Loving Georgia ✔️

Chapter 15

Things had moved quickly after that eventful day. June's will had been read, and everything had been split between her living relatives. The house and cottage had gone to Jeremy, and Georgia still had no idea of what she was going to do. It had taken some time, but the house had sold. Cottage included. Any cold feet Georgia might have had from there on out were left hanging, since she had nowhere to return to or solid asset to her name.

They had two months left on the property, negotiated by Jeremy's broker before the new owners took hold of the land. It gave them enough time to plan for what was next.

'What is the , Jeremy?' Georgia asked for the third time that morning.

'Can't you just trust me?' he asked, staring at her with a sigh waiting to fall from his tongue.

She sent a look his way, referencing their past. 'Not really. I've put everything in your hands. I've given up my cottage. You could at least tell me the plan.'

He knew she was right. 'Did you know that June wasn't born in New Zealand?' He told her to just go with it, he had a point, but it needed explaining.

'She did mention in once or twice.' Georgia admitted after a brief pause. A story seemed better than a cold silence of not knowing the future.

'Her mother was born in Norway. Her father was a Kiwi, and they came back over when June and Anne were fourteen.'

'Travel back then can't have been easy,' Georgia quipped, trying to figure out what year it would have been.

'They never sold the family house,' Jeremy said slowly, flipping through some old family photos in his hand, pausing before handing her one.

The photo was of a family of four standing in front of a small blue cottage. Another photo showed a beautiful outlook of a fjord against the mountains, sun shining down on the grass surrounding the home.

'It gets cold there, but it's also so beautiful.' Jeremy handed her another of the inside. 'My cousin lives there now; she's taken very good care of it. There are more buildings now. We wouldn't get this one but ...'

Georgia looked up at him. 'What are you saying?'

'There is a spare cottage there. A two-bedroom wooden cottage that Maeve has left has a clean slate. She left it that way assuming someone would want to put their own touch on it. I talked to her yesterday ... It's ours if we want it.' He showed her a digital picture of the larger wooden cottage.

'When you said you had a plan, I figured you meant the South Island, not another country,' Georgia murmured, eyes wide as she flicked through the photos on his phone.

'We don't have to,' Jeremy reminded her, hand on her knee.

'There's nothing left for me here.' Georgia paused on the photo of the view again. 'What is the garden like?'

'Maeve isn't really into the garden. She prefers working with hard materials, but she said you are more than welcome to tame the one that's there. Goodness knows your art would flourish there too,' Jeremy said.

There was no doubt in her mind that her art could be greatly inspired by the Norwegian life, but she wasn't so sure she could follow a man to the other side of the country. She hadn't been willing to go to the city with him, and this was a greater sacrifice.

'Can I think about it?' she asked, a pit beginning to build in her stomach.

'Of course.' Jeremy kissed her cheek, taking his phone back and getting back to work on his laptop.

Georgia watched him for a while. A frown was ever present on his face, and his body exuded exhaustion. She remembered asking him if he was happy when she'd been getting to know him, and he'd tried to convince her that he was, but this was not the face of a happy man.