But.
It sounded like he wasn’t staying. Like he was only here to make sure I was taken care of. My mind was blown at the gift. Exploding like a fireworks finale.
But I wantedhim. Not the gym.
I sat back, my hands catching me. “Wait. How did you pay for this?”
He slouched like he wished he could sink through the brand new floor. “Dad and Uncle Troy bought out my share of the ranch.”
I held up my hands in disbelief. “You gave up Dupree Ranch for this?”
He ducked his chin into his shoulder and nodded.
My mouth wouldn’t shut, just hung open, waiting for all the bugs in Virginia to fly in. “Let me get this straight. You’re a landless cowboy now and you took time off work right before school’s about to start to come back here and build this gym for me, all so I would be financially secure?”
“Clem.” His gaze pinned me. “I didn’t take time off. I quit. I’m staying in Seddledowne for good.”
My joy shot upward like a bottle rocket. I leaned forward, bouncing on my knees. “You’re staying?”
He swallowed and his Adam’s apple bobbed. My heart did a little dip. “Yeah. I need to be here for Anna.”
Oh.
I felt my face fall, and I looked away, pretending to check out the gym so he wouldn’t notice. But I could feel him watching me, his gaze drilling a burn mark into the side of my cheek. I dared to look back at him.
His eyes narrowed and then flashed with determination. “I am here for Anna. Absolutely. But I also came back foryou.” It came out in a breathy gush, like it had taken all his air. My heart melted into a puddle. “I love you, Clem. And I’m going to fight for you. For us. Whatever it takes. All to pieces. I won’t quit.”
All to pieces. The Duprees’ saying. And the fighting for me? That was Sophie. It sounded exactly like what she’d written to me. My cheeks were melting off my face atthe way he was looking at me. Like his whole world hinged on my response.
I willed myself to keep eye contact, even if his gray eyes left me a pile of sizzling ash. “And here I thoughtIwas making a grand gesture.” I took in the room, digesting the fact that this was mine. That he’d used up his inheritance on a woman who’d given him no guarantees. To be loved by Silas Dupree was unlike anything I’d ever experienced.
He leaned toward me, his hands shaking a little. “What do you mean, you were making a grand gesture?”
I hooked him with my gaze as I slid onto his lap, facing him. I straddled my legs around his waist. His breath hitched, and I bit back a smile. I gripped the front of his button-down shirt in my fists, tugging him toward me until we were nose to nose. I caught a whiff of musky aftershave. Whew. He was not making this easy on me, wearing that stuff.
I nibbled my lip and lifted a shoulder. “I have a plane ticket. I’m leaving. In three hours.”
He looked dejected, like maybe I was just playing with his heart. “Yeah. My mom said you were going out of town.”
“Wow. News travels fast.” His eyes dropped, and I lifted his chin, forcing them back up. “Looks like I’m going to eat the cost of that ticket.” I burned my gaze into his. “Because I was going to Wyoming. To seeyou.”
There was a beat of silence where it felt like everything hung in the air. Our past, this summer, whatever the future held. Then his hands wrapped slowly around my wrists, causing my entire body to crackle with electricity. I looked down at his calloused fingers, possessively holding me in place. Then I closed my eyes, smiling, breathing in the peace. How could I have not known all along?
He tipped his forehead against mine.
“Clementine.” It came out in hushed reverence, his breatha perfect mix of dark chocolate and mint. And it didn’t matter that he was an absolutely terrible singer, because my name on his tongue, baritone, husky and rough, was the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard.
I slid my hands up both sides of his stubbled jaw. “I love you too, Si. All to pieces.”
Neither of us kissed the other first. It was completely, flawlessly, harmoniously mutual. The perfect amount of delirious, heady desire intertwined with gratitude and finality. We’d made it. At last.
He outlined my top lip with the tip of his tongue, causing blood to thrum in my ears. His hands found mine, twining our fingers tightly. He tugged them behind me, trapping me, a prisoner in his arms. And I was here for it. All of it. Whatever he wanted. He trailed kisses down my throat and along my collarbone, the hairs on my neck standing on end and goosebumps springing up everywhere. He chortled, giddy at the effect he had on me. He pecked me on the mouth and then held me there, smiling against my lips, my pulse racing.
I smiled back. “You think you’re really something, don’t you?”
“Let me have my moment. I’ve had to work hard for it.”
And he had. So I let him perform his little science experiment. His nose ran up my jawline, up to the back of my ear, and my entire body purred. His thumb traced across my cheekbone and I shuddered. I was powerless. Complete putty in his hands. Ravished by the mere touch of his fingertips.
