Page 161 of The Lumberjack and the City Slicker

Then she smiles.

“That would be perfect.”

Perfect.

The word lands heavy and warm in my chest.

I finish my tea and stand, leaning down to press a kiss to her temple this time.

Slower. Intentional.

“I’ll see you at six,” I tell her.

As I step out onto the porch, I realize something.

This doesn’t feel like a whirlwind.

It doesn’t feel reckless.

It feels steady.

Real.

And for the first time in a long damn time—I’m not afraid of tomorrow.

Chapter 33

Clara

I don’t know if I’m crazy.

That’s the honest truth.

I mean, I’ve been accused of that before.

Of being rash. Indecisive. Too much.

Maybe this is impulsive.

Maybe it’s reckless.

Maybe it’s the kind of grand romantic gesture women swear they’ll never make and then make anyway.

But I know one thing with absolute clarity—I’m in love.

And I don’t want to bulldoze it.

I don’t want to suffocate it with five-year plans and contingency clauses and panic.

I just want to give it a real chance.

So I sit at Kelly’s kitchen table with my laptop open, sunlight pouring across the wood, and I take my meeting like the adult woman I am.

My investment broker’s face fills the screen.

We talk portfolios.

Liquidity.