“What are you doing?”She tried to stir herself to walk, but Telford moved deftly into the Graff lobby and into the elevator.
“I’m being romantic,” he said.“This isn’t our home, but I’m still carrying you across the threshold.”
And then they were in the room, and he had her on the bed, helping her out of her clothes and urging a cup of tea on her like she was an invalid.
“I thought you’d be mad.”
“I am.You thought of leaving me.”
“I didn’t want to,” she defended herself.“But for so long, the Family loomed so large and scary and controlling, and when I saw them, I became a child again.I ran but I heard a kid playing a Jason Isbell song about vampires, and I came to my senses—sort of.”
“Vampires,” he said.“Somehow that feels on brand for the surreality of the night.”
He sat on the bed, leaned against the headboard, and held her on his lap while she sipped at the tea.It really did revive her a little.
“I’m naked and you have clothes.”
“That’s temporary.But I want to talk.”
“Okay.”She blew on the tea and sipped again.
“I love you.I want to rip up the contract and have a real marriage.”
Hand shaking, she reached over and put the tea on the nightstand.
“And if we’re not married, we’ll get married again on Monday.Let Cash and Maddy have their weekend wedding and then we’ll sneak away when the court opens.”
She couldn’t hold back her smile.“You might just be a little goofy like Boone and crazy like Cash.”
“Good, then there’s hope for me.”
She settled against him, curling up, her fingers playing with the buttons on his shirt.
“I didn’t want to leave you.I’ve been happier these past couple weeks than I thought possible, and I was hoping that I could do something—to borrow Maddy’s word—epic, so that you would fall in love with me.”
“You did.”
She raised her head and looked into his beloved serious face that looked hewn from granite, but his eyes sparkled, giving him that boyish look that was so fleeting.
“What was it so I can do it again?”she demanded.
He kissed her lips lightly.“You found me.You exist and for that I am the luckiest man in all of Montana.”
Epilogue
“Gosh, I amso nervous I don’t even know how you can eat anything,” Maddy said, settling back into her seat as Telford and Taryn joined them all in the family and VIP section of the arena for the AEBR finals.
The men handed out a variety of food like everyone would starve during the final round.Fried chicken.Corn dogs.Pretzel bites.And a burger for Boone and another for Cole.
Bronte was strapped to her chest and bounced her little feet, as if trying to get them tangled in Riley’s ponytail.
“Hey, girl, you messin’ with me?”Riley turned around and made a face, earning a giggle from Bronte.Riley accepted the pretzel bites and dipped it into the mustard.“Still hot.Yum.Thanks for being speedy.”
“I wanted to be here for the intro,” Telford said.“Cash is top of the leaderboard, and I want to see the poser look he has when the lights go out and the gunpowder’s lit so I can harass him after.”
“You been practicing your cowboy poses in the mirror?”Boone said.“Can I see one?”
“As if,” Ayana said and snagged a pretzel bite from Riley and tossed it at Boone who caught it in his mouth.
