Page 96 of The Paradise Plan

Every eye came to him, and he simply smiled.He squeezed Cass’s hand under the table and lifted it to his lips, right there in front of everyone.He may have imagined it, but he thought he heard Liz sigh.

Cass ducked her head, her smile wide, and Bob grinned and grinned too.

“So,” Harrison said.“Cass said you didn’t like West much when you first met him.”He surveyed the crowd at the table, noting the shock on their faces.“I guess I get a year to win you over?”

“You don’t need a year,” Liz said.“Did you guys really not like West?”

“They didn’t,” Cass said.“Because he was too ‘stuffy.’”

“Oh, come on, baby,” her father said.“Westwasa little stuffy.”

Cass started arguing with her parents, but Harrison dipped his chin toward Liz.“I don’t need a year?”

“Nope.”She popped the P and grinned at him.“I like you a lot already, and look at my mother.”She nodded across the table.“That’s not only the mimosa making her smile.She likes you.”

Harrison watched her, and seeing as how the drinks hadn’t even arrived yet and Kara hadn’t even taken a sip of alcohol yet, her smile did seem genuine.

He returned it, then tuned back into the conversation, which somehow got pointed back to him.He didn’t mind, because he knew Cass’s family had a lot of questions about him, his business, his life on Hilton Head, and their relationship.

To his great relief, he answered them, and by the time they’d eaten and left the restaurant, he finally felt like someone in her family had accepted him and liked him.

In Cass’s SUV, finally alone, she buckled her seatbelt and looked at him.Her dark eyes shone like diamonds, and she squealed.“They loved you, Harrison.”She threw her arms around him, and he leaned over into her embrace.

She’d been pretending like her children’s reactions to him didn’t bother her, but Harrison had suspected they did.Now he had proof.But it didn’t matter, because her parents and sister liked him.

“I’m glad you’re excited,” he said.

“It’s not that I would’ve cared,” she said, disentangling herself from him.

“Yes, you would’ve,” he said.“If your momma and daddy didn’t like me, you’d really think Sariah and Conrad were right.”

She shook her head, but she didn’t deny it again.“It’s just…” She didn’t finish the sentence as she pulled out of the parking lot.He gave her time to think as he watched the green hills roll by in the blue sky.

“It’s just that you think I’m wonderful,” he finally said.“And you’re falling in love with me, and you want to share that with those you love.”

“Yeah,” she said.

“I’m falling in love with you too,” he said very quietly.“In case I haven’t said it yet.”

“You haven’t.”She looked over to him, hope adorning her expression.“Really, Harrison?”

“Totally,” he said.

She nodded, swallowing against a lump he could see in her throat.“I just want my kids to come see me,” she said.“I don’t want to drive them away.”

“It’s like you said,” he said.“They just need more time than you.You’re the one who stayed in the house, Cass.You were there for over a year, with just the memory of West.They weren’t.They didn’t get to experience that.Say good-bye to that.”

She looked over to him again, a hint of surprise riding in her eyes now.“You’re right,” she said.“I’ve been there.They weren’t.”

“Everyone grieves in their own way,” he said.“You taught me that.”

“Maybe I shouldn’t have listed the house.”

“Where’s the strong, independent woman you once told me you once were?”he asked.He shook his head.“No, Cass.Who’s going to be at the house when we get back?”

“No one,” she said.

“That’s right.No one.”Sariah and Robbie were moving to San Antonio that morning.Conrad and Jane had gone with them to help.