Page 49 of A Family Affair: The Plan
“What if I don’t want that?”
Pain flashed across his face, and when he spoke, his voice cracked. “I guess I would ask you to reconsider…to let me prove how good we can be together…” He squeezed her hands. “I’d ask you not to give up on me.”
Sam loved her. He wanted a life with her.Her heart opened, filled with joy, love, and so much gratitude. “What about the opening up and sharing part, even when it leaves us exposed and uncomfortable?” If they were going all-in, then she wanted it all…even the parts that left them exposed and uncomfortable because that was part of real love.
“That, too.” He shifted from one foot to the other, cleared his throat. “Do I love the idea of spilling my guts in a way that leaves me looking like an idiot? No, but…I get that it’s necessary.” His lips pulled into a slow smile. “And you’re worth it.”
Oh, but she had missed him.“So, about going slow… I might have a problem with that.”
His smile slipped. “You might, or you do?”
She didn’t miss the caution in his words, or the dread. “I might have a problem because I don’t want to go slow.” Hope unclasped their hands, leaned on tiptoe, and placed the softest kiss on his mouth. “There is no going slow with you, Sam Harrington…not since the first time I met you.”
Another kiss, this one slower, deeper. A groan, a sigh, as he pulled her closer, murmured, “I’ve missed you. Missedthis.”
“Oh, Sam.” She would never get enough of him, never get enough of?—
He broke the kiss, stepped back, his breath falling in short, choppy gasps. “Wait. I’ve been way off base lately, so I’m not taking anything for granted. Are you telling me you love me?” The stare turned dark, the voice quiet. “And you want a life with me?”
“Yes.” She eased her hands around his neck, smiled up at him. “Oh, yes.”
His expression relaxed and he pulled her closer. “And you’ll marry me?”
“Absolutely.”
He held her gaze as he vowed, “I willnotdisappoint you, Hope. I will love you for the rest of my life.” When he kissed her, there was no doubt how much he intended to stay true to his promise. “Can you picture yourself in Magdalena?” he murmured against her lips.
“I can’t think of anywhere else I’d rather be.”
Sam eased back, his arms still around her waist. “I can’t wait to show you what Pete’s done with the place. I think you’re really going to like it, but there are a few areas that could use your approval and a few others that need your opinion…”
“I look forward to the challenge. Speaking of Pete Finnegan, did he tell you he paid me a visit yesterday?”
“Pete came to see you?”
The surprise on his face told her Pete Finnegan knew how to keep secrets. “Oh yes, he stood right in this very garden yesterday afternoon and made sure I knew how miserable you were and how much we belonged together. He also told me his story, and how he wasn’t much better than you in the ‘stubborn’ department, though he did say you were worse.” She pressed her body against his, sighed. “I thought it was very sweet because he doesn’t seem like the type of person to nose about in anyone else’s business, especially in regard to a relationship.”
“He’s not.”
“You’ll have to thank him. Or maybe I’ll thank him myself. We had to cut the conversation short because apparently his wife had a craving for chocolate-covered pretzels and he wanted to get some for her.”
Laughter spilled out, and she joined in. “Tough guy, huh? Sure, unless his wife or kids are involved.” His voice turned husky, when he asked, “Are you interested in kids? The twoandfour-legged kind?”
“Yes, definitely.” There were so many possibilities she’d never considered before Sam, but now her life was full of hope, and joy, and love. So much love. “Does this mean I have to unpack?”
“That depends. You can move into the farmhouse with me and risk cold showers and cooking on a hotplate, or I can move in here with you. I don’t care, as long as we’re together.”
“Can we decide in the morning? Right now, I don’t want to spend the whole night talking.” She placed a hand on his chest, inched lower, stopped at his belt buckle. “There are other forms of communication I’m more interested in…”
“I’ve missed you, so damn much.”
“Remember that the next time you want to go silent on me, because we aren’t going to do that ever again.”
“No, we’re not.” He sifted his hands through her hair, kissed her again, and this time there was no mistaking the desire, the heat, and the love.
Hope eased away, held out a hand. “I guess we’re going to have to thank a lot of people for not giving up on us.”
“You mean the matchmakers we told to mind their own business?” He took her hand, pulled her against his side as they made their way toward the back door. “We’re inviting all of them to our wedding.”
