Of course she wanted that, since the day she arrived. But it wasn’t her life. Why was he torturing her with a fantasy? “That doesn’t matter anymore.”
Tears stung her eyes, but hopefully he wouldn’t notice with the heavy rain. Her heart ached at the very sight of him. The blue of his eyes was a deeper color against the gray backdrop of the sky.
“I lied,” he shouted over the sound of splashing rain.
“About boots?”
“About that kiss.”
Trish’s tongue caught in her throat. As she tossed and turned in her bed for hours this morning, she’d fantasized about this very admission. But now that it was happening, her guard was up high. “I don’t believe you.”
He took her hands in his and pulled her against his chest. “I’ve been afraid.” The brim of his hat gave them both a small reprieve from the rain. “Ever since my parents died, I’ve been scared of loving someone so much that losing them forever might actually kill me.”
“No one falls in love with any guarantees, Wade.”
“I know that now.”
“What are you saying?”
“I love you, Trish.”
“Y-you do?”
“No matter how much I want to fight it or run away, I’m at a complete loss. I’ve always been afraid of losing the person I loved and not being able to go on. And the thought of you driving away and never coming back is more than I can bear. It’s worse to lose you that way, knowing I never fought for us to have a chance together.”
“Do you really mean it? This isn’t something Grams put you up to?”
“Well, she may have shoved me out the door. But the words, they’re very much mine.”
Trish reached her arms around the back of Wade’s neck. “It just so happens that I love you too, Wade Holbrook. But where does that leave us? I’m supposed to work on Monday.”
He leaned down to close the gap between their lips. “Call in sick.”
Trish’s heart soared, and her entire body tingled as the kiss deepened. Wade lifted her off her feet as the rain poured around them.
“Please say you’ll stay in Starlight,” Wade whispered, his breath hot against her ear. “Think of all the books you could write.”
“But I haven’t even published one yet.”
Wade flashed her his charming smile that always made her come unglued. “But you will. I believe in you.”
Trish ignored the horns honking all around them, and kissed him again.
Epilogue
Trish
Four months later. . .
“You look amazing!”Mindy squealed at the sight of Trish in the dress she’d picked up at Betsy’s Boot Boutique earlier that day. One that paired quite well with her newest pair of boots. Trish was sure she might have a problem, now that she owned three pairs of cowgirl boots. But she wore them everywhere.
“You don’t think it’s too much?”
“Honey, you’re the guest of honor! This party is going to blow my last one out of the water!”
Trish’s life still didn’t seem real.
She’d officially moved to Starlight a month ago. Kate used her real estate connections to help her find a cute little rental home in town. One that included a cozy writing loft on its second floor with an amazing view of the Bighorn mountains. She spent her days working at Mabel’s waiting tables, her afternoons writing, and her evenings out at the ranch with Wade and Lina.
