Laughter bubbled out of my throat even as I shook my head in disbelief at the sweet vulnerability on his face. I cupped his cheek with my hand. “I loved you then, and I love you still.”
A smile lit his face at my confession, and I drew his face down to mine.
* * *
The trekback down the mountain included a lot of breaks for Logan because he insisted on carrying me on his back the last half of the trail. My ankle had swollen up like a balloon ready to burst. We looked terrible. I needed food. The granola bar I had eaten this morning had long since worn off, especially since I was on empty from the night before. People could survive on love for only so long. I might be in love with Logan, but I would eat him if I had to.
Thankfully, a few early-morning hikers took one pitiful look at us and gave us some of their protein bars and offered to help get us down the mountain. We took their food but not their help. The protein bar revived me, and we eventually found our way back to Logan’s truck and were now lounging on the porch swing at my house, tired and dirty but not wanting to trade each other in for sleep just yet.
“So, correct me if I’m wrong, but did your fruit stand move a lot closer to the porch in the last few weeks?” Logan asked.
“Hmm?” I asked innocently.
“You heard me.”
“It was all part of Jake’s and my plan to get under your skin.”
“I knew it.”
“When did you decide you liked me?” I asked, suddenly curious to dive deep into Logan’s version of the summer.
“This whole summer was like a Tessa drip in my IV. I tried so hard not to let you in, but I couldn’t stop it. But I think I knew you were special when you went Rambo on Camille at the grocery store.”
I elbowed him while he laughed. “You’ll never let me live that down, will you?”
“Never.” He was silent before he added softly, “I could have had your dad’s porch finished in about three days.”
I lifted my head from his shoulder and stared at him.
Three days.
Three. Days.
He had taken nearly three months.
Granted, it was an hour at a time, but visions of him sanding wood lazily on the porch while we joked and teased and flung mild insults back and forth came to my mind. I fed him treats and handed him tools. We had created a comfortable rhythm that I had grown to love.
“You were always the best part of my day,” he said, smiling and brushing a strand of hair off my face. “And don’t worry, I only charged your dad for three days of work. I think he was on to me.”
His dark lashes hid soft eyes that watched as I snuggled into him. We stayed that way for some time, my leg throbbing and my stomach growling.
His fingers moved lightly across my arm. “When did things change for you?”
I smiled into his chest. “The second we shook hands on the bet, I was already having doubts. I thought I’d be fine if I went along with your plan to keep things shallow. But then I couldn’t stand it. You were so annoying about it. So, I spent the rest of my time trying to figure out ways to get you to open up to me.”
He laughed. “Saboteur.”
I squinted up at him. “What did I tell you about quotingThe Office?”
His fingers traced my lips, a smile on his face. “My evil plan worked.”
His lips brushed my forehead, and I wondered if anybody had ever felt as in love as I did at this moment.
“Jake is going to rub this in for the rest of our lives,” I said. Another thought came to me as we sat there, effectively squashing the mood. “When are you moving back to Boise?”
A shadow came over his face. “I don’t know yet. I have… I have a few ideas I’m thinking on, but I’m not sure.”
There were still so many questions we didn’t have answers to. So many things still up in the air. Logan was two weeks away from going back to his home and life in Boise. Not that we couldn’t still date, but I had gotten used to seeing him every day. It would be hard to give that up now, but I would if I had to. He was finally mine, and he was worth the wait.
