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“My mother gave it to me,” she says softly. “She always called me her shining star.”

I bend down and kiss her collarbone beneath it, and she gasps. She shifts her hips slightly, rubbing against me, and I shift mine back in return. We build into a rhythm, and my vision starts to blur from the arousal and anticipation. Her hand slides into my boxers, running the length of me, and all I want in the world is to be inside her, to come inside her.

“Do you have a condom?” she asks, and I smile and retrieve one from the drawer of my nightstand. I wasn’t about to force myself on her, but I also didn’t think it wise to invite a woman into my home with the prospect of marrying her and not take proper precautions. I tear open the condom and slide it on, and Sophia takes my face in her palms and looks me in the eye.

I’m struck by the wonder of being here with her. I’ve been with other women but never has it felt so unprecedented and surprising. What began in a rush of adrenaline has faded into a glorious ache and longing, not just for sex, but for everything.

I want you, I mean to say, but when I open my mouth what comes out is different. “I love you,” I say, and her eyes widen, and she laughs.

Shit. I shouldn’t have said that. It sounds like a line, even though I’m increasingly sure that it isn’t, and now—

Sophia props herself up on her elbows and kisses me hungrily. I slide off her panties, and we’re pressing together, nothing between us. Our mouths part and we both groan in tandem.

And then finally, miraculously, I’m inside her, and we’re moving together, slowly at first, and then faster and faster. She calls my name, and I whisper hers, and we’re building together until I’m blinded to everything but the grand crescendo of our bodies breaking apart as we finish together.

We lie on top of the covers; Sophia nestled perfectly in my arms, as we both catch our breath. I bring one hand up and stroke the outside of her breast, and she closes her eyes, her hair falling naturally across my chest.

And then I remember what I said. It probably sounded like I was just trying to seal the deal, though I was already wearing the damn condom, so I don’t know why I would have needed to. I love you. Those words feel right, and I’m confident that I meant them. I’m not sure what to say now. Should I say that it’s okay if she doesn’t feel the same? Because it doesn’t feel okay. It feels like if she decides she could never love me and goes back to Ireland and I never see her again that my life will be empty, desolate, in a way that I never realized it was. I’m not sure I’ll ever recover.

God, is that what I should say?

“What do we do about the bear?” Sophia asks.

I clear my throat. “I’ll call a ranger. They’ll come up and take a report and have animal services haul the body away. They’ll investigate, make sure everything lines up with our story.”

Sophia snuggles closer. “Will you get in trouble?”

“No. It’s illegal to hunt bear, but you can kill just about anything that threatens your life. And you weren’t doing anything wrong, just throwing a ball for the dog.” I hold her tight in my arms.

That reminds me…I look up to see Cocoa melted into a golden puddle in the doorway. She looks up when she sees me watching, and wags her tail tentatively.

I really need to teach that damn dog to run in the face of danger, but I’m not sure there’s any amount of training that would override her instinct to protect her own. I’m just glad that this time she made it out unscathed.

“Where’d you learn how to shoot like that?” Sophia asks.

“Practice,” I say. “With a shotgun, you don’t have to be as accurate, but I don’t like wandering off in the brush with no way to defend myself. At least not far. I keep it locked up the rest of the time, though. I’m no gun nut.”

She nods. “Clearly it’s necessary. And I need to learn how to take care of myself, obviously. All I could do was stand there and freeze.”

“I can order you some pepper spray,” I tell her. “Works pretty good on a charging bear.”

She smiles. “You think I’m likely to have another encounter in the next two and a half weeks? Just how many bears live on your mountain?”

I can’t breathe. I don’t want to make her feel like she’s obligated to me. Yeah, I paid for her to come over here, let her make herself at home in the house, order things to make her comfortable. But she doesn’t owe me anything. She can go back to Ireland if she wants.

I just don’t want her to, and I know what that means.

“Do you think you’ll want to leave?” I find myself asking.

She’s quiet for a moment. “No. Do you think you’ll want me to?”

“No,” I blurt out.

We both hold each other, and I look out the window and see a blue jay watching us curiously from a pine tree. I suppose he didn’t have to go to much effort to see us.

I need to ask her to marry me, beg her to stay here and be my wife. But the words catch in my throat, and in the end, it’s Sophia who’s brave.

“If you wanted, I’d marry you and stay here with you.”

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