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I’m not sure I remember how to breathe. It’s like I can’t process what he’s saying because up until five minutes ago, all of this, everything he’s laid out that I’d so desperately longed for, didn’t seem possible.
My silence causes his shoulders to drop a little.
“I sprung this on you … I’m sorry. It was Brad’s idea to do some big romantic gesture, but I can go.” His voice drops into a soft sigh. “At least let me put this inside for you.” Luke gestures at me with the lidded ceramic dish he’s still holding in his big hands.
“Just set it down there.” I point at the floor.
Luke’s jaw clenches, an inner war going on, but he does as I ask, even if I can see the reluctance written all over him.
If only he knew.
There is only one reason I haven’t been able to say anything in return …
The second his hands are free is when I make my move. I fling myself at him, leaping up to cling to his neck, and he catches me so fucking easily.
The heat of him, the security I feel in his arms, it all washes over me, leaving my blood singing.
“Is this how you invite all your guests inside?” Luke arches an eyebrow at me.
“Just the cowboy I’m in love with.” I exhale, bringing our lips together.
Luke walks us through the door, claiming me with a kiss that races straight down to my toes, leaving me a melted puddle in his arms.
I’m a koala, clung to him, and this moment is everything I’d been wishing for since I drove away from his ranch and Crimson Ridge a month ago.
“Don’t move.” Luke sets me down on the countertop of my tiny kitchenette, places his cowboy hat on my head—at which point I nearly straight-up whimper—then disappears to shut my front door, returning with the dish he’d been carrying and another bag.
I’m an absolute slut for wearing this man’s hat.
“Brad wouldn’t let me come without bringing ice cream. That boy has got the world’s biggest sweet tooth.” He shrugs and puts the pints in the freezer while I unashamedly stare at his ass in those jeans.
As he stands there, a gruff noise comes out of him. Crouching down, he opens the fridge door, looking at the array of empty shelves.
“I should’ve been here sooner.” Luke turns around and gives me a long look. “You’re gonna let me take care of you.” Stepping closer. “You’re gonna let me love you the way you deserve.” Closer still. “And you’re gonna start learning to accept help, sweetheart.”
My cowboy comes over to stand between my knees, then tilts my chin up with a crooked finger.
I want all of that … but I can’t help feeling like I don’t deserve it.
“You’re serious that Brad’s okay with all this?” Searching his eyes, I chew the inside of my cheek. I’m so lost to this man. So in love with him. But at the same time, I feel like such a shitty friend for not being the one to tell him, and it’s even worse knowing that Luke has been talking to him about this for weeks.
Luke doesn’t answer my question. Instead he sighs and digs out his phone. “By the way, that video … I don’t even want to admit how many times I’ve watched it over and over.” Hitting me with a look of pure sin, he taps something on the screen, and my body heats, thinking back to the hottest night of my life.
Except, I don’t have time to get lost in that memory because Luke holds the phone in front of his face, a video call dialing, as he watches me through dark eyes.
“Put her on, Dad. She’s being weird about it, isn’t she?”
Oh god. Brad’s voice immediately connects at the other end of the line, and I want to dissolve into this kitchen counter.
When he turns the phone around, with a quirk tugging at the corner of his lips, the screen is filled with both Brad’s and Flinn’s faces, both grinning like fools.
I peek back at them from behind my hands.
“Already wearing the hat, I see.” He clicks his tongue, and I turn beetroot red. “If I’d known you were aiming to be my stepmother, I might have put in a good word for you with the old man years ago.” Brad cackles, his face lit up with mirth.
Groans come from both me and Luke.
“Do you loathe me? You absolutely do, don’t you?” I’m bracing myself for the worst.
