“Just like you.”
Setting me on my feet, he grabs mugs from a cabinet, poising them on the counter. He runs his hand through his hair, face growing serious. “You really were made for me, you know.”
“That’s what you keep saying,” I tease, fingering the petals of a fresh bouquet of flowers on the counter.
“Those are for you,” he says with a nod and a wink.
“But you never left the cabin this morning. How could you?—”
“A simple call and change of address from your place to mine.”
“Wait,” I say, reeling at the romantic antics of this man. “You were planning on having flowers delivered to my house this morning.”
He winks. “You deserve the best of everything, and I mean to give it to you.”
He rounds the island, setting our coffees next to each other on the table. A veritable feast is laid out of freshly cookedsausage, country potatoes, scrambled eggs, and even blueberry muffins.
Beelining for me, he pulls me into his arms again, carrying me to the table and sitting down.
“You know, Iampretty good at walking. Done it for twenty-three years. Well, almost twenty-three. I imagine I was pretty immobile at first.”
“Well, I’ve been waiting thirty-one years to carry you, so I win. He grabs a sausage and slides it seductively between my lips. “And to feed you.” I bite off the tip, and he growl-winces. “And to please the hell out of you.”
“You’re an expert at that,” I sigh, melting against his bare chest like Dumpling did a week ago.
He grabs his phone, snapping a series of selfies as he coaches me to make different faces and follow along. The camera feels almost silly after the depth of last night and this morning, but he makes even this playful.
Setting it back down, his eyes meet mine, warm and intense, as he strokes my jawline fervently, saying, “I don’t want to forget one moment with you.Ever.”
Chapter
Fifteen
CATALINA
Ihesitate at the door of Gran’s hospital room, throat tightening with fear. Although I know this is nothing like what happened to Grandpa a year ago, traumatic memories slam into me once more, gripping my chest and making the backs of my eyes sting.
Ambrose takes my hand, sliding his thick fingers between my much smaller ones. His presence is comforting, reassuring, and he says gently, “You don’t have to do this alone anymore, Catalina. We go in together.”
I nod, smiling and relaxing into his presence.Is this what it feels like to have someone to rely on … and to love?I don’t know how I ever lived without Ambrose. Or why I resisted so hard after meeting him.
But everything happens for a reason and in God’s timing. That’s what Gran has always told me. And Ambrose feels like proof of that wisdom.
A big bouquet of jeweled-toned flowers sits by Grandma’s bed as we enter the room. I glance over my shoulder at Ambrose.
He nods. “Thought she’d enjoy waking up to a little pick-me-up.”
“The florist must love you,” I tease.
“That and the bookstore owner in Ophir City. They’re already scrambling to get me more of your reads.”
I arch an eyebrow. “Seriously?”
“With the kind of education they’re providing, absolutely,” he murmurs against the shell of my ear as we draw closer to Gran’s bed.
After a few moments of her soft breathing and our flirtatious whispering, the stately white-haired lady startles, rousing in bed. Her eyes settle on Ambrose, and she says, still half dreaming, “I knew you never left.”
The cowboy swallows hard, removing his Stetson and setting it at the foot of the bed. “Never, sweetheart.”
