I swallow hard. In my head, I think of all the reasons I shouldn’t want this man. All the reasons I should leave with Savannah right now. But they’re starting to sound half-hearted. Forced.
“No,” I whisper. “You’re not wrong. I don’t want to leave, Thorne. I guess I’m just scared.”
His brows knit together. “Scared of what?”
It’s difficult to find the words. I’m quiet for a moment, chewing my lip, but Thorne doesn’t rush me.
“I guess I’m just scared of relying on someone again,” I say tentatively. “When I came to Cherry Hollow, I promised myself I’d be more independent. I wanted to stand on my own two feet after my dad passed…” I taper off, shaking my head. “But I’m still relying on people. My grandma gave me a place to stay. She’s going to give me a job, too. I’m relying on Savannah. She left work on her lunch break just to drive me around. Now I’m relying on you?—”
“Aria, that’s just life.” His thumb brushes my bottom lip. “If you’re lucky, when you’re having a hard time, you can rely on people. When they’re having a hard time, they can rely on you.”
“I guess…but I can’t imagine you needing to rely on anybody.”
“Not true.” He looks at me pointedly. “I relied on you to save my life today. Relied on you to patch me up. Now I’m relying on you to stay with me so I don’t lose my damn mind.”
I let out a shuddery laugh, melting against him as he holds me tight.
“Stay, princess,” he murmurs. “Hell, this cabin is already half yours. We can share it. Live here together.”
My heart jolts at his words. Staying in this small town forever was never the plan. It was always meant to be temporary—a few months to get back on my feet before heading back to Manhattan. But there’s nothing left for me in the city. Not anymore. In Cherry Hollow, I have my family. I have Thorne. That’s all I could ever want.
“I know it’s fast,” Thorne says, mistaking my silence for reluctance. “But you belong here, princess. You belong with me.”
Warmth floods through my veins as I look up at him.
“You’re right.” I rise up on my tiptoes, pressing a kiss on his lips. “I belong with you. There’s nowhere else in the world I’d rather be.”
Something flashes in his eyes, his lips parting like he hardly dares to breathe. “Is that a yes?”
“Yes.” I beam at him. “I’d love to live here, Thorne. I’m not going anywhere.”
He makes a noise deep in his throat, his whole body sagging with relief as he pulls me into his arms. He kisses me hard on my open mouth, his lips grazing my cheeks, my nose, my forehead—every bit of skin he can reach.
“You won’t regret this, princess.”
“I know.”
I loop my arms around his neck and kiss him back, happiness buzzing through my veins. Sure, maybe this wasn’t the plan, but it feels so right…like things were always meant to happen this way. Fate or luck—it doesn’t matter. All I care about is the giant lumberjack holding me in his arms, kissing me like he never wants to stop.
I freeze.
“Shoot! Savannah?—”
My poor cousin is probably sitting in the car right now wondering where the heck I am. I pull away from Thorne, slip on my shoes, and hurry outside into the snowy afternoon. Thorne follows me. We round Savannah’s car as the driver’s seat window rolls down.
“Sorry I took so long!” I tell her.
“It’s okay.” She smiles at me, looking a little bemused when she sees I’m still not dressed. “Do you need more time?”
“No…I’m actually going to stay here for a while.”
“Oh?”
From beside me, Thorne grabs a twenty from his back pocket, handing it to Savannah through the window.
“Gas money,” he says.
She blinks at him, inspecting the bill in her hand. “It only took thirty minutes now that the roads are salted. Definitely didn’t cost me twenty dollars.”
