Page 128 of Wag More Bark Less

“What?”

“You didn’t give your number to anyone but me.”

And Alyssa. But I suspected that had something to do with this Fred character. I’d ask her later. But now it made sense why no one reached out. They didn’t know how.

“So, after weeks of radio silence, you drove to Michigan to give this to me?” I asked, touched but also confused. “I don’t understand.”

“I love you. Fuck. I wasn’t going to lead with that.”

Luke scrubbed both hands over his face, looking nervous as hell. It was kind of endearing. The man who rarely let down his guard was acting like a shy teenager confessing his feelings to his longtime crush. Dammit, how was I supposed to stay even a little bit mad at him when he was like this?

The tension melted, and I moved closer. As close as I could get with a dog wedged between us. Ellie sat on his boots, and if I had to guess, not even a department store filled with socks could entice her to detach herself from Luke right now.

“But you didn’t even kiss me goodbye.”

“I thought I was doing what was best for you.”

“And what was that?”

“Letting you go to your family without putting pressure on you to come back. I didn’t think it was fair to tell you how I felt when your family needed you. When you never once mentioned coming back. But dammit, Maggie. It’s been hell without you.”

I glanced at the letter again. Luke’s name wasn’t on it anywhere, but that didn’t mean he had nothing to do with this. He had to have known.

“So, this is you asking me to come back?”

“This is me telling you I’ve missed you since the second you pulled out of my driveway. That the entire town has missed you. It’s not just me who wants you to come back.”

He reached into his pocket, handing over three soft caramels. No doubt a gift from Walter. My heart squeezed.

“Everyone wants you to come back,” Luke continued. “But the choice is yours. If you want me to turn around and leave without you, I will. It’ll kill me, and I can’t promise Ellie won’t hitch a ride back to Bluebell Springs even if you tell me to take a hike. But I wanted you to have all the information so you can decide⁠—”

I pounced on him, Ellie moving out of the way only long enough for me to wrap my legs around Luke’s hips. The second my mouth was on his, I felt the cold pressure of her nose against my exposed lower back.

We laughed through the kiss, and suddenly, the world felt right again.

Luke held me tightly against him, nuzzling my neck. “I love you, in case I didn’t say that part.”

“You did.” I cupped his cheek, pressing my forehead against his. “But you can say it again. As many times as you want.”

“Don’t make me get out the hose,” Violet called to us as two little boys giggled behind the gate.

I slid down Luke’s body, looking forward to the next time I could do that without clothes on. “You really drove thirteen hundred miles to tell me you loved me when you could’ve just called me?”

“I thought the grand gesture would sound a lot cooler in the story we tell our grandkids.”

Tears leaked out the corners of my eyes.

My epic love story.

This was it.

“What do you say, Magnolia Holland? Do you want me to pack your things on this trailer and bring you back to Bluebell Springs? The choice is yours.”

“You’re going to load it by yourself?” I teased, my smile stretching my cheeks.

“Connor’s in the cab taking a nap.”

“And I didn’t just show up to stand around and look pretty,” Alyssa called from the fence beside my sister and Mom.