Page 48 of Nashville Lights

I sit up and take her in my arms, gazing into her eyes, kissing her plush mouth. “I love you, Tuck. Move in with me. Don’t you dare leave me, darlin’, or I’ll hunt you down and make sweet love to you until you agree to come home.”

18

Home.

Two days ago, I was trapped in the zone of wondering if something was wrong with me, if maybe there was a glitch in my ability to connect with anyone romantically. The few dates I did manage to go on always crashed and burned almost immediately. I was starting to think I might end up alone, because no one has ever compared to my long-ago first crush.

Right now I’m reeling.

I’m in love. Hard deep and for real.

And I’m already talking about moving in with him because I’ve always suspected and now Iknowhe’s the love of my freaking life.Oh, and we’re also playing with fire because we had unprotected sex all night long.

It’s a lot.

Nate gets my bag out of my truck for me and I put on a white cotton sundress and my cowboy boots.

“We can leave your truck here,” he says.

“You want me to come with you to pick up Daisy?”

Nate’s putting the dishes from breakfast into the dishwasher, wearing only jeans with a dishtowel thrown over his sculpted, suntanned shoulder—just when I thought he couldn’t get any hotter—but my question makes him stop what he’s doing and come over to me.

He’s quiet for a few seconds, gazing down at me thoughtfully. He smooths a lock of my hair and I notice again how big he is. He’s a good six or seven inches taller than me and probably outweighs me by two to one. He’s rough when he wants to be but right now he’s so gentle with me, it almost brings tears to my eyes.

“Roxie, I want you to come with me wherever I go. But you don’t have to come with me to pick up Daisy. You can go to the lodge and we’ll meet you there if you want. Everyone will be there, getting ready for the hoedown.”

“What time is it?”

“Now? It’s almost two. The hoedown starts at three. Listen, I get that this is a two-for-one deal. Which isn’t what you signed up for.”

“Where’s the paperwork? I’ll sign up now.”

There’s something heart-breaking about his smile.

“Seriously, Nate, I understand what I’m getting into.Daisy’s your family now. Which means she’s my family too.” I didn’t know two days ago that I was about to fall head-first into a ready-made family, and I don’t exactly know how to feel about all of it, but I’m willing to take this as it comes. “I’ve fallen in love with Daisy too. She’s my tiny little kindred spirit.”

He stares at me for a long moment. “Thank you,” he whispers, kissing me softly. For a big, rough alpha male, he can be so careful. “Besides, I would hate to send you into the hoedown lion’s den alone. I think it’s better if we go together and I can be your buffer.”

“So…we’re doing the hard launch?” I cringe. My night of hot sex with Nate Boone is about to be Sugar Falls’ favorite topic.

His amber eyes are bright. “I say bring it on. We’ll definitely be the hot gossip of the day. But by tomorrow it’ll be old news and they’ll be back to discussing who got tipsy at the sewing circle.”

I can’t help but smile. “Okay. Let’s do this.”

It’s a beautiful day. Our drive along the country roads couldn’t be more scenic. But my stomach is full of butterflies at the thought of facing everyone.

Nate takes my hand. “Hey. Don’t worry about a thing, Tuck. You’ve got me now. I’ll handle everything.”

You’ve got me now.It’s pretty crazy when your dream actually comes true.

We pull up in front of a house with pink balloonsdecorating the mailbox, the porch and the front door. The table on the front porch has eight or nine little girls dressed in pink sitting around it. A woman is pouring pink lemonade into pink plastic cups. The woman waves. Even the woman is dressed in pink.

“Daisy is among her people,” I laugh.

As soon as we pull up, Daisy jumps up from the table and runs down the steps, a little pink and blond blur. “Uncle Nate!” She leaps into his arms.

Then she sees me get out of the truck.

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