“Carli?” My breath stalls and my chest fills with warmth.
“Hmm?”
“I love you.”
“Oh.” Her mouth pops into a surprised “O.”
I chuckle. I definitely caught us both off guard.
She sets her mug on the mantel, takes mine from me and sets it right next to hers and then she loops her arms around my neck. “Cody Lawson?”
“Hmm?” I smile down at her.
“I’ve been in love with you for years. But over this past bit of time since you kissed me in the hog barn?”
I laugh. I can’t help it. “Yeah?”
“I’ve fallen hard. I love you too.”
I feel like letting out a whoop that could be heard all the way at my ranch. My chest is so full of something I’ve never felt before it could burst.
“You love me,” I say it out loud just to let it all sink in.
“Yeah. I love you—big time.”
I lean in and kiss her. She’s it for me. I knew it a while back, but the idea hadn’t made its way to the front of mymind like it has over the past week. She kisses me with a tenderness that makes me want to protect her and keep her to myself but also parade her around town so everyone can see she’s mine.
I tug her close and our kiss deepens. She runs her fingers through my hair and I have to step back.
My forehead rests on hers.
“Carli, I’ll take you up on that board game now.”
“Ready to get your butt kicked?”
“By you? Yeah. I think I am.”
She pulls out a few choices and we land on Clue.
We sip our cocoa, talking and playing well into the night. After she beats me twice at Clue, we put the game away and snuggle up on the couch, my arm around her and her tucked into my side. The silence between us feels lived-in—like we’re returning to something road-tested over years, not something as new as we are.
I run my fingers up and down Carli’s arm in lazy strokes. The fire mellows and she lets out a contented sigh. When she looks up at me, her eyes are soft and drowsy. I lean in and place kisses on the lids, then her nose and then I trail kisses down her jaw and her neck. When our mouths meet, we’re slow and languid, not in a rush, not worried about being caught, not desperate. This kiss says I love you—the kind of kiss that says we’ve found our home.
We pull apart, smiling softly at one another in the firelight. Carli snuggles back into my chest.
“I love you, Cody,” she says on a breath.
“Love you too, Chuck.” I smooth her hair and we stare into the fire as it crumbles to embers.
I don’t know when we dozed off, but I wake to the pitch black of the cabin at night. Carli is snuggled against me, her breath warm and even against my chest. I lie here holding her for a few moments. She shifts, burrowing into me andletting out a soft sigh. I lift my arm carefully so as not to wake her.
“Mmm?” she says, shifting and gripping on to my shirt in her half-asleep state.
“Hey,” I say softly.
“Hey,” she answers groggily. “What time is it?”
“I have no idea. We fell asleep.”
