My surroundings go blank, and my heartbeat’s thundering inside my ears.
He got me a space for abookstore?
The papers fall out of my hand, and a flock of butterflies invades my stomach.
He stops midsentence and frowns. “You don’t like it?”
“No.” I’m out of my chair, climbing onto his lap and kissing him with everything I’ve got. He wraps his arms around me and kisses me back, and I can feel him smile against my lips.
“I love it,” I say when we break for air. There are tears in my eyes. “I can’t decide if you’re the craziest or the best man I’ve ever met.”
Rowan gives me a crooked grin. “Why not both?” He brushes his fingers through my hair, pushing it away from my face. “I don’t want you to leave, Sunshine. I want you to stay with me in Darkwater and give us a chance. Can’t you see how good we are together?”
My breath hitches.
I’ve wanted to leave Darkwater Hollow behind for so long. I was convinced there was nothing for me here and that I would never be accepted, but that’s not true. Rowan’s changed all that.
He’s given me plenty of reasons to stay. And maybe I don’t need anyone else’s acceptance, as long as I have his.
I press a kiss to his lips. “I’ll stay.”
CHAPTER 37
BLAKE
The day after Christmas, I walk into Frostbite knowing I’m about to quit, and damn if it doesn’t feel good.
I’m practically floating. I can’t wait to give Brett my resignation and say goodbye to this place. Riverbend Mall was closed for Christmas Day, but it’s open today, so after I’m done with work, Rowan and I are going to go take a look at the space he leased. I’m so excited, I want to break out into a happy dance.
Rowan, Sam, and I spent most of yesterday putting together a rough business plan for the bookstore, and I’m so damn grateful for their help. There’s a never-ending list of things that need to get done before I can open the store to the public. It’s overwhelming, but in the best way.
My lifelong dream is starting to feel real.
I bite down on my smile, remembering Rowan’s reaction two nights ago when I gave him his Christmas gift. After we finished our dinner and Sam left, I changed in the bedroom and walked out in a skimpy light-blue lingerie set I splurged on at the mall.
It made Rowan drop his wineglass. We didn’t get much sleep that night, or the following.
While we lay in bed last night, our limbs tangled together and my cheek pressed against his chest, I felt like I wanted to tell him something.
Something that made me terrified.
I’m falling for you.
I rehearsed saying the words in my head a dozen times, but no matter how I tried, I couldn’t get myself to say them out loud. After Brett, I wasn’t sure I’d ever say them again.
Old fears are holding me back, even if they no longer make any sense given everything that’s happened between Rowan and me.
He asked me to stay with him. He got me a freaking bookstore, for God’s sake. That’s not something a guy who’s only looking for something casual would do.
He’s proving to me time and time again that he’s not the womanizer he was when we first met. He’s changed. And he wants me as much as I want him.
Now I just need to work up my courage to tell him how I feel.
I’ll tell him tonight when we go to see the bookstore.
A grin pulls on my lips as I go to the back to put my purse away. This was without a doubt the best Christmas I’ve ever had.
When I walk by Brett’s office, it’s silent. He’s probably not in yet. That’s okay, I was planning on working all day today anyway. As much as I can’t wait to be out of here, I’m not going to just walk out of this place and leave all the other employees scrambling.I’ll offer to do my two weeks so that Brett can find someone to replace me.
