Pressed against the biggest window in the kitchen, I all but forgot everyone’s drinks order as I gazed out at the view beyond. The valley floor had partly disappeared under a fine crystalline blanket. It was almost too beautiful to take in.
I heard footsteps approaching.
‘Happy first Thanksgiving,’ Jesse whispered, appearing behind me, his lips automatically grazing over my neck as I closed my eyes, leaning back into him.
‘Does it normally snow this early?’ I breathed, trying to control the impulses his mouth usually inspired. Even now – two months since the auction, living and working alongside each other – every time we touched, it still felt the same. Somewhere between relief, like taking a deep, calming breath, and lighting a taper. It burnt low and slow with a desperate urge to be alone together, whether it was physical or not, hours spent getting to know each other in every possible way.
‘Sometimes earlier,’ he murmured. ‘Means we’ll need to stay extra warm, honey.’
His hands circled me; his right arm was moving more freely by the day. Both hands slipped under my sweater, one heading north and the other south, my breath catching as his fingers slipped into my jeans.
‘I need to get drinks,’ I whispered, barely able to stifle a moan as he started to work his hands in the way he knew I liked.
‘It’s not my fault my girlfriend’s a goddess,’ he rasped, his own breathing becoming erratic as I felt him becoming hard, pressing into my back. ‘Or maybe it’s just remembering our first time in this kitchen.’
Slowly approaching the point of no return, I turned around to face him, his hands reluctantly withdrawing.
‘Later this evening, when everyone else has gone home, I’m going to fuck you until it feels like summer again,’ I promised, digging my nails into his ass as I squeezed it. ‘But it’s about Lottie tonight, right?’
He smiled down at me, leaning in for a long, heart-stopping kiss.
‘Always thinking about other people,’ he said eventually, biting his lip as I reached up to run my fingers through his hair.
I shook my head.
‘Mainly you,’ I admitted, rewarded as his smile grew. ‘But right now, Cole.’
His outraged expression was worth it, making me laugh as I kissed his cheek and moved over to the fridge, desperately trying to unscramble my thoughts and pick up the right drinks as well as the magnum of champagne.
‘So what exactly is your role in this?’ he asked, eyebrows raised as I turned back to him.
‘See,’ I smirked, reaching over to grab a tray from one of the drawers. ‘This is what it’s like to tease someone with a secret and keep it to yourself.’
He grinned, looking down as he scuffed his boot against the wooden floor.
‘All right, that’s fair enough, I guess,’ he began. Then, looking back up, he added, ‘But I was planning to tell you later – show you, actually.’
I studied him for a moment as I gathered flutes and glasses together, placing them next to the bottles on the tray. Two months he’d kept this a secret – his plans for the rest of the rodeo prize money.
The auction had been a huge success. So much so that not only could Jesse buy his mum all of the medication she would need for many years to come, but he could donate significant sums to both the Livingston and Jackson hospitals, where his physio treatment was rebuilding his strength at pace.
But the rest of the money – that was still a mystery. And there was one other part of the auction that had remained a secret, barely mentioned since.
As far as we knew, Lil’s ten-thousand-dollar date hadn’t yet happened. Avoiding all conversation around it, she wouldn’t even open up about it to Lottie, let alone actually go through with it.
‘You’re gonna show me, huh?’ I asked, secretly proud of my increasingly convincing Wyoming accent.
He chuckled.
‘C’mon, better do this for Cole before the poor fucker combusts.’
I nodded, imagining how strung out Cole must feel, and picked up the tray, carefully balancing everything as Jesse held the door open.
A blazing fire in the gargantuan fireplace had warmed every part of the living room, throwing a honey-coloured glow across everyone in it. Everyone from the ranch was there, as well as Dee and her new guy, Austin; her cousin Rosie and little Addie, now curled up on the sofa, fast asleep; Jesse’s mom, who couldn’t stop smiling at Jesse and me together; and his sisters, Clara and Belle, with their husbands.
The vast space was finally full, Lottie at the centre of it. Her cheeks rosy, her dark, wild curls pinned half up, she looked completely and utterly beautiful in the pale pink dress I’d suggested. Thankfully she hadn’t questioned it, my ulterior motive nicely covered by my genuine admiration.
I set down the drinks, asking Jesse to take over with serving them. Looking up, Cole gave me a small nod before heading out of the room.
