Page 26 of Unexpected Sweetheart
“I’d prefer you naked if I’m honest.”
She grins. “Which is why I’m selling them. They’ll fetch a pretty penny on those secondhand designer label sites, and it’ll mean I can contribute something while we’re still finding our feet here. Maybe it’ll pay off the supply store account so we’re not bartering?”
My hands land on her waist and I let out a groan, hating that she’s selling her things to try and rescue me. I’m the man. I’m the one who’s supposed to do the rescuing. But this whole time, she’s been dragging me out of the darkness I let myself dwell in and giving me life. Now she wants to give me money too.
“No,” I say, shaking my head. “I can’t let you do that.”
“It’s too late,” she says, taking a step back as she gives me a haughty grin. “It’s already done and you can’t stop it. We’re partners here, Ry. And partnerssharethe burden. They don’t carry it all themselves. Which is why—” Her eyes shift to the door where the shuffle of feet can be heard landing on the porch—“you’re going to hold my hand real tight during this whole exchange. I’ll never change my mind, but it’s my dad. I need your support.”
I step closer and take her face in my hands. “You have it, Lorelei. Always.” She gives me an accepting nod, and I lean in, kissing her briefly before the expected knock lands on the door.
“Showtime,” she says.
Moving to the door together, we stand as a united front when we pull it open.
“Mr. Jenson,” I say, while at the same time, Lorelei says, “Daddy.”
He looks between the two of us and walks inside without waiting to be invited. “I had hoped my intuition was wrong. But I can see there’s more to you deciding to stay on the ranch indefinitely,” he says, looking around the parlor like he’s afraid to touch something.
“My decision to stay is based on the fact I love being here, Daddy,” she explains. “If I didn’t, I’d have asked Ryan to come back to New York with me.”
“Another unacceptable option,” he says. “You seem to be forgetting who you are, Rory. Jensons don’t just quit the family and throw away generations of hard work for a rundown ranch. This is insanity. You need to come home and take your place in the family, marry into another family who’sworthyof joining with ours. I’m all for sowing your oats, but this…dalliance of yours has gone on long enough.”
“Dalliance?” I blurt, my free hand fisting at my side as he completely dismisses the volume of our need for each other. If you took the ranch and multiplied the land size by ten, you still wouldn’t come close to fitting in the length and breadth of our bond. “Sir, I’ll have you know this is nothing short of true love.” The asshole smirks. “Laugh all you want. But I’m in love with your daughter, and I’m going to marry her. We’d both rather be struggling together on this ranch for eternity than forcing Lorelei to sit in a boardroom doing a job she hates for a single moment.”
With a raised brow, his eyes swing to hers. “Is this true?”
Lorelei lifts her hand, showing the modest engagement ring on her finger. “We’re getting married, Daddy. I’d really love for you to give me away. But I understand if this is the end of your rope with me. You should know, though, that I never set out to hurt you. All I ever wanted was the chance to follow my own heart. And my heart wants me to be here, with Ryan in Sweetheart.”
“But this town. This place. It’s…it’s beneath you.”
I clamp my teeth, trying not to take offense to that.
“To me, it feels like home. You sent me here to learn the value of real work. And I did. So much, that I want this even more than I wanted to learn interior design. Ranching is…it’s my calling. And Ryan is my soulmate. I hope you can learn to accept that.”
“You’d really give it all up—the trust, the company, your future—for this, for him?”
Lorelei nods. “In a heartbeat.”
He looks at me for a long moment. “Can I speak to my daughter alone, please?”
I really don’t want to go, but when Lorelei looks up at me and nods, I reluctantly step outside. “I’ll check on the calves.”
The limo driver gives me a respectful nod as I make my way down the front steps then head over to the pen where the first-time mothers are grazing with their calves. It’s not far from the house, so if there’s even a hint of yelling, I can be back there within seconds at a sprint. In the meantime, I can distract myself by talking to Junior. He’s such a beast of a calf, and he’s friendly to boot. He always rushes over to the fence to say hi, like he somehow understands I’m the reason he’s alive.
“How’s it going, Junior?” I say, giving his head a scratch as he pokes inquisitively through the fence. “Me? Oh, I’m just over here hoping my fiancée doesn’t let her father guilt her into returning to New York. It’s a big thing to walk away from a familial expectation. I should know, I did it all those years ago too. And now I’m back.” Those big brown eyes stare up at me unblinking. “No.” I answer like the calf is asking me questions. “I don’t regret the years I was away. I think now was the right time to come back. I wasn’t ready before. But I think I’m only ready because Lorelei is here with me now. I might still be harassing poor Emma to find a buyer for me if Lorelei hadn’t come along and helped open my eyes.”
“Who on earth are you talking to?” I turn around quickly, heat flooding up my neck as I find the gorgeous vision of a smiling Lorelei walking up behind me.
“Didn’t hear you coming over.” I clear my throat. “How’d everything go with your dad?”
“He’s heading back to New York without me.” I glance back to the house to see him getting back in his limo without a backward glance.
“You OK?”
She reaches through the fence and scratches Junior’s head. “I’m officially disinherited. But I’m OK. I’ve got you, and I’m where I belong. So that’s all that really matters, right?”
“Right,” I say, sliding my arms around her and hugging her close. “Being with you is definitely the only thing that matters. Thank you for choosing me.”
