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"So you've been here ranching all this time? “I asked.
He nodded. "Yeah. Once my dad died I took it over completely. I love it out here. It's quiet and isolated and perfect."
"And you haven't filled it up with kids and a wife yet," I mused with a little grin on my lips. "That's all you used to talk about—getting married and having kids."
Peter groaned. "I was young. I thought that was what I wanted and then I realized no thank you. I like what I have now. Sometimes I have company, sometimes I don't. Most of all I have space and freedom. What more could I want?" He sipped at his glass. "What about you? Anyone special back home?"
I groaned. "No, not at all. I went through a string of bad dates and decided I was done with that until the foreseeable future."
"They couldn't have been that bad."
I scoffed. "One guy showed up with his girlfriend."
"What?" He asked. "Why?"
"I guess they thought it would be a great way to get a threesome out of some naive girl. I bailed."
Peter laughed. "Okay, that's one bad date though. You can't give up after just one."
"Another guy went to kiss me and examined my mouth first. Like he full-on put a finger in my mouth to check out my teeth. Like I was a horse."
"Oh wow."
"The last date I went on the guy told me that I was beautiful and that I'd look really good in his basement. He tried to cover it up by saying he had a photo studio in it, but I was already up and out of there."
Peter pinched the bridge of his nose. "You have the worst luck of anyone I've ever met."
"That's what I'm saying!" I laughed. "I learned my lesson. No thank you to all of that. The internet is filled with weirdos and I'd rather be by myself forever than end up as an ornament in someone's basement."
Peter shook his head. "I agree with you on that one. Here's to staying single and not getting tangled up with any insanity."
We clinked our glasses together and sipped out of them at the same time. Peter wrapped an arm around the back of the couch and I resisted the urge to lean against him. I almost wished I could feel those fingers stroke my back and neck.
"So, is it hard running a ranch?" I asked to distract myself.
"Really hard work," he admitted. "I'm up early and back late most nights but it's worth it. I love raising my own food and giving my animals the best lives before they move on. Honestly, all of my cattle are ridiculously spoiled. I don't have time for much else when I have them."
I nodded. "I could understand that. It's like me being a nanny. Most days I'm around kids all day and night. When I do go home it's usually just for a short while to sleep and change and then I'm back at it again."
"Did you ever go to school to be a teacher?"
I nodded. "I finished too. I could technically be an elementary teacher, but I found nannying before I could ever start anywhere and I've been doing that ever since. I love it. Getting to have freedom and see their little faces light up when I walk through the door is the best."
Peter smiled at me and I felt my cheeks heating up again. How could he invoke such crazy responses with a single look?
I loved the way he spoke with so much passion about his life. It made me want to get closer to him. I wanted to know every little thing that he'd done since I'd been gone. I hadn't realized how much I missed him until I returned. Or maybe I knew all along and had stuffed it down along with the rest of my emotions.
"I really missed you," Peter whispered as he leaned toward me. "Why didn't you ever call?"
I swallowed thickly. "I was just so scared of getting stuck here and then the longer I didn't call, the more it felt like I didn't need to. Like no one would miss me."
"I missed you," he growled. "You should have known I would. You knew how much I cared about you. I was worried that something had happened to you. The only way I knew it hadn't was through the damn internet."
I felt his irritation but it was laced with something more. Heat stood behind his words and as awfu
l as I felt that I'd abandoned him I leaned toward him too. His hand captured the side of my neck and he pulled me close to him.
Peter's lips captured mine and I melted against him.
