I turn back toward Ella. She’s standing a few feet away, arms folded lightly, expression calm but eyes… wounded, worried, unsure.
“Cole,” she says softly, “if she… if Aria wanted you back together with her mom… would you—“
“No.”
I don’t let her finish as I step close enough that our bodies nearly brush, even though we’re still in view of half the damn ranch.
“No,” I repeat, voice low and unwavering. “Aria doesn’t want Calista as her mom—she already lost that right—and I will never go back to Calista. Not after what she did, what she cost me, and definitely not after what I’ve found now.”
Ella’s breath catches. “What did you find?”
I reach for her hand, letting my thumb brush hers. A small, secret touch that means everything.
“You,” I say, voice rough with truth. “I found you.”
Her lips part, eyes soften, and she exhales like I just took a mountain off her chest.
“I’m with you, Ella. I choose you.”
She blinks rapidly, emotion shining in her eyes, and she steps just a little closer, her hand tightening around mine for a heartbeat before she lets go.
“Okay,” she whispers. “Okay.”
I lift my hand, skim the back of my knuckles along her jaw, careful in case anyone’s watching, and she leans into the touch like she’s been waiting all morning for it.
“We’re good, right?” I murmur.
Her eyes lift to mine—warm and sure—and she whispers, “Yeah. We’re good.”
Before I can pull away, she rises onto her toes and steals a kiss—soft, sweet, and quick enough to pass for nothing if someone blinked, but long enough to short-circuit my goddamn heartbeat.
I blink, stunned, and she grins at me like she knows exactly what that kiss just did.
“You can go back to work now,” she teases, brushing her thumb over my wrist. “Before your crew starts wondering why their boss is staring at me instead of the concrete forms.”
I chuckle under my breath, still tasting her, still trying to steady my pulse. “Yeah. I probably should.”
But as I turn to leave, she catches my hand, tugs me back, and presses one more kiss to the corner of my mouth—a secret, barely-there touch that hits deeper than anything Calista ever managed in ten years.
“See you later,” she whispers, eyes glinting.
I walk back toward the job site with a stupid smile, and the weight in my chest has shifted into something warm, steady, and right.
19
ELLA
Saturday morning finds Aria vibrating with excitement, sitting in the passenger seat like I promised her she’d win a million dollars instead of a new pair of riding boots. The brace on her wrist is still snug, a reminder of the near-crisis that sent me into a panic spiral. She’s all better now though, moving with confidence, her smile wide and steady, the bruise on her arm fading quickly.
Daisy giggles in the back seat, kicking her boots against the floorboard in quick little bursts of enthusiasm. “Aria, what do you think—should we get serious competitor boots or pink sparkly boots?”
Aria gasps dramatically. “Why would you even ask? Pink sparkly are obviously faster.”
Daisy nods sagely. “I heard glitter adds, like… at least three miles per hour.”
“That’s science,” Aria agrees, completely serious.
I bite back a laugh as I pull onto the main road. “Or… we could get normal boots and then add rhinestones.”
