. “Nothing to be nervous about. It’s good news, or at least I hope you’ll think so.” A few minutes later, he parked the car outside her place and followed her inside.
Her apartment was one big room that had walls around a bathroom, but everything else, including a bed that was always neatly made, was out in the open.
Kelsey put down the bag she took to work and turned to him, hands on hips. “Tell me what’s going on.”
“I asked Mr. McCarthy for a job with his construction company, and he hired me.”
“Wait. What? You have a job in Tampa.”
“That I’m going to quit.”
“Before you even start?”
“Before I even start.”
“Why are you doing this?”
He took a step closer to her, smiling as he took in the gorgeous face that was made more so by her confused expression. “You really have to ask that?”
“Jeff… You can’t blow up your whole life because of me.”
“Who says?”
“I say! That’s crazy.”
“What would be crazy, at least from my point of view, would be going back to Florida when you’re here for at least the next year.”
“But what about your job? You said it was a great opportunity.”
“It is, but my priorities have changed.”
She shook her head. “Your mother won’t be happy with either of us if you do this.”
“I already told her, and she’s fine with it. She wants us all to be as happy as she is with Charlie.” He took a step to close the remaining space between them and put his hands on her shoulders. “Once she gets to know you better, she’ll totally understand why I wanted to stay here with you.”
“You have a college degree that you worked hard for.”
“My college degree will still be there when I’m ready to use it. For now, this is what I want. You are what I want.”
Kelsey leaned her head on his chest.
“Are you glad I’m staying?”
She nodded. “I was dreading you leaving.”
“Now you don’t have to dread anything.”
“What does this mean for us?”
With his finger under her chin, he tipped her face up so he could see her eyes. “It means we’re going to make a go of this, if you want to, that is.”
“I want to.”
Smiling, he said, “Thank goodness, because I’m about to blow up my whole life to be with you.”
“You’re really sure about this?”