“Move in with me,” she said. “Not because it’s practical or because my brothers suggested it, but because I want to wake up next to you every morning. I want to argue about who hogs the covers and who leaves their socks on the floor. I want all the boring, mundane, beautiful parts of building a life together.”
A grin spread across his face and through his heart. “Then that’s what we’ll do.”
They stood there in the barn entrance for another moment, holding each other against the cold, committed to their forever.
He only wished his instincts weren’t telling him that a storm was coming. And it was coming soon.
Chapter Thirteen
Willow slipped into bed beside Decker in what she hoped would be the first night of their forever. Even though she’d spent the night with him several times, this felt different.
As soon as she curled up on her side, he draped his arm across her waist and spooned her. His chest pressed against her back, and his breath came in steady puffs against her neck.
She also felt how hard he was—everywhere.
The hardest place interested her a lot.
“Comfortable?” His rumble against the shell of her ear sent goosebumps skittering over her skin.
“Mmhmm.”
“Good.”
Silence stretched between them. It wasn’t filled with strain—it was filled with anticipation.
She was just going to come right out and say what they were both thinking.
“You know”—she trailed her fingers along his forearm—“I’m pretty sure it’s bad luck not to christen a shared room on the first night.”
His low chuckle thrilled her. “Is that so?”
“Absolutely. It’s in all the relationship manuals.” She turned in his arms to face him, grinning. “I’m surprised you haven’t read them.”
His eyes burned through the darkness, amusement sparking in the depths. “We wouldn’t want to tempt fate.” His expression grew more serious. “But first…”
He paused for so long that her brows pinched in concern. “Decker, I’m always willing to hear what you have to say.”
His throat clicked when he swallowed. “That’s what makes you so amazing. Actually, we should probably talk about the future. I mean, you can’t want to share this room for the rest of your life, right?”
The question caught her off guard. She glanced around the bedroom that had been hers since those childhood summers, then later after her father died and she and her brothers moved here on a permanent basis.
The same floral wallpaper her mother had picked out decades ago, the window seat where Willow spent countless hours reading, the closet that barely fit all her clothes even before Decker’s things arrived.
“I’ve never really given it much thought,” she admitted. “I mean, I want my own space eventually. Our own space. But it seems impossible with everything going on here. I love my family, but…” She trailed off, surprised by the admission forming on her lips. “I could use some downtime from all the obligations. Some separation.”
“What would you do with downtime?” She loved that Decker was genuinely curious.
She laughed, the sound a little helpless. “I don’t know. Get a hobby? Read books that aren’t ranch management manuals? Sleep past five in the morning?” The more she thought about it, the more appealing it sounded. “God, when did I become so boring?”
“You’re not boring. You’re the gears that keep this family running.” He traced lazy circles on her bare shoulder, his fingertip riding beneath the thin strap of her tank top. “But gears need maintenance too.”
The observation made her throat tight. When was the last time anyone acknowledged that she might need rest? Might want something for herself?
“What do you want, Willow?” Decker asked softly. “Really want. Not what’s practical or what everyone else needs. What would makeyouhappy? Do you want to live here? Raise a family?”
She had to really work to think about it, access that part of herself she’d buried under years of responsibility and caretaking. The silence stretched between them as she sorted through possibilities she’d never allowed herself to consider.
“In this house?” she asked.
