“My grandfather would tell me all food is made from the heart. He liked to put hearts on the dishes if he could.”
“That’s so sweet. This looks amazing, Rhett.” He stabs some on his fork, and after blowing on it, he pops it in his mouth to chew. “Holy shit, this is good. Like really fucking good. They just melt in your mouth!”
“Thanks. Then I did it right. I’m happy you like it.”
We eat in silence for a few moments before Diamond puts his fork down. “I don’t know what else to do to make it any clearer, but Rhett…I’ll always choose you.” Diamond shifts and turns on his stool to face me. “I’m a lot. I know that, and that’s who I am. I’m loud and bright, and I don’t let people silence me anymore. That’s the public part everyone sees. The part they don’t see is what you get.”
Diamond slides his hand on my knee, and my hand automatically covers it, linking our fingers together.
“I’m sorry for being so dense. I’m not used to being the centre of someone’s attention. My track record of judging people’s intentions sucks.”
Diamond licks his lips and brings our joined hands to his mouth. He kisses the top of my hand and runs his nose along my knuckles.
“My intentions are not to just have epic sex with you whenever I can. I want to take care of you when you’re sick, and cheer for you from the rodeo stands. I’ll stand beside you when it’s a rough day, and I’ll celebrate whatever good thing happens that makes you happy.”
His eyes drift closed, and I watch his throat bob as he swallows. “I want to love you, Rhett,” he whispers. “Every day. All the time. That’s my intention. To love you.”
Holy fuck.
I was not expecting that.
twenty-one
Diamond
That’s not how I planned to tell him I was madly in love with him, but I think it went okay. He hasn’t asked me to leave, so that’s something.
But he also hasn’t said anything, and if he doesn’t soon, I might throw up.
This close to him, I can see the pulse in his neck beating, and the urge to lean forward and kiss it is so strong I angle away from him slightly.
“Don’t…don’t leave,” he says quickly. “I’m just processing and need to think.”
“I’m not leaving unless you ask me to.”
“Okay,” he breathes and squeezes my hand tighter.
I only know some of the shit Rhett went through, just like he only knows some of mine. If there’s anything I’ve learned in the last ten years, it’s that life’s too short. I didn’t beat cancer just to live the rest of my life not knowing how it feels to have someone love you back fully and completely.
Pinterest gods of the universe or not, I can’t let Rhett walk away without letting him know how I feel. Casual left the room along time ago, and he deserves to know that. Hell, if I want to be truthful to myself, it was never casual for me. I only went along with it since he was just so damn skittish about it being anything more. He’s just too easy to fall for.
“I’ve been thinking of you a lot the past few weeks,” he begins, and I swivel back towards him. “You have this way of making me feel…worth it. Like being with me makes your life better, if that makes sense.”
“It does. Both parts. I understand, and you make things better in my life, too.”
“Good.” He releases a slow breath. “I’m not the best at describing things or saying things like this, but you seem to fit into my life in the most perfect way. Horses, rodeo, Tater…she loves you.” He flashes a shy smile, and my heart turns into goo. “Maybe I set the bar too low or something, but when you offered for me to stay with you when I hurt my hand, I spent the entire drive home thinking about it. Thinking about what it would be like to always have that. To see you every morning and just…I don’t know… just to have a person who wants me the way I am. Someone who cares.”
“I don’t want to change a thing about you, Rhett.”
He puffs out a short laugh. “That. I’m not used to that, and it’s been a battle for me to accept that you’re genuine when you say it.” He stands and pulls me up with him. Brown eyes scan my face, and my heart beats so fast it might need medical intervention. “It’s my intention to love you back just as much as you love me.”
He brings his lips to mine, and the tremble in his body brings me to my knees. This man is so outside his safe zone, and he trusts me with it. I feel like I could fly to the moon.
We kiss in the kitchen for what feels like forever until I’m backed against the wall with his thigh between my legs. “I wantto devour you, Diamond. Every fucking inch of you, I want to taste. Not just tonight, but every time I’m with you.”
“You won’t hear me complain.”
The smile on his face is contagious, and we’re grinning like fools, tugging at clothes and stumbling down the hallway to his bedroom.
