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“Then we see each other when we can. I’ll come out here. You go to the Springs. We make the best of what we have.” He takes my hands in his. “I want whatever pieces of you I can have, Piper. If that means I get ten minutes of your lips every three months, then it’s better than not having them at all.”
“Because you’re hoping it’ll turn into more, and I can’t do that to you. You can’t waste anymore time on me. I’m a mess. Please.” I swipe my hand over my face and turn away. “I should go.”
He grips my waist and pulls me back into his chest. “Of course I hope it’ll turn into more. I hope someday you’ll need me the same way I need you. I hope you’ll tell your father what you feel. I hope you’ll—”
“I need you!” I holler. “You don’t think I need you? I can’t breathe when you’re gone! But what do I tell my family?”
“You tell them you’re in love with me. You tell them you want this orchard,” his hand lands on the side of my face, “and you tell them they’re welcome anytime.”
At home, alone with my thoughts, that option sounds like drinking chlorine. Here, in Romeo’s arms, everything sounds like ambrosia.
“You don’t have to decide right now, but please don’t leave.” There’s an ache in his voice. An ache I don’t have the power to deny.
“Do you remember last year when you took that online quiz to help you decide what you should major in?”
I nod. “And it came back that I should be a nurse?”
“And what did I tell you?” He thumbs a tear away from my face.
I smile. “That I hated the sight of blood?”
“No.” He kisses my forehead. “I said you knew you best. That you should follow your heart. If you were following your heart today, what would you do?”
I draw in a ragged breath. “I think we both know what I’d do.”
“I want to hear it.”
I sigh and stare up at him. “I’d run straight into your arms, and I wouldn’t look back. But—”
“But nothing.” His hand links into mine and I lay my head on his chest, allowing contentment to settle.
Maybe this is a storybook romance.
“How do you see the future of this place?” I ask, breathing in the scent of pine on his skin.
“Let’s see.” His voice rumbles. “Well, that orchard grows bigger. That grove of pines is set with a tree lot sign. And I’ll build a small barn out there where you can sell homemade sugar cookies in the winter and apple cider in the fall.” He clears his throat. “Of course, the yard will need a couple of kids, and maybe a dog. The stables I reckon could use some horses and the garden out back next to the windmill needs some tending. But that house… every fantasy I have is your pretty, little ass up in it,” he smiles, “tipped up on your toes kissing me, bent over the bed waiting for me, in the kitchen making me a sandwich with next to nothing on.”
“Ha. Ha.” I poke him in the ribs. “You’re hilarious.”
“I mean it, darling. You know I do.”
I glance toward him. “Romeo…”
“Yeah, Piper?”
“Take me inside.”
He bends into me, lifting me from the ground like he did earlier. “If I take you in, I might not let you out.”
I smile and lean against his shoulder, taking in his warmth as a cool breeze blows. “I think that’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
Chapter Ten
Romeo
Inside, the cabin has fared far better than I’d hoped. The same rough plywood shelves stand strong, the wooden bench by the front door is intact, and though the old black kettle on the stove is covered in cobwebs, it’s still there.
I hold Piper’s hand in mine explaining away the changes that need to be made to the cabin. The floorboards, the draft in the windows, a general clean up. I’m rambling, but she seems more interested in the trinkets on the shelves.
