Page 80 of Home Hearts Hooves

“Yeah. I do. I love you, too,” he says, and he kisses me again, only this time it’s deeper. His lips press hard against mine, and his tongue finds its way into my mouth as his hand slips around my lower back and pulls me tight.

“Dad, what are we having for dinner?” Poppy calls, and he pulls away. The kiss is over way too fast, but it’s no less perfect.

“Just a minute,” he calls back and then cups the side of my face in his hand and kisses me twice more, quickly. “I really should go, but we’ll see you in the morning, and then we’ll continue this conversation tomorrow night.”

“There’s more to the conversation?” I ask, and he smirks.

“Oh yes, lots more.”

“Really?”

He leans in close to whisper in my ear, his hand slipping behind my neck and sending a shiver down my spine.

“We’ve said the words, but now I want to show every inch of your body with my tongue just how much I love you.”

“Urgh, can’t it be tomorrow already?”

“Don’t worry, the wait will be worth it. Promise,” he says, kissing me one last time and jogging up the stairs.

I climb into my truck, my pants uncomfortably tight after Preston’s little tease. But it’s okay. I can wait. I’ve been crushing on Preston since high school. What’s one night?

EPILOGUE

DEAN

FOREVER STARTS WITH CHOCOLATE PIE

“Poppy,comeandgetMiss Moo, you know she’s not allowed in the house,” I call, and a moment later her stomps sound along with Cuddles clip-clopping along the wooden floorboards. I shove Miss Moo’s head away from the bowl of whipped cream I’m holding just before her long pink tongue comes out, and thankfully, she catches only air. At twelve months old, Miss Moo is not that far off being full-grown in terms of size, and I’ll probably never know how she managed to squeeze into the kitchen past the dining table without me hearing her. This isn’t the first time, and no matter how many times I tell Poppy to keep her outside, I expect this isn’t the last I’ll be seeing this strawberry blonde cow in my house.

“Sorry, I thought she was in my room,” Poppy says, pausing for a moment in the doorway as I dodge another attempt by her cheeky cow.

“Your room is in the house, isn’t it?”

“Gunther is allowed in the house,” she pouts.

“Gunther sleeps with Houdini, and has done since the day he was born. Miss Moo belongs with her mom. Please take her out, she’s getting hungry.”

“Fine. Come on, Miss Moo,” Poppy says, grabbing the rhinestone collar she bought for her and leading her out of the kitchen door.

“My word, what is a cow doing in my kitchen?” I hear Sally-May ask, and I shake my head. I should have sent them out the front. Sally-May’s container home sits right behind the house, and of course, she picks that moment to come out.

“Sorry, Sally-May, I don’t know how she got in there. I’m taking her home now,” Poppy replies, and by some miracle, I watch out the kitchen window as Sally-May just smiles and nods at Preston’s mischievous child.

“Does Sally-May know you’re in here?” Preston’s smooth voice asks as he wraps his hands around my waist from behind and presses a kiss to my neck.

“Yes, she gave me fifteen minutes and told me to make it look like I was never here, so don’t distract me or I’ll run out of time.”

“What are you making?”

“No-bake chocolate pie.”

“Sounds yummy.”

“It better be. I’m facing the toughest critic there is.”

“Sally-May?”

“No, your daughter.”

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