Page 91 of Country Charm

Hunter doesn’t waste a moment before kissing me again. His lips twist against mine and demand mine to open, but not submit. I do, I open to him, and his tongue sweeps in moving with mine in a carnal nature. He demands my attention but gives me space to make movements or even take the lead. There is deliberation but with caution.

A sensation starts in my chest, a warm blossom. It feels like sunflowers opening and turning to the sun. It feels like your first steps into warm, beachy waters on a sunny day. It feels like a knit blanket wrapped around your shoulders and a cup of tea in your hands. This feeling spreads from my chest to every part of my body; it travels through my veins and has my hair standing on end. It’s something I’ve never felt before.

When we break away, I look into his sea-blue eyes and see that they are misted.

“I love you, Cassidy Walker.”

I choke on a breath.

“I love how deeply you care for your friends. I love the way that big, beautiful brain thinks things through, even if silently. I love how you read ten books at once and know exactly what’s going on in each of them. I love how your face scrunches up when you’re reading intensely. I love the way you dance in your chair after the first bite of something good. I love your sense of humor. I love the way you laugh at your own jokes. I love that you are the big spoon. I love that you want a new job with bigger opportunities. Damn it, Cassidy, I loved the way you looked holding Rose tonight. I love it all, and I can’t go another day without telling you.”

I’m a mess today. The tears haven’t stopped, and I feel like they won’t anytime soon. When my only boyfriend told me he loved me, I just said it back. There wasn’t a second thought. Now that I’m standing here with Hunter, I realize that before, those were just words.

The feeling I have in my chest. The feeling I have when I’m in his arms. The feeling I have when I look at him from afar or up close. That’s it.

“I love you, too.” I can barely hear myself. The wind sounds louder than my profession. I’m afraid he hasn’t heard me. So, I look him directly in the eyes, and I see a warm, joyous look. He heard me, but that doesn’t matter.

“I love you.” I kiss him and he lifts me off my feet. I run my hands through his hair, and we kiss in this perfect flower field surrounded by fireflies.

“Take me home, Country Charm,” I whisper along the seam of his kiss-swollen lips.

He squeezes me tightly in his arms, bringing his lips to my ear, “You already are."

Epilogue

Hunter

One year later

“Sora climbs the tower, each stone biting her fingertips, but she doesn’t stop. Blood slides into her palms but she ignores it. When she finally reaches the ledge, she pulls herself over and heaves deep, heavy breaths as quietly as she can,” Cassidy reads aloud to an empty room.

I come around the door frame to see her laid back on the chaise, a pillow under her feet, and another atop her stomach. Her book is set on top of that, but one hand is under the pillow. I assume she’s rubbing her round belly; she’s been rubbing that thing like a magic lamp since she found out she was pregnant.

Cassidy continues to read, unaware she’s being observed. I find her in the library on the days she doesn’t greet me in the kitchen or outside. She’s too lost in her books to recognize time. She reads and rubs, and I witness her loving and growing life.

“She’s stabbed in her left leg and unable to crawl anyfurther. Tristan stands over her, his dagger drips with her blood. He stares at her for what feels like an eternity before the sound of a drop of blood hitting his boot pulls him back to reality. ‘I didn’t hit an artery, lay still and it will be a minor wound,’ he tried to coax her.”

I chuckle and Cassidy’s head snaps up to see me. Her head whips over to the clock and then back at me.

“Oh shit, I didn’t realize it was already time for supper. Sorry, love.” She places a mark in her book, sets it aside, and then slowly rises from her seat, letting the pillow fall to the floor. A tank dress hugs her curves, exaggerating her pregnant middle.

I’m about to step into the room to help her up, but a look that is as sharp as the dagger in that book is shot at me.

Stubborn as ever.

Once she’s next to me she steps up to her tippy toes and kisses my stubbled jaw.

“Harrison is bringing a guest for dinner, better go wash up,” she tells me. This is news to me. We work together, how could she know my brother is bringing someone to dinner before me?

“What are you reading to our unborn spawn?” I inquire, dodging the subject of Harrison, for now.

“Love Sheathed in Rivalry,” she says dreamily. I roll my eyes and she laughs. “Baby spawn sleeps best to enemies-to-lovers romance. Erotica wakes them up.”

I shake my head and she laughs harder. “Come on, Country Charm, you need a shower and I need to throw dinner in the oven.” Cassidy starts to walk past me, but I scoop her up into my arms and she squeals with delight.

“Shower with me,” I say against the flesh on her neck. She shivers and tries to push away from me, but Ihold her tight.

“No, we have guests coming,” she argues.

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