“Okay. Good. So you won’t get the wrong idea if I ask to move this conversation to the bedroom? My butt cheeks are getting numb.”

Seth would’ve loved to massage them for her, but he needed to keep himself under control. Tara was exhausted and vulnerable right now, and he didn’t want to overwhelm her. Instead, he lifted her to her feet, and led her to his bedroom.

“Oh,” she gasped. “Seth … oh.”

His walls were covered with his paintings and artwork, with his recently finished work of her in the hills of Weldon placed prominently above his bed.

“You’re wrong, you know.” Seth wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and rested his chin on her shoulder. Her hands came to rest on his arms. “I wouldn’t be giving up my dream to stay with you in Weldon. Photography isn’t my dream. Art has always been my dream. I’d just lost my way for a while.”

“But what about your job here?” she whispered.

“I respectfully declined the position.”

“So you haven’t worked a day at your new job?”

“Nope.”

She broke away from his embrace and spun to face him. “Then what are you doing here in Paris?”

He pulled her into his arms because he couldn’t stand to be apart from her. “I’ve been working on my art. I wanted to create something that will show you that this really is my dream. Once I had something worthy, I would’ve gone back to Weldon to convince you that we’re meant to be together. But you came here first.”

“And you don’t think any of these are worthy?” She stared at him slack-jawed.

He shrugged. “For you, I don’t know if anything ever will be.”

“Then it’s a good thing I came. Who knows how long I would’ve been waiting for you to create your masterpiece?”

“I wouldn’t have lasted much longer. Staying away from you was torture.”

“Seth, all of this”—she leaned back to glance at every wall—“they are all amazing. You are amazing, and I’m so glad you finally found your way back to your art.”

“What would you have done if I was happily working at my new job?” He led her to his bed, and they sat side by side with their backs against the wall.

“I don’t know. All I knew was that I had to tell you that I love you, and find out if you still loved me. Then, we would’ve worked everything else out. We might’ve tried the long-distance thing for a while. Then I might’ve taken a sabbatical from the brewery and come stay with you for a year. I don’t know, but we would’ve found a way to be with each other.”

“We’ll always find a way.” And because he couldn’t stop himself, he leaned down to kiss her softly.

“So what’s next?” she said against his lips.

“How long can you stay?” He dropped kisses along her jaw.

“I was going to stay as long as necessary to win you back,” she confessed.