Her eyes fill with liquid. “I want to be.”
I close the distance. “Then be honest with me. I haven’t kept a single thing from you since the day we met. But you have.”
She stares at me. “I have never lied to you.”
“What were you and your mother fighting about earlier?” The question probably sounds like it’s coming out of nowhere, but she seemed equally upset when she was on the phone with the woman last week.
And I need to make sure I’ve got no surprises coming. Like another man she’s been promised to or something.
Willow stills, wide eyes locked with mine. Shoulders tense as she brushes past me to cross the room, wincing as she says, “It doesn’t matter.”
I pinch the bridge of my nose and turn. “You got to give me something, Willow.”
She flips around. “I’ve given you everything. I’m ready to give more. But I don’t see why this matters so much to you.”
I stare at her—beautiful, vulnerable, strong, and protective. Protective of the one thing all the men before me took for granted, used, manipulated, hurt.
I toss my gaze out the window to the spot where I wanted to tell her exactly how I feel about her. And realize now, I never did.
I lift my shirt off the floor and grab her hand. “Come with me.”
Quietly, our bare feet fly down the stairs. She pauses when we reach the bottom. “Ellie,” she whispers.
“She’ll be fine.” I button my shirt in a flash and duck into the coat closet, grabbing a long one for her while she grabs her boots from the front corridor. “We’ll see the motion lights from the window.”
“Window? Where are we going?” she huffs, but doesn’t argue, slipping her arms through the coat.
I take her hand and lead her out the back sliding door.
Another sharp gasp. “Dallas.”
I turn, alarmed she might’ve heard Ellie.
“I’m not wearing underwear,” she hisses.
I grin. “I’ll keep you warm.”
Our boots thud softly over the grass, breaking the quiet of the night until we reach the tree where we exchanged basic vows a few hours ago. Where I had the chance to do it right, but I let it go.
I lean her up against the tree, away from the wind. I catch her as she glances up at the house, then back to me with a swallow.
I run both hands along her neck and into her hair. “You’re safe here. Your heart is safe with me. I’ll never let you fall.”
I take her hands in mine and stare at them. “Cowboys, we don’t—we’re not good with words in a big crowd. But when I saw you walking down that aisle toward me—I lost my breath. Because I don’t know when or how it happened, but I was marrying the love of my life.”
Her eyes fill with unshed tears.
“I’ve fallen for you, Sunset. That’s something I never thought I’d allow to happen again.” I swallow. “I love it all, fighting with you, bantering, kissing, obsessing over you. You’re it for me, and dammit, I’m it for you. Don’t shut the door here because you’re afraid of making a mistake, Willow—I’m not your mistake.”
She shakes her head, tears spilling down one cheek, a cloud of air leaving her lungs. “No. You’re not.”
I step closer to her. “I promise to always love you, cherish you, protect you—” I press my forehead to hers. “And someday soon we’re doing this again so that you can walk toward me without a shred of doubt and I can tell everyone how much I adore you.”
“Dallas,” she breathes, cold hands gripping my face. “I trust you. Iloveyou. You and Ellie—and everything you’ve given me.”
Resolve settles in my chest. “Then I don’t need anything else.”
Her eyes dip between us with concern but I bring her back, lifting her chin and kissing her. She melts into me as I step inside her coat, lifting the hem of her oversized shirt. She shivers at my touch. My hand moves from her bare ass to between her legs.
