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She looks shocked but delighted as she beams at me, saying “Me too.”
Happiness surges through me, warm and heady, and I lean in to kiss my gorgeous girl, savoring her sweet taste.
“I love you,” I say, the words spilling out of me as we pull apart. “I know it’s too fast. I know it’s a bit crazy. But I think I loved you the moment I saw you walking in the forest. You’re my whole fucking world, Scarlett.”
“Oh, Gunner,” she says, her eyes shimmering with tears, “I love you too. I love you so much.”
With a sigh of relief, I scoop her into my arms, grinning as I whirl her around. She throws her head back and laughs with joy, the room spinning as we look at each other, our gaze full of pure happiness. It’s a kind of happiness I’ve never felt before, something so intense and addictive that it makes me want to shout from the mountaintops that Scarlett is mine.
Only mine.
Forever.
Epilogue
Scarlett
I heave myself out of the driver’s seat, instinctively resting a hand on my bump. There’s a firm kick against my palm, and I grin to myself as I close the car door behind me, imagining my baby girl having a dance party in my belly.
Only three more months until we get to meet her.
The thought fills me with giddy excitement as I walk past Winterdale’s quaint little boutiques until I reach Sweet Tooth Bakery. I head inside, smiling at Emily, the woman behind the counter. Now that I’m settled here in Crave County, the inhabitants of Winterdale are all becoming familiar faces to me.
“Hi there, Scarlett,” she says brightly.
“Hi Em! I’m here to pick up the red velvet cake for my husband’s birthday,” I say.
“No problem, I’ve got it here for you.”
She slides a large see-through cake box across the counter and I smile down at the red frosted lettering:
To a perfect husband
Happy 41st Birthday
Once I’ve paid for the cake, I say goodbye to Emily and head back to my car, my mind still on my baby girl. It wasn’t a huge shock to discover I was pregnant, but it was still an incredible surprise, and I still haven’t gotten used to the idea that I’m going to be a mom. It’s a dream come true—and so is my new job. Ididn’t stay at Mountain Brew for long. It was a great place, but Gunner insisted I didn’t need to work there anymore. He said I could dedicate myself to fulfilling my dream of becoming an author, and that’s exactly what I’ve been doing. I finished my first manuscript a couple of months ago—a romance story about a girl who escapes her parents and finds love with a handsome stranger who lives in the mountains. I had plenty of inspiration. There are a few publishers interested already, and Gunner has been supporting me all the way. Every day he tells me how proud he is, and after a lifetime of hearing the opposite from my parents, his words mean the world to me.
I’m just about to open my car door when I stop in my tracks, looking around. I can feel it. The familiar sensation of being watched; my husband’s eyes burning into me. I smile to myself, my heart stuttering as I quickly look around, catching sight of a pickup truck I recognize parked nearby.
Gunner doesn’t follow me all the time anymore, partly because we’re nearly always together anyway. He started grief counseling soon after I moved in to help him process the death of his brother. It’s helped him so much. Worst-case scenarios don’t torture him like they used to, and he’s started to accept that what happened to Gabe wasn’t his fault. But even though my husband has made a lot of progress, sometimes, he just can’t help following me. Especially since I got pregnant. Being protective is part of Gunner’s nature, and I love it. When I’m out running errands and I feel his eyes on me from somewhere nearby, it sends a thrill of excitement through me. I love to know that he’s there, protecting me, watching over me and our baby.
Still smiling to myself, I get in my car and start the drive back up the mountain, glancing into my rearview mirror as I go. The pickup truck is on my tail almost immediately, and I giggle to myself as I give an exaggerated wave with my right hand.Gunner stays close, following me all the way back to our log cabin.
Sometimes I still can’t believe this beautiful place is my home, with its mountain view and yard full of wildflowers. I sigh happily as I get out of the car, holding the cake box close to my chest and turning to look at my husband’s pickup as it pulls up in front of me. He gets out a second later, towering over me with a smile on his face. Gunner has only gotten more handsome since the day we met. His muscles are thicker, his shoulders broader, and his green eyes twinkle more than ever before.
“What a surprise!” I say, wiggling my eyebrows. “I wasn’t expecting to see you here.”
Gunner’s lips twitch. “I just got back from Winterdale.”
“Interesting. What were you doing there?”
Electricity sizzles in the air between us as we keep up the pretense. It’s become an inside joke—pretending like my husband wasn’t just stalking me.
“Running a couple of errands,” Gunner grunts, his eyes shining.
“Hmm.”
Gunner wraps a strong arm around my waist, pressing a kiss against my cheek. “Let’s get you inside. It’s cold out here.”
