Total pages in book: 61
Estimated words: 58342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 233(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 58342 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 292(@200wpm)___ 233(@250wpm)___ 194(@300wpm)
“Oh. Sure, I understand.”
“Hey.” He reaches for my hand. “It’s not what you’re thinking. I didn’t just come here for a night of sex. I meant everything I said.”
I nod, embarrassed by the tears welling in my eyes. It’s not that I don’t believe him; it’s that I just got him back. And now he’s leaving again.
“Let me show you where I’m going.” He reaches for his phone on the bedside table and even though I’m bummed he’s leaving, I don’t miss the opportunity to admire his body.
His muscles are perfectly ridged, his golden skin smooth other than some dark chest hair. He looks more like an artist’s take on the perfect man than a real one.
His fingers fly over his phone screen and then he passes it to me. “Scroll through those photos.”
The first one is of a sprawling log and stone home that looks straight out of a luxury home magazine. It has two stories, floor-to-ceiling windows and there’s a mountain range in the distance. Other photos show a four-stall garage, two separate log buildings and an outdoor space with an in-ground pool and a massive gazebo.
“It’s beautiful,” I say when I reach the end of the photos.
“I’m glad you think so. Because it’s ours.”
His gaze is locked on mine, his eyes bright with excitement. It takes me a couple of seconds to find the words to respond. Even then, I can only come up with one.
“Ours?”
“I bought it for us. It’s outside Jackson Hole, Wyoming. Remember how we talked about our dreams? Yours was to open an animal rescue for cats and dogs and mine was to own a ranch. We can do both of those. Together. I’m going to Jackson Hole today to meet with a builder about converting one of the outbuildings into a space for cats and dogs. We’ll add heating and cooling and plumbing so we can give them baths out there.”
I just gape at him, words escaping me.
“We’ve got forty acres. Plenty of room for anything we want.”
“Linc...I’m...stunned.”
His smile slides away. “Is it a good stunned?”
“I don’t know. I’m overwhelmed.”
The light fades from his eyes and an ache forms in my chest. I crushed his excitement. I take one of his hands in both of mine.
“Look, I just need some time to process this. Until last night, I didn’t even know if you wanted anything with me. And now you tell me you bought a ranch in Wyoming?”
“I thought you’d love it. You don’t have to think about money ever again because I saved a lot and invested well. I’m renaming the ranch Shining Light because that’s what you are to me.”
I don’t have a choice about it—I cry. I never imagined anyone would do something like this for me. Feel so deeply for me. And I feel just as deeply for him.
I wipe tears from my cheeks and smile at him. “You are the worst communicator ever. I still adore you, though.”
“I wanted to surprise you.”
I laugh a single note. “This is definitely a surprise.”
He sighs heavily. “You’re not happy.”
“No, Linc. It’s not that.” I squeeze his hand. “My last boyfriend wanted to split the check when we went to dinner. No one has ever done anything remotely close to this for me. I am happy. I’m just also shocked.”
He cups one of my cheeks in his hand. “When I was back on the road with my team, I kept wishing I was back at the cabin with you. I want us to have a life where we can wake up every day and do what we love. Cook. Dance. Read. Take a dozen dogs for a walk. Start a garden. And, since I’ve already shocked you, I might as well go ahead and add that I’ve changed my thoughts on having kids. I thought I didn’t want kids, but...I called my dad and he was happy to hear from me. He wants to have a relationship with me.”
“I’m so happy to hear that.” My voice is thick with emotion.
“It’s not just that, it’s also...I hadn’t met anyone I wanted any of this with until you. A home and a life and a family. It would be really fucking ironic if I finally found you and you don’t feel the same way.”
A fresh round of tears floods from my eyes. “Of course I feel the same way. I was just so sure there was no way for us to be together.”
His lips quirk up in a smile. “After the cabin, there’s no way for us not to be together, Trin. Not for me. I always thought my purpose was hockey, but now my purpose is you. Us.”
I kiss him, my mind still spinning from the news. “And we don’t have to move immediately, right? Like that could be our plan for the future? Because I have my work, and you’re retiring, so you could move here.”