A heavy oak desk sat directly in front of the window, with a plush leather chair drawn up to it. Along the wall, shelves held neat rows of amber glass bottles that caught the light like dark honey.
I walked over to the desk. A package sat in the middle, the label reading:
Jewelers Scale, 0.001g Precision.
I reached out and picked up a vial. Jasmine Absolute. My fingers moved over the labels one by one.Sweet Orange. Vanilla CO2. Sandalwood.
“You built me a fragrance lab,” I said, my voice catching. “How did you… when did you…?”
“Dad emptied it while we were in Vegas. And the last pieces arrived today,” he said. “I was planning to wait until Christmas. Had this whole thing worked out in my head. But then the boxes showed up and… fuck it. I couldn’t wait another week.”
I picked up another bottle, reading the label.Geosmin. Smells like fresh earth after rain. He’d bought an absurd amount, more than a lifetime’s supply. One drop in a swimming pool, and you’d notice it.
I put it back, then my eyes landed on the one beside it:Hay Absolute.
A surprised laugh escaped me. I turned around.
He was leaning against the doorframe, arms crossed, watching me with a grin.
“Hay Absolute?” I asked, holding up the little amber vial.
He rubbed the back of his neck, looking a little sheepish. “Yeah… I wasn’t sure what you’d actually use, but when I saw that one, I figured it sounded like something that belonged on a ranch.”
I pressed my lips together. “How did you even know what to get?”
“Looked it up online.” He pushed off the doorframe and walked over to me. “Spent a few nights reading about base notes,heart notes, all that stuff. Figured out what tools you’d need to do it proper.”
I looked around the room again. The window held, indeed, the best view on the entire ranch.
“Brock,” I started, then stopped. My throat felt tight. “But this is Knox's room.”
“Not anymore.” He reached out and brushed his fingers down my cheek. “Talked to the family. We’re done carrying that weight. Done keeping an empty room for somebody who doesn’t want to be here.”
He dropped his hand and settled it on my waist.
“You helped build me a brand, Starlin’. Figured it was time you had one of your own.”
I didn’t have words big enough, so I didn’t use any. I buried my fingers in his thick hair and kissed him. He pulled me in tight, wrapping both arms around me.
“I can’t believe you did all this for me,” I said, breathless.
“For us. I spent a long time holding onto old ghosts. I’m done looking backward. I’m all in, Sienna.”
“Good,” I said softly against his mouth. “Because so am I.”
epilogue
. . .
SIENNA
Spring had finally arrived in Wyoming, and it felt damn good.
After months of freezing cold and snow piled up to the top of the paddock fences, the weather had finally turned. The mountains stood tall with their snow-covered peaks glowing in the sun. All across Wild Sage, the pastures were exploding into a bright, fresh green.
I stood by the open window of my perfume studio and let the breeze wash over my face. The scent of damp earth, sweetgrass, and pine drifted in.
I took a deep breath, picked up a glass pipette, and added three drops of juniper oil into the bottle resting on my scale.
