Page 79 of A Montana Fake Marriage

Sammie shot Caleb a surprised look. He shrugged, his grin wide.

Sammie had been so worried to return back to Sagebrush. She’d thought Caleb’s family would hate her for leaving him—for leaving all of them without much of a goodbye. But as her mother-in-law held onto her, she slowly started to accept that she’d been wrong.

Tana pulled back, placing her hands on either side of Sammie’s face. Her eyes locked with Sammie’s. “I never thought the two of you were over. I knew you’d come back.” Her eyes darted to Caleb’s. “He was too much in love with you to let you go.”

Sammie’s skin prickled, and heat flushed through her body. She’d been too blinded to accept that Caleb might still want to be with her after she’d offended him. More than that, she hadn’t believed she was good enough for a kind man like him.

His hand slipped into hers, and he squeezed. She drew comfort from his touch. They were still married. They were still together.Caleb still had the ability to set her world on fire with just one look, and all she wanted to do was spend the rest of her life with him.

Tana released her, glancing between the two of them. “I’ll let you get settled, and then we’ll see the both of you for supper.”

Caleb nodded, and Tana stepped aside to allow him to lead Sammie to their bedroom.

“Oh, Caleb? Sammie?”

They stopped and faced Caleb’s mother.

Her smile was brighter than before. “Does this mean we can break ground on the house we planned?”

Caleb glanced over to Sammie, and a flutter ripped through her. They’d been married for a year, and yet their relationship still felt so new. Her insides churned with the anticipation of what this would mean for them. It was subtle, and she wasn’t sure Caleb noticed, but she gave him a short nod.

Then he brought her hand to his lips and nodded to his mother. “If the plans are ready, then so are we.” Caleb took Sammie’s duffle from her free hand and jerked his chin toward the stairs. “Shall we?”

She couldn’t put a finger on why there was so much anticipation for what might happen next. After they’d made up the night before, she’d opted to stay one final evening with Lacey. It was too late to move her things, anyway, and she’d felt she needed to sleep on her decision to return to Sagebrush.

She didn’t want to make a rash decision just because she missed him.

Now, with each step they took to ascend the stairs, she couldn’t stop her nerves from attacking her heart.

Caleb pushed the door open and waited for her to enter.

Their room looked exactly the same. Even the cot was pushed up against the wall. Caleb shut the door behind them and dropped the duffle bag on the floor. He came up behind her, his arms coming around her waist as he brushed a kiss to the side of her neck.

Sammie’s shiver of pleasure nearly shook her body. She closed her eyes and sucked in a shuddering breath before turning to face him.

He stared down at her, his arms still around her waist. “I love you so much, Sammie.”

“I know,” she whispered. “And I love you.”

Caleb tightened his hold on her with his left arm while lifting her chin with the hook of his right finger. He stared into her eyes, searching. His fingers shifted to her hair, tucking the strands behind her ear. “If I could do it all over again, I would have done it all over again.”

She lifted a brow. “All of it?” There was some teasing in her tone and yet a curiosity regarding the events that had torn them apart.

His eyes found hers. “If it got me back to you, then yes. All of it.” Caleb dipped his face closer to hers. “Even the hardships. Without them, I wouldn’t have learned a valuable lesson.”

“And what’s that?” Her breath hitched.

“That you’re more important than my insecurities. You’re more important than my judgments. You’ve become everything to me.”

She scoffed.

Caleb tsked and shook his head, a smile stretching his lips wider. “You might not believe me, but I’m being deadly serious. I won’t let you get away again. This is it, Sammie. You and me. Forever.”

His lips crushed over hers as he pulled her into him again. She reached up and pushed her fingers into his hair as she continued to cling to him. There was no promise of money, of an easy life before them, and yet he was promising himself to her.

Sammie’s father couldn’t have been more wrong about Caleb. Everything he’d said about Caleb sounded so ridiculous now. She’d been a fool to believe it.

Now, as his lips caressed her heated skin, she could finally accept that there was someone in her life that loved her for who she was as an individual and not what she brought to the table.

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