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His cheeks actually tinged pink as his smile widened. “Then maybe I should wait till we get you home to tell you the rest of my thoughts when you can thank me properly.”
For that, she smacked his arm lightly with her free hand. “Comedian. What else have you got up your sleeve?”
“My studio is going to be one of those properties encroaching on natural habitats.”
She nodded. That was only one of the reasons she was originally against the idea of his using the land for a movie studio.
“I’ve asked Devlin to look into buying more surrounding land. This will make it easier to create a buffer zone around the studio. Keep the area a safe habitat for owls and other creatures. Plant more trees. Build owl houses. Plant more low-growing grasses or whatever rodents and other members of the food chain like to live in.”
“I hate to keep saying really. Is wow okay?” Her heart was expanding in her chest with his every word. What had she ever done in her life to be rewarded with a man like Craig Baron falling in love with her?
“You two had quite the day?” Lila Baron looked up from the lacy crochet project in her lap.
The Governor set his newspaper on the table beside him. Some days Craig was convinced his grandfather was the last person on the planet who still read his news on paper and not online. “I heard they think the owl trouble was just kids.”
“That’s what the officer told us at the vet. When we went back to the site, the other officers confirmed that they’d found nothing to suggest otherwise.”
“Though we did get some additional good news for the studio project.” Squeezing his hand, Kate grinned with more enthusiasm than he’d expected from someone who originally was not at all happy with his plans for the property. “Now that the owls are not nesting, they’re no longer an impediment to the project.”
He inched closer to her, knowing he’d never be able to get close enough, but simply didn’t want to let her go.
“Makes sense,” his grandmother said.
“Yes.” Kate leaned her shoulder against him, silently communicating that she felt the same way about him. “And there’s good news on the bat front. Whether it was merely timing or all the commotion, we can’t be sure of, but the last of the hibernating bats is no longer hibernating. By the time construction is ready to begin, the bats should all have left the nest.”
“Oh, that is good news.” Grams leaned over to scratch behind the ears of the growing puppy at her side. “Despite the rocky start, this is turning out to be a glorious day.”
“And that’s not all.” Still leaning against him, Kate let go of his hand and looped her arm around him. “My contact at Fish and Game says that the new guy has been reassigned without any repercussions for us after having moved the owl ourselves without permission.”
Grams slapped her hands together and almost bounced out of her seat. “And the good news keeps coming!”
“Yes.” The Governor nodded, then winked at Craig. There was no need for words. Both he and his grandfather knew darn well that his connections and name had most likely been at the crux of getting Mr. Rules-are-Rules reassigned and out of their hair.
And right now, Craig didn’t even care if Ted came back. To his surprise, he didn’t even care about the studio project. All he cared about was that Kate had saidI love youback.
“Did you two have dinner?” his grandmother asked. “I can have Hazel warm something up for you.”
“As a matter of fact, that’s what we were hoping for.” Craig pulled away from Kate and leaned over to kiss his grandmother on the cheek before straightening and once again taking firm hold of Kate’s hand. “I’ll let Hazel know we’re going to eat on the veranda.”
The evening was the perfect blend of crisp and warm for sitting outside. Besides, he liked the idea of being able to relax on a sofa that would accommodate both of them sitting close without a console between them.
Nestled on the outdoor sofa closest to the corner and away from the large windows, he draped his arm over her shoulder and kissed her cheek. “I wish we could stay here like this and didn’t have to let go of you.”
“Ditto. But it would make doing either of our jobs just a pinch difficult.”
“Would it be awful of me to say I don’t care?”
She shook her head. “Only because I feel the same way.”
“Good. Because we’re going to incorporate more habitat preservation policies into the studio design. Save the owls.”
“And the bats.” She grinned.
“And the bats.” He kissed her temple. “And then I’m going to do my darndest to prove to you that I’m the perfect man for you.”
Her fingers splayed across his chest, her chin tipped upward leveling her gaze with his. So much emotion danced in her eyes. “That won’t be very hard. I already know all I need to know about you. I love you.”
“Say that again.” He kissed the tip of her nose.
