“I want a clawfoot bathtub like the one in the barn that looks out over the sunflower farm.”
He wraps his arms around my waist, pulling me in close. “Well, of course. That’s a necessity. And I want a clear glass shower door so I can sneak a peek at you showering while I brush my teeth in the morning.”
“Please tell me this house will have more than one bathroom.”
He pauses, then shakes his head. “Nope. Just the one.”
“No deal.”
He groans. “You drive a hard bargain, Evie. How about three?”
“Okay, yes. Three bathrooms works.”
He leans down to kiss me softly, his fingers running ever so lightly through my hair.
And I take the opportunity to ask about the one loose end he hasn’t tied up.
“So what about the development?”
He sways slightly, letting out a long breath as he glances over my shoulder toward it. “I’m thinking we take inspiration from the village. Maybe four or five bungalows, set up as condos, that mimic your bungalow down the hill as well as the style of the other houses you’ll have to drive by in the village to get here.”
I nod. “And the driveway?”
“Single lane that winds behind the second cabin?” He pauses. “It would require an easement onto that property, but I think we can renovate cabin number two into either a storage shed or a guest house, if that’s what you want, and that’ll block the view of the driveway from the house.” He bites his lip. “But I won’t be offended if you say no to that.”
I purse my lips. “No, I think maybe that might be okay.”
“Yeah?”
I nod. “That actually sounds really charming. Maybe we can have Izzy paint sunflowers on the bungalows like she did for mine.”
“I love that idea,” he says, letting out a long breath as he tugs me close. He rests one hand on the back of my neck, keeping my face pressed into his shoulder.
When he pulls away from me, he runs his thumb along the side of my jaw. “I love you, Evie. And I can’t wait to spend every midnight right here with you.”
I didn’t know I needed to hear it, but something about his words has the breath leaving my body and the tension leaving my shoulders.
These words are too big to say without being sure of their meaning. Too diabolical to slip from Ryder’s tongue in an effort to get anything from me. I don’t always know what he’s thinking, but I know he’s not lying to me.
He’s just telling me how he feels.
I crash into his chest in a way that I haven’t before—full-bodied and breathing him in like he’s my only source of oxygen.
Since I’ve met him, I’ve craved this feeling. Like maybe my body knew it was coming but my brain didn’t want to trust it.
And it feels like everything I’ve ever wanted. Cold water in the heat of summer. The first breath of spring. The smell in the air when snow is coming.
“I love you too,” I murmur into his chest.
His arms weave tighter around me, his lips pressing little kisses on my head before he rests his cheek there, holding me close.
After a few moments, he lets out a long breath. “Come on, Evie. I want to show you the rest of the house.”
“The rest?” I ask, pulling away from him only enough to look him in the eye.
He nods, taking a careful step down from the log and heading for a nondescript box along one side of the cabin.
It takes me a second to realize, as it whirs to life, that it’s a generator.
