Page 120 of Always Meant for You
To be in his arms.
Tonight, I want to be held by the man who makes me feel safe and cherished. And let the rest wait a little while longer.
Chapter Twenty-Two
CAL
I stare at the four pink numbers on the whiteboard and cap the dry erase marker.
1475
The count continues, but maybe not for long.
I smile as a purring fluff ball brushes past my ankles.
“You’re up early, aren’t you, little one?”
Mabel the Cat meows once before letting me lift her into my arms. I carry her to the window, scratching beneath her chin as the first edge of sunlight rises past the field. The horizon glows, and for the first time in a long time, I don’t brace against it.
That’s saying something because it’s Saturday. The first Saturday farmers’ market.
And I’m not facing it alone.
The floorboard creaks, and my grin widens.
“I wondered where you went, Callan Horner.”
That voice softens everything inside me. I turn, and there she is, standing in my doorway with sleep still tugging at her lashes and her phone in her hand.
Mabel. My Mabel.
She’s wrapped in my bedsheet, hair tousled, lips pink and swollen from kissing me.
It’s been ten days. Ten days of her in my house, in my bed, in every breath I take. And already, I can’t imagine my life without her.
She steps into the office and places her phone on the desk. “So, you’ve traded me in for another blue-eyed girl?”
I set Mabel the Cat on the chair and reach for the woman I ache to touch. “Mabel the Cat is charming, but she doesn’t smell like lavender.”
Mabel tilts her head, her smile lazy and warm. “Is that your way of saying you missed me?”
“I miss you every time I blink.”
I brush a strand of hair from her forehead, and she leans into my hand. I lower my head, breathe her in, and brush a kiss against her mouth. She tastes like sleep and home. She lets me linger before easing back.
She studies me. “Are you ready for today?”
I wrap my arms around her waist, pulling her closer. “I am.”
She holds my gaze. “Me too. We’re good.”
Thousands follow her Eat Elverna posts. And yeah, part of me knows that, when it comes to social media, it’s easier to tap a heart or post a comment than to show up in person. But I believe they’ll come. She’s piqued their interest. She’s made them believe in this place.
She’s madethis townbelieve.
The farmers and shop owners see themselves through her eyes, through her pictures and her witty captions. How even the grumpiest farmers light up when she visits speaks volumes. She makes them feel seen. Makes them believe they matter. She takes their hard work and puts a polish to it that she shares with the world.
And she is my world.
