Page 31 of Seduced By the Mountain Man

His eyebrows rose slightly. "The ceremony this morning?"

I nodded. "And the painting class. Lots of talk about perspective, about seeing things differently." I paused as a particularly spectacular firework lit up the sky. "About having the courage to change your view when the old one isn't serving you anymore."

"And what did you see when you changed your perspective?" he asked quietly, his voice barely audible over the crowd's cheers.

I turned to face him fully, my pulse hammering against my ribs. The moment stretched between us, electric with possibility.

"I saw that I've been an idiot," I said, the words tumbling out before I could stop them. "I saw that I've been so afraidof what everyone else might think, so focused on meeting expectations, that I've forgotten to ask myself what I actually want."

Another firework exploded overhead, casting us in golden light. Jace's eyes searched mine. "And what do you want, Dee?"

The question hung between us like a bridge I could either cross or burn. I thought about the ceremony this morning, about releasing expectations and claiming courage. About the kaleidoscope Margaret had shown us, how you had to turn it to see new patterns.

Time to turn.

"You," I said simply. "I want you. Not just for tonight, not just for this vacation. I want to see where this goes between us, consequences be damned. I want to stop being afraid of my own feelings."

His expression shifted, hope blooming across his features. "Delaney..."

"I love you," I continued, the words pouring out like water through a broken dam. "I think I always have, maybe since I was thirteen years old and you brought me that stupid rock from one of your hikes with Tyler. Definitely since Jackson Hole, when I finally got to see what it would be like to be with you and then had to pretend it never happened."

The fireworks continued exploding overhead, but I barely noticed. All my attention was focused on Jace's face, on the way his expression transformed from surprise to wonder to something so tender it made my chest ache.

"I love you too," he said, his voice rough with emotion. "God, Dee, I've been in love with you for so long I forgot what it felt like not to want you."

Before I could respond, he was cupping my face in his hands, his thumbs brushing away tears I didn't realize I'd shed.

"Come with me," he said, taking my hand. "I want to show you something."

He led me away from the crowd, along a path that wound behind the staff cabins to a small overlook I hadn't known existed. The view was breathtaking—the entire lake spread out below us, the fireworks reflecting in the water like fallen stars, the mountains silhouetted against the night sky.

"This is my favorite spot on the property," he said, settling onto the grass. "I come here when I need to think, to clear my head. I've been coming here every night since you arrived, trying to figure out how to tell you how I feel."

I sat beside him, close enough that our shoulders touched. "You didn't need to figure it out. You just needed to say it."

"Sometimes the simplest things are the hardest," he admitted, turning to face me. "Especially when you're afraid of losing something precious."

"Tyler?"

"Tyler. Your family's acceptance. Your friendship. You." His hand found mine, fingers intertwining. "But I realized something this week. I was so busy trying not to lose you that I never actually tried to have you."

Another round of fireworks burst overhead, the colors painting his face in shades of gold and crimson. I reached up to trace the line of his jaw, marveling at the way he leaned into my touch.

"What about Tyler?" I asked. "What about the complications?"

"We'll figure it out," he said simply. "Together. Maybe Tyler will surprise us. Maybe your parents will come around.Or maybe they won't, and we'll handle that too. But I'm done making decisions based on fear, Dee. I'm done walking away from what might be the best thing that's ever happened to me."

The sincerity in his voice, the certainty, made my chest feel full to bursting. "So what are you saying?"

"I'm saying let's stop analyzing and start living. Let's see where this takes us without trying to map out every step in advance." He smiled, that devastating half-smile that had been undoing me for years. "I'm saying let's be brave enough to fall, knowing we'll catch each other."

I was already leaning toward him when the sky exploded in the finale—a rapid-fire succession of fireworks that lit up the night like daylight. But I barely noticed, because Jace's lips were on mine, soft and sure and full of promise.

This kiss was different from our previous encounters—less desperate, more purposeful. A claiming and a surrender all at once. His hands tangled in my hair, and I pressed closer, pouring years of suppressed longing into the connection between us.

When we finally broke apart, glowing and breathless, the last echoes of the fireworks were fading over the lake.

"Stay with me tonight," he whispered against my lips. "Not just for sex, though God knows I want that too. Stay because you want to wake up in my arms. Stay because you're ready to stop running."

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