I nod, though I’m not looking at the falls. “Gorgeous.”
“I’ve been here so many times, but they still take my breath away,” he says.
“Mine too.” I step up to him. “Every fucking time.”
We’ve been together nearly a year now—eight months since we admitted our feelings properly for the first time—and my feelings have only grown stronger with each passing day.
I wrap an arm around him and draw him close. “I love you.”
He rises up on his toes, looping his arms around my neck. “I love you too.”
We kiss in the sunshine and I want to capture this moment forever—it’s perfect.
I reluctantly let him go. “Come on, let’s get the picnic set up.”
We spread out our blanket and unpack cheese, crusty bread, strawberries, and a bottle of white wine. Felix pours us each some into plastic tumblers.
I raise my glass to toast. “Here’s to Sweetwater Lodge.”
“Sweetwater Lodge.” He touches his glass to mine.
“Seriously, Felix. I’m so proud of what you’ve achieved. You came up with the idea and you’ve worked your ass off to see your vision come to life.”
Felix ducks his head, a flush rising on his cheeks. I love that I still have the power to make him blush.
“You helped with the renaming by suggesting Sweetwater Lodge.”
“Only because you shared your special place with me.”
“We make a good team,” he says.
“That we do.”
The wine is delicious and so is our picnic spread. There’s something about the mountain air that makes even the simplest of foods taste special. We nibble on cheese while we sip the wine, passing morsels to each other. Eventually, we lie back and stare at the wide blue sky.
“I saw your publisher called again,” Felix eventually says. “They really want you to do that book tour.”
I turn my head to look at him. He has his hands under his head, looking up at the sky, not at me.
“Yeah, they’re persistent. They want to cement my status as the king of cozy mystery, and publicity and a tour will maximize sales. I’ve already told Mike I won’t do it.”
Felix rolls to his side to face me, propping his head on a hand. “I don’t want to hold you back. This is your big chance to make a comeback after being out of the industry for so long.”
“You’re not holding me back from anything. I’m happy here.”
“You don’t want to stay in expensive hotels while seeing the world as your adoring fans fall at your feet?”
It suddenly occurs to me that maybe I’m the one holding Felix back. Maybe he’d like to experience that kind of life. I don’t think so, but I throw it out there, anyway. “I’d do it if you wanted to. If you wanted to come with me.”
“God no!”
He sits up and I echo his movements until we’re facing each other cross-legged on the blanket.
“You honestly don’t want to live it up?” I ask.
“Cross my heart. I’d like to travel someday, maybe see some of those places you’ve mentioned or explore somewhere new, but criss-crossing the country isn’t for me.”
Relief floods through me. “I don’t want that kind of life either. I’m happy here with you and our friends, and you know I prefer writing romance these days.”
