Page 83 of The Love Lie
“It’s…” She swallows, not sure what to say, her tiny little concrete box of an apartment suddenly seeming ridiculous in comparison. “Wow.”
“Speechless? I didn’t think that was possible.”
She squeezes his fingers. “Not speechless, just soaking it all in. I might have read on your website that the ranch consisted of about two hundred thousand acres, but reading it and seeing it are two different things. Especially when most of my life fits in an eight-by-eight cubicle without windows.”
“Don’t feel too bad. We’re land rich and money poor out here.”
“You’ve got your own helicopter, cowboy. I think you’re doing just fine.”
He barks out a laugh and shakes his head, then juts his chin forward. “That white farmhouse over there? That’s the main house where my dad lives. Then the stables are just ahead, and those are the hay barns. You can see some of the cattle in that pasture over there.”
“And the bunkhouse?” she asks in a teasing voice.
“None of your damn business.”
“Worried I might find someone to replace you?”
The helicopter takes a sudden dip and she yelps as her free hand goes to the ceiling, as if bracing would somehow make a crash any less fatal.
“Cooper!”
“My hand slipped.”
She glares at him as he folds his lips between his teeth, trying to hide a smile.
“What were you saying, Cuj?”
“That I’m definitely finding the bunkhouse later.”
They drop again.
“COOPER!”
She squeezes his hand so tightly she’s afraid her nails might draw blood…not that he deserves any less.
The asshole laughs outright.
“Sorry. Slipped again. You were saying?”
“Where’s your damn house?” she growls. “I’m ready to get the hell off this thing.”
“Just over that ridge.”
A brilliant shimmer like liquid gold catches her eye first, the sunset reflecting off a small lake nestled in the hills. But as they fly closer, a long black roof appears, the top of what looks like a large rectangular barn and— Sam narrows her eyes, not sure if she’s seeing it right. But she is. Glass. Walls and walls of glass, punctuated by charred wood siding and portions of natural stone. It’s nothing like she expected. Modern yet cozy. Masculine yet soft. Blending into the landscape yet living in stark contrast with it. It looks like him. She’s not sure if that even makes sense, but it’s true. If someone had asked her five minutes ago what Cooper looked like in house form, she would have had no clue. But it’s this. It’s him. They haven’t even landed and she’s already itching to explore because she just knows walking through that door will feel like a warm hug, like stepping inside a piece of him, maybe even like going…
Home.
“My buddy helped me build it a few years back,” Cooper explains, not noticing how still she’s gone in the wake of that single word sending tremors through her soul. “He’s an architect out in Denver, but he flew out a bunch to oversee the project. I know,I know, it’s a little funky, but it’s—”
“Perfect.”
He turns to her with a pleasantly surprised expression. “You think so?”
“I wouldn’t say it if I didn’t.” She squeezes his hand. “Now, stop fishing for compliments and land this fucking thing. Your twenty minutes are up.”
He slides his hand free and flips some switches. They start to descend.
“Cooper!”
