Page 16 of Falling For You

“You surprise me.” He nodded slowly, not taking his gaze from mine. “Youreallysurprise me.”

“Is that supposed to be a compliment? Like no woman has ever surprised you before, and I’m the unicorn?”

A low, gravelly rumble of laughter erupted from Owen before he let out a sigh. “You definitely aren’t just a farm girl.”

“I’d be proud if I were,” I told him. “It’s an amazing thing to operate a farm, but I know my limits.”

“No, I believe it.” He pressed his lips together and shook his head. “I never meant to imply that working on a farm is less than…”

My brows lifted. “Yeah? Had me fooled.”

“I admire anyone who can do it.” He shrugged, and I saw a flicker of something I didn’t recognize dart through his gaze. “But I don’t have the patience for the seasons or the strength to carry on in down years. When I called you farm girl, it wasn’t meant to be condescending.” He sucked on his bottom lip for a brief second and returned his gaze to mine. “I just thought you were cute out there with that sheep.”

My eyes narrowed on his, and I laughed. “You knew Liddie was a llama the entire time, didn’t you?”

“Of course.” His smile widened. “I’m not an idiot.”

I chuckled and shook my head. “Could have fooled…”

He laughed and shook his head. “Don’t say it.”

I popped the last cheese curd in my mouth and smiled. “Well, you’ve surprised me too.”

“In a good way or a bad way?”

I chuckled, nodding my head. “I’m not sure yet, but I think in a good way. I can’t believe you knew Liddie was a llama.”

He nodded and let out a deep sigh. “It’s funny. I thought I’d come to this place, grab some dinneranda drink, and return to the hotel to scan over some legal documents before bed.”

I chuckled and shook my head. “What makes you think any of that is about to change?”

Owen nodded and glanced over at Evie and Liam. “No, I’ll still return to the hotel and work, but this…” He nodded.“Having a lovely conversation with a woman who keeps me on my toes… this was a pleasant surprise.”

My brows lifted in surprise. “We’ve argued back and forth most of the night.”

He shrugged. “I don’t think we argued. I think we sparred a little and hashed out our similar belief systems.”

I laughed and sipped my pop. “You’re delusional. We’re not similar.”

“I think we are.”

“Like I said, delusional. So, how long do you plan to be in Buttercup Lake?”

“At least three weeks.” He looked like he wished he could take the admission back.

“Three weeks?”

“At least.”

“And you’re staying at the hotel for three weeks?”

He nodded. “It’s funny. I actually thought about staying at your parents’ place.”

“It’s not just my parents’ lodge. The Honey Leaf Lodge is all of ours.”

“Well, I thought about staying there.”

“Why didn’t you?”

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