My heart ached as I thought of Emily, and it pounded as his admission took hold of me. I didn’t want to leave her, but I didn’t want to keep leaving him either.

“Caleb …” I said softly, swallowing the tightness in my throat. “I want that more than anything.”

“Baby, it’s already yours.”

I glanced away again, needing the break to get my emotions under control.

I knew the answer wasn’t hiding in these magnificent hills; my gut was already leading me, but I still listened to the wind, the only sound around us, and I looked through those tangled vines.

And I wondered, in this moment, if there was anyone as lucky as me.

“Yes,” I replied, turning to take in his handsome face. “I would love to move in with you.”

“Get over here.” He didn’t wait for me to stand; instead, he reached under my legs and scooped me up from the chair, placing me on his lap.

I laughed from the buzz I felt in my body and the weightlessness, and I circled my arms around his neck, kissing his smooth cheeks that smelled of that deliciously woodsy scent. “You’re so good to me, Caleb.”

He sighed, holding my eyes steady. “Not a single woman from my past has ever accepted me, my lifestyle, or the number of hours I put into my job. It’s all I know, all I’ve done since I was nine years old, and I can’t change it. But you appeared in that bar on the day of the marathon, erupting my world like a goddamn windstorm, and never once have you tried to change me or make me into someone I’m not.” He kissed me so gently. “That’s not why I’m good to you, Whitney. That’s why you’re perfect for me.” His lips moved closer to mine again when he said, “I’m so in love with you.”

“Oh, Caleb.” Tears were pricking my eyes. “I love you.” I held them back and pressed my nose to his, placing my hand on his heart, like he had done to mine so many times. “And I accept every bit of the workaholic, adventurous, feral man you are, and I can’t wait to watch you achieve your next dream—when you take over your parents’ business—the same way you’re going to help me accomplish mine.”

He pulled me against his mouth, kissing me in a way that I understood—a moment that was better to be filled with passion than words. One that was vulnerable and emotionally raw. And when I finally backed away to take a breath, I stayed cuddled on his lap, my face in his neck, gazing at the landscape surrounding us.

I didn’t know how long we’d been marinating in the silence, but Caleb broke it with, “I have something special planned for tomorrow.”