Page 83 of Head Over Spurs

Quickly dabbing her hair dry, she threw on hershould’ve been a cowgirlsweatshirt and flared leggings. Throwing open the door, Jules was greeted by a deliciously savory smell drifting through the air. She followed it through the cabin, crossing the bedroom into the living room.

From there, she could see into the kitchen where Riley was lighting two ivory taper candles. Around the candles, flower petals scattered the table. And behind him, a row of black, fancy take out containers lining the kitchen counter. She recognized the restaurant containers from Sterling Vineyards, the familiarity of the smell suddenly dawning on her. He’d gotten her favorite meal from the winery.

“What’s the occasion?” she breathed, stepping through the archway of the kitchen.

Glancing up from candles, the corner of his mouth twitched. “I may have done some snooping.”

“On what?”

“You.”

A surprised laugh escaped her as Jules leaned against the kitchen counter. “How so?”

“Well,” Riley drawled, putting down the lighter and closing the distance between them. He settled his hands on her waist and tugged her flush against him. “I went looking for the exact date you were originally supposed to leave. When the Argentina trip was first planned for.”

She blinked up at him. “It was probably right about now,” Jules realized aloud.

“Yesterday, actually.”

He dropped a kiss to the tip of her nose, his hands skating up her sides. When her brow pinched in confusion, his smile tipped higher.

“I wanted to celebrate the first official day you were here past what was originally planned. And that’s today. Today is the day you were supposed to be gone from my life again, a day I would have spent holed up with my misery. But instead, I get to hold you in my arms and tell you how much I love you, and how happy I am that you stayed.”

A giggle escaped her as he nipped at her lips. She cupped his jaw in both hands, pulling him into a long, breathless kiss. She poured all her love for him into it, sinking deeper under the wave of bliss that crushed her.

Pulling back, she opened her eyes to lock onto his molten gaze.

“Are you sure you made the right choice?” he asked, a nervous edge catching the end of the question.

“I’ve never been surer of anything in my life. I love you, and our wild bunch.”

EPILOGUE

JULES

Two Years Later

The steady patter of rain against canvas had acted as a lullaby in the early morning hour. She lay there, listening contently until the drizzle seemed to dissipate. After waiting through a moment of silence to be sure, she carefully snuck from the bedroll and tugged on her flannel jacket and beanie.

Collecting her camera bag next, she slipped on her shoes and disappeared out into the gray morning light. All around the wild camp, mountains towered over her in dense, vibrant greenery. She crossed the sandy fire pit before the tent and made her way to the electric-blue river they were set up on. Argentina Patagonia was a breathtaking region, and she’d filled two memory cards in record time upon their arrival.

Kneeling down, Jules found a smooth, flat rock and plucked it between her fingers. With the perfect flick of her wrist, she skipped it across the top of the water before her. It was nice to slow down and savor a region this time around.

There was no shoot list, no one she was here working for. Itwas just about what she wanted to do—and what her husband wanted to do. This was their honeymoon after all.

Jules smiled down at the simple gold band on her left ring finger as she selected another rock. This one skipped two more times than the last.

“That was a good one.”

She turned at the sound of Riley’s deep, raspy, morning voice that was still scratchy from sleep.

He was devastatingly handsome, his dark golden mustache twitching in amusement as his eyes, that matched the surrounding landscape, gleamed at her.

“Good morning,” she greeted him with a kiss as he reached her and took her in his arms.

“Morning, wild thing,” Riley replied.

His own gold band was cool against her neck as he wrapped her in his embrace. She snuggled against him, peppering his jaw with kisses.

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