She’s fucking perfect. Laying there, spread out on the bed, having been thoroughly devoured by me. I am consumed with the need to tell this woman how I feel. Climbing up her body Irub my wet face on her stomach, causing her to laugh, before I get to her face and kiss her gently, pulling her against me.
“You okay?” I ask her.
“That was…I’ve never…Holy shit, Cash.”
Please, don’t break my heart.
Clasping the necklace around her neck, I kiss the back of her shoulder before helping get her redressed. Then we pack.
We move in comfortable silence as I make a pile to return to the library downstairs and remove her clothes from the little closet, laying them on the bed for her to pack in her various bags and boxes. Once there’s a small stack of boxes by the door, I start carrying them down the stairs, the books on top. Popping into the library, books in hand, I find Lizzie by the fireplace, her own cowboy romance in her hands, a shirtless man in a hat on the cover. Thankfully, being away from Callie and her delicious smell has allowed my cock to settle a little, though my balls are still aching.
Raising a brow, I give her a look. “I’m so certainHis Cattle Roping Princessis surely just an innocent book about a man teaching a woman to rope.” She huffs out a laugh before laying the book on the table.
“You hush, Cash. We old women need to keep our minds sharp. Your own little lady upstairs had a stack of books,” she says, pointing at my arms.
“That she did, and I’ll buy her a whole bookshop if it makes her happy.”
“She’s lovely, Cash. So sweet, and kind. And the way you look at her.” She sniffles a little. “Reminds me of how your daddy watches your mama, to this day. He orbits around her, like she is the sun.”
I sit beside her on the little settee. “I’m so grateful for everything you did for her, Aunt Lizzie. I think, if it weren’t for you, she wouldn’t have stayed. You gave her something in her weekshere.” I put an arm around her, hugging her close. “I think I’m falling for her. And I just want her to stay.”
Patting my hand, she says, “All we ever wanted was for you to find the woman who fits you and Callie is like a puzzle piece you didn’t know was missing but everyone else saw it. I hope it works out. Because, sweet Cash,” she pats my cheek softly, “you aren’t falling for her, you are already gone.”
Chapter 20
Two Princes
Callie
The aftermath of my time with Duke, and then with Cash, is devastating. Duke is dark, moody, and hard to read but his affection is searingly intense. Whereas Cash is light, and happy and shows me how he feels with every movement of his body.
I’ve read a lot of romance, and I’ve read a lot of love triangles. I don’t think I can keep them both. We are speeding toward a collision I can’t avoid, but I can stop now. The problem is, do I want to?
I want Duke’s strong appraisal—his rough, but worshipful hands. His passion ignites fire low in my belly at a single look. We are fire when we are together, a single spark, and we are ablaze. The first time, in the truck, where the heat crackled between us as the rain pounded down, the smell of Duke’s wet skin and petrichor in the air, flashes lighting the scene between us in stunning relief, is seared into my brain—the longing, the inescapable need. After his fishing trip, I was more convinced than ever that Duke could be it. The stockroom was the mostamazing sex of my life thus far. He studies me, and sees me, honestly, a little too clearly. He sees my rough edges and understands them in a way we haven’t explored yet. I still feel the shadow of his touch on my skin, the intensity of his gaze as he watched me come undone. The gentleness of his hold.
I also want Cash’s sunshine. He’s a bright spot every day. His huge carefree smile. His flirtatious nature keeps me on my toes. My heart is full of the loving and easy affection he doles out. The constant tactile communication of his hand in mine, a gentle kiss on my head, a loose arm around my shoulder is something I have never had. It’s addicting.
Cash makes me feel wanted and desired in a real way, like he would welcome me home at the end of the day with a hug and a cup of tea, listen to my stories and laugh along, and be a starving man who needs me as he takes me to his bed. His sweet kiss standing by the railing eating hotdogs contrasted with the raw hunger in his eyes as he knelt at my feet and worshipped me give me a window into the man I’m just learning about. And I want more.
I’m miles away from wanting to try the children route again, but I can picture him with a little blond-haired baby running around, laughter surrounding them. So much different than the feeling I get from Duke, who feels like he would challenge me and force me to grow. These are two halves of the perfect man, if I knew how to build one.
Cash and Duke are two sides of a coin, opposites but complementary, and I don’t want to lose either of them. I’m afraid, however, if I don’t choose soon, the choice will no longer be mine to make. My heart shatters at the thought.
Carrying my heavy suitcase down the stairs, I see my boxes Cash brought down sitting on the floor. Tilting my head, I study them, trying to figure out where he disappeared to. I listen closely and hear murmured voices from the library.Making my way over, I hear Cash and Lizzie speaking with a teasing quality to their conversation.
“...didn’t know was missing but everyone else saw it. I hope it works out. Because, sweet Cash,” Lizzie pauses for a second, “you aren’t falling for her, you are already gone.”
Backing away, I feel like lightning has struck me right in my chest. Thinking back to last night and Duke’s words?—
“...I already fell harder for you than I did for Indie in half a dozen years and if you walk out…I won’t be able to handle it.”
My stomach does a flip. Cash hasn’t confessed these feelings to me, but I can feel them in his touch. The way he looked up at me when he was kneeling at my feet, the excitement in his posture, his voice, when he presented me with his necklace. Wrapping my hand around the charms hanging between my breasts, I want to cry.
Because, I think, I’m falling in love with them both.
Sitting in my new apartment, surrounded by my sparse belongings, I lean back on my couch. Cash left a few hours ago, citing exhaustion from getting home late. I see the little touches I picked up this past couple of days. A fluffy bright pink pillow on the couch, a large round rug under the coffee table with a flowers and bugs motif in bright happy colors of pink, purple, and teal. The black dishes I have sitting on the counter, waiting for their cabinet. The small shoe rack by the stairs.
It’s not home yet, but it’s a hell of a lot closer to one than I had two weeks ago. Deciding I need to address the elephant in the room, and in this town, I take my phone from my pocket and select the name from the contacts.
