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And there went all hope that she’d seen him sneak out and followed him so they could talk. “It’s a little crowded in there.”
Everly looked down and scraped the toe of her heeled shoe over the new grass. “Tell me about it. Being around this many people on a regular basis is going to take some getting used to.”
Blake couldn’t help the pull he felt toward her. He wanted to put his arms around her, but there was something between them keeping him at a distance.
“I’m sorry.” He had to force the words through his tight throat, and his apology had the distinct ring of a plea.
Everly bit her lips between her teeth and took a deep breath. “I know. I haven’t wanted to talk about it because I haven’t really sorted out how I feel about what you and Ridge told me.”
“That’s understandable. It was a lot to process. Still, I know keeping it from you was wrong, and I’m sorry I hurt you.”
Everly stepped toward him, and he opened his arms to her. She laid her head on his chest and hugged his waist. Suddenly, all the heaviness of the last few days melted away.
“I know you were trying to help me. I can understand that. I just hate that you and Ridge didn’t think I was strong enough to handle it. Maybe I wasn’t strong enough, but I want to be.”
“You are,” Blake said quickly. “And I should have told you either way. I was wrong.”
Everly looked up at him. Her expression was tired. Was he the cause of her exhaustion, or was it because of the extra hours she’d been putting in to get things ready for the wedding?
“I trust you. This is just one incident, and I know your intentions were good.”
“No secrets,” Blake said.
“I can handle the truth, no matter what it is.” Everly tilted her head from side to side. “Well, maybe I can handle anything as long as you’re beside me.”
Blake nodded, feeling like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. “Always. I promise.”
Everly squinted, bracing for something that might hurt. “Are you leaving when Ridge goes?”
“No,” Blake said quickly.
“Why would you stay? You can’t keep that big house on your own. Ridge is your best friend. You can go anywhere. You can have anything. Everything.”
Blake cupped her face with his hands, barely threading his fingers into her hair. “Almost everything. I’m completely incomplete without you.”
Everly blinked hard but held his stare. “Are you sure?” she whispered.
“I’m not going unless you’re going. If you’re going, then I’m going too.”
“Are you saying you’d be okay with either option? What would you rather do?” she asked.
“I want to do whichever one you choose. It’s all about you. I’m all about you. My life is yours now. That’s what I choose. I choose you.”
He’d keep saying it, reaffirming his decision to stand beside her, as long as it took for her to understand that she was it for him.
“I want to stay here, but I don’t want you to feel like I’m holding you back. Now that I know you quit your job and moved here not just for my brother, but for me too, I would hate knowing I held you back again.”
Blake leaned in and let his thumbs brush against the smooth skin of her jaw. Her lips were barely an inch from his. “You’ve never held me back. You’re my future. Everything to come is yours. You didn’t take anything from me. I wanted to be with you even then. It’s always been you.”
Everly’s lips parted, and he pressed his mouth to hers, erasing the doubt with a force that had been building for years. The breath he’d been inhaling stopped, frozen in time as Everly tightened her hold on him. He kissed her until he was sure they were one person, moving and blending together the way they were always meant to.
Suddenly, Everly pulled back. She touched her lips and looked up at him. Shock and awe filled her wide eyes.
Blake drew in deep lungfuls of air as he waited. He’d almost slipped off a bluff on the far western end of the ranch once, and the helplessness and panic of this moment was eerily close to facing a fifty-foot drop.
Before he could speak, Everly wrapped her arms around his neck, pulling him down and crashing her mouth to his again. The urgency of her kiss had his head spinning, and he wrapped his arms around her to steady himself to her, anchoring them to the ground.
The creak of the door broke the moment, and Everly fell away from him in an instant. Everly smoothed her hair as she turned to see who had caught them wrapped up in their earth-shattering first kiss.
