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“Thank you.” She appreciated the thought. And the help. No doubt she should have reported her mother long ago, but underneath all the difficult, convoluted feelings she had for her mom, she loved her.
In the future, she would need to draw better boundaries if she ever resumed a relationship with her, but for now, Josie felt grateful to have a life of her own. A future that could include Cal.
Most of all, she was so glad to know that he was beside her from this day forward. She wondered how she’d gotten so lucky to have him in her life. A man of Calvin Ramsey’s principles would never change his mind about this. About her.
The giddiness of the joy made her light-headed as he pulled her against him again.
“I should message my agent to update him about that situation,” Cal said softly against her hair as he kissed the top of her head. “But before I do that, I think we should talk about what happens next for us. Because nothing’s more important, or more pressing, than making sure you know how much I care for you.”
Her feelings bloomed like a spring garden, filling her up. She glanced up at him.
“I feel the same way.” She didn’t want to hide the truth of her emotions, even if Cal didn’t return them yet. “I’m in love with you, Cal. That’s why it pained me so much to know how deeply I’d hurt you.”
He cradled her face in his hands, a new tenderness in his gaze.
“I love you, Josie. If I didn’t feel that way about you, today wouldn’t have hurt so damned much in the first place.” He kissed one cheek, and then the other. “But I don’t want to think about what went wrong anymore. I want to focus on the future. Together.”
Her heart overflowed with happiness. With love.
“I’d like that, too.” Tears stung her eyes to think about how lucky she was to have a second chance at this. To be with someone who could forgive the mistakes she’d made. “So much.”
“But what if I get a call to join a team tomorrow?” he asked, studying her carefully. “Will you be happy following me around the country while I play? Would you like a home base in Last Stand? Or in whatever city my team is based in?”
“I want to be wherever you are, as often as that’s possible.” She felt like the whole world was opening up to her. “But I could be very happy in Last Stand whenever we can be here.”
She would like getting to know his mother better. Spending more time with Everett or helping out at the farm.
“I want to spend more time here, too. If I don’t hear from a team, I’d be ready to build a home for us this summer.”
“But I’m going to hope that you get a call.” She didn’t want to start their future together with the cloud of how she’d possibly tainted his image hanging over them.
“My record speaks for itself,” he assured her. “Either they want me or they don’t, and I’m going to be okay with that.” He stroked a stay hair behind her ear. “I mean it. I just want you to be happy, Josie.” He leaned closer, and this time his lips slanted across hers for a long, lingering kiss. “All the time.”
“I know one surefire thing that would make me happy,” she confessed, her body coming alive under his touch. “And when you kiss me that way, I can’t think about anything else.”
Cal’s soft laugh sent a different kind of pleasure through her. A certainty that they could make this work. A confidence that they could carry each other through whatever the future might bring.
“In this case, maybe we should table the rest of this discussion until we celebrate everything we’ve figured out so far. I don’t want you to be too distracted to focus.” He slid his hands around her waist, tunneling under her T-shirt. “You think some time under the sheets will help take the edge off?”
“I do.” Already, her breath came faster, need for this man setting her fingers in motion to explore the hard planes of his body. “After the emotional roller coaster of this morning, I feel like we need to hit the reset button. Start with sex. End with pie. Solve the world’s problems in between.”
Cal didn’t laugh this time. He was already carrying her toward the staircase, his expression intent. For her part, Josie wrapped her arms around him and held on tight, very ready to celebrate a new beginning.
The End
