“I’ll give you the damn company to run. I don’t want it, I only want you. And Mandy.” She scuffed the toe of her tennis shoe in the dirt. “You’re evading my questions. What do you intend to do about our marriage?”

With a lithe grace that had always fascinated her, he braced his arm on the top rail and vaulted over the fence. His feet had barely touched the ground before he pulled her into his arms. His mouth swooped down to cover hers, and she groaned at his touch.

Opening her mouth, she invited him inside, teasing his tongue with hers. Angling her head, she pulled him closer, relishing the tightening in his body. Heat exploded deep inside her, setting off a chain of longing she struggled to control. His hat fell to the ground when she combed her fingers through his hair, but he didn’t seem to.notice.

When they finally broke apart, they were both breathing hard. Staring at him, she saw the need, the longing, reflected in his eyes. “Is that a yes?”

“This has been the longest month of my life. I’ve almost called you a dozen different times, but when I didn’t hear from you, I figured you didn’t feel the same way I did.”

His callused hands cupped her face, and he looked into her eyes. “This might be totally selfish, but I love you, Darci. I want to be your husband in every sense of the word.” He pressed a quick kiss on her lips, then pulled her head against his chest. “But I’m still afraid. There’s so much that could go wrong, so many ways I could hurt you.”

“We’ll face that together, Cole. If we love each other enough, I believe we can overcome anything the world throws our way. We have to try, or we’ll be worse off without each other.”

“You really believe that?”

“With every fiber of my being.”

“Do you believe enough for both of us?”

A sense of power surged through her. “Without a doubt.”

“Then I guess it’s settled.” He glanced toward the house. “When can we start the honeymoon?”

Her fingers traced a path across his chest, dropping lower with each sweep. “Now?”

He caught her questing fingers with a gruff laugh. “I’ve…we’ve got a daughter wandering around here somewhere. Maybe we’d better wait until tonight.”

He kissed her again, lingering over the taste, the texture of her lips. His heart flowed with the love he’d denied for too long. He finally had a true sense of coming home, and it had nothing to do with a fancy house or a sprawling ranch.

“Let’s go home.” He whispered the words against her lips, stealing another kiss before letting her answer.

“And where would that be?”

“Wherever you are, honey. Wherever you and my family are, that’s my home.”

Epilogue

Epilogue