Sweet Harmony (Harmony Falls #1) - Elizabeth Kelly Page 0,13
was that a dimple in his cheek, God help her… and said, “It’s a British idiom from the 1800s. Basically, it means you talk so long the horse becomes exhausted and collapses.”
She laughed. “How do you know that?”
“My dad says the same thing to my mom all the time.”
She smiled a little before nibbling on a piece of cheese. She was trying to decide where to start. When she glanced up at Connor, he was giving her an expectant look, those pretty blue eyes of his filled with amusement. “Cat suddenly got your tongue?”
Her gaze dropped to his mouth. Man, maybe they should just forego the chitchat and get straight to the kissing practice.
“Kira?” he prompted.
“Sorry, just trying to decide where to start.” She decided not letting herself get distracted by Connor’s mouth was probably the best place to start.
“How about with your birthday,” Connor said. “That seems like something I should probably know.”
She smiled a little. “Yeah, probably. My birthday is October twentieth. I’m twenty-five and, as you know, I have an older brother, Gideon.”
“The youngest sheriff ever to be elected in the history of Harmony Falls,” Connor said.
“That’s right. I’m incredibly proud of him. He’s done very well for himself. He’s eight years older than me, but we’ve always been close. When he moved to New Cassel, I missed him a lot. We all did.”
“He went to the police academy there?” Connor asked.
She nodded. “Yeah. Well, first he got his criminology degree and then he joined the police academy. He worked as a cop in New Cassel until my parents died and then he moved back to Harmony Falls.”
She fell silent for a moment. It’d been three years since her parents boarded the plane for their annual winter vacation in Jamaica. She’d driven them to the airport in New Cassel but hadn’t waited with them. She’d just dropped them off at the curb, hugged and kissed them goodbye, told them she’d see them in a month, and then left.
She didn’t go to the city all that often, and she’d been anxious to check out a few of the clothing stores, tired of the same old options at Harmony Falls. Looking back, she would give anything to have had even a half hour extra with her mom and dad.
“You okay?”
She made herself smile at Connor. “Yeah… my parents died in a plane crash three years ago, and it’s still really tough. I miss them.”
“I’m sorry for your loss.” His voice had softened with sympathy.
“Thank you. Anyway, where was I?”
“Your brother moved back.”
“Right. I don’t think he had any intention of returning to Harmony Falls, but after our parents died, I wasn’t doing so well and, long story short… he moved home and got a job with the Harmony Falls police. Just under a year later, Sheriff Walton retired, and Gideon became the new sheriff.”
Her throat was dry from talking and she took a sip of iced tea. “I got a job in high school at Walgreen’s over on Main Street when I was in grade eleven. I worked there until about nine months ago. I went to real estate school and after I passed the licensing exam, I started working for Rose and Ray Armstrong. They own Rose and Ray Realty.”
“I know them,” he said. “Well sort of. They’re clients.”
“Oh, okay.”
“They seem like they’re good people,” Connor said.
“They are. Rose came into the Walgreens regularly, and after my parents died, she and Ray did a lot for me and Gideon. Anyway, Rose was the one who suggested I become a real estate agent, so I did.”
“Do you like it?”
“I do,” Kira said. “Except I’ve been working for three months now and still haven’t made my first sale. That’s not…great. But Ray and Rose are being supportive and I’m lucky that Gideon lets me live in the house for free. I have some savings to live off of, but if I don’t sell a house soon, I’ll have to admit defeat and hope they’ll hire me at Walgreens again.”
She could hear the depression in her voice, and she made herself smile at Connor. “Let’s see, what else… my favourite colour is green, I’m allergic to codeine, I took piano lessons from age five to eighteen, I, um… I love romantic comedies, I hate eggplant, and I like dogs more than cats.”
She took another drink of iced tea. Connor was studying her, and she tried not to fidget.
“How long have you been in love with Daniel Moore?” he asked.