Page 81 of Head Over Spurs

It didn’t take long for Lucky to take the bait, snatching it from his hand. Having successfully distracted the foal, Riley turned back to face her.

“Here’s the thing, Jules. I’m the type of man that will never tire of what he loves.”

Her breathing hitched. “Love?”

“Love. I am head over spurs in love with you. Have been for some time. It turns out, it’s possible for someone to take up residence in your heart after a single night.”

Jules blinked up at him, her lips parted in surprise. He loved her. And it made her feel freer than she ever thought was possible. She felt light as air, her own affection for him bringing every inch of her body to life.

But he wasn’t done. Taking her chin in his hand, he said, “So, here’s my offer. A life in Sterling Ridge. A job. A relationship. You can have all of it or slice up the offer to accept the pieces you’d like. And it will all be here between shoots. A place to call home.”

Tears stung the corner of her eyes, and she blinked furiously up at his ruggedly handsome and wholly patient face.

“This includes the job you leave for in just a few days,” he added.

“You know about that?” She gaped. “I’m sorry, there just wasn’t a good time to tell you, I only found out?—”

Riley shook his head. “You don’t need to apologize to me. It’s your job, and you do it well.”

“I’m not going though.”

His eyebrows shot up in surprise. “You’re not?”

“It was a last-minute change on their end. And you were in the hospital when they were demanding an answer.”

She shifted her weight to lean further into his embrace. That feeling of unrestrained worry from yesterday came rushing back, and she wanted nothing more than to feel his sturdiness. Proof that he was as fine as he said.

Looking up at him, she studied the concerned pinch that didn’t often grace his features. His jaw tensed, and she dragged her thumb along it, willing it to loosen.

“Jules,” he rasped, turning his face to press a kiss into her palm. “Please tell me that you didn’t turn it down because of me.”

“I did,” she started, pressing a finger over his mouth as he tried to protest. “And I didn’t. I sat behind that ficus thinking about how I couldn’t imagine leaving if you needed me. I wanted to be here for you and to make sure you were okay. Then I also thought about what I’d say if you weren’t in the hospital. And I realized I still wouldn’t want it to leave. I’d miss you, and Lucky, and everyone and everything here. There will be other trips, I can go to Argentina any time. But I’m just starting to put down roots, to feel… home.”

She took a deep breath as Riley’s eyes shined back at her. “So, I accept. I want it all, everything you’re offering. I want the relationship and the job. A life and a home.”

Riley took her face in both hands and pulled her into anoxygen depriving kiss. His mouth consumed her with a hunger that spanned a year’s worth of waiting. And she melted right into it.

He claimed her with each crush of his lips, each pass of his tongue. And she planted her roots further with each whimper that escaped her. He dragged his mouth from hers, one hand continuing to cup her face, the other wrapping around to the back of her neck. His thumb swiped back and forth at the base of her skull, tangling in her wind-swept hair.

“I don’t want you to regret this,” he whispered. “I never wanted you to have to choose.”

Sunshine exploded in her chest. And she felt it slipping outward through her broad smile. “I know you didn’t. And that’s why it was the easiest choice I’ve ever made. You never made your love feel conditional, never put an ultimatum on the table. I knew I was free to make the choice I wanted. And what I chose was to stay with the man I love. I love you for that very reason and so much more. I can be reckless and wild with you, but I know you’ll never be reckless with my heart. So, it’s yours. It has been for a while.”

His arms wrapped around her waist and held her flush to his chest. His face dipped to tuck into her neck. Something like relief seemed to wash over him, his body relaxing against hers. “We’re doing this thing, then?”

She laughed against his collarbone, gathering her hands around the back of his neck. “Oh yeah, we’re doing this.”

37

JULES

One Month Later

“He doesn’t need us anymore,” she sniffed, throwing her bottom lip out in a pout.

A warm laugh rumbled in response. “That’s a good thing,” Riley reminded her, snaking an arm around her waist.

They stood like that, wrapped up together, at the edge of the pasture. It was a cool morning, the dew from the grass shimmering on their boots. The first hints of summer’s end.

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