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“After everything that’s happened with them?” Harry persisted. The man hadn’t stopped grumbling since he saw her list detailing potential new tenants to take over the poorly run ones.

“Still certain,” she replied, tucking loose locks of hair behind her ears, though it was a futile exercise. A blanket of thick grey clouds had rolled in, hinting at an afternoon storm that was common this time of year.

“But—”

“Harry!” Mina pivoted in place, and they stopped walking to face one another. “I am utterly and completely certain of this decision. Regardless of what may have happened when we were children, the Stinson brothers have been invaluable assets to their family’s farm. They are both well-regarded amongst the other tenants; they have shown a remarkable aptitude for hard work and a willingness to help others. Their family is far too cramped on their current land, and they deserve the opportunity to make a go of it themselves.”

Harry narrowed his eyes. “You know they both fancied you, don’t you? That was why they pestered you so.”

Mina released a loud bark of laughter. “Of course! Lads are never as subtle as they believe themself to be.” Her smile softened when she noticed the sincerity in Harry’s eyes.

“Did you know how I fancied you, then?”

Mina’s lips parted, but she could form no words. The truth was, no, she hadn’t been aware of how he felt. She’d been too wrapped up in her own feelings for him to analyze the potential for mutual feelings. “I—I wasn’t certain.”

Harry seemed to bite back a smile. “Well, now I am telling you I was mad for you—utterly gone.”

Mina’s breath hitched. She didn’t know why, but she started to shake her head in denial.

“It is the truth. I yearned for you, ached to hold you as more than a friend, dreamt of you.” Harry leaned forward, his lips caressing her ear and sending gooseflesh rippling across her skin. “Touched myself to the thought of you.”

The small gasp that escaped her throat was equal parts arousal and shock. “I would never have believed you could be so bold…”

There was a wicked gleam in his crystalline eyes when he said, “There are many things you do not know, but I believe it is well past time I say them, and you hear them.”

“Such as?” she breathed. A tree trunk pressed into her spine, her clothing providing a thin barrier against the bite of the bark. When had he maneuvered them from the path and into the shade of the fiery red and brilliant orange of the trees lining the path? How had he done it without her realizing it?

“I care not to watch the Stinson twins ogle you like they used to.”

“Are you jealous?” Mina asked with a small, breathless laugh.

“Ravenously.” The length of Harry’s body rested against hers, pressing her back into the tree until there was nowhere for her to go, nowhere for her to look but his beautiful face and entrancing eyes. “I have regretted my cowardice for years, and I am exhausted from it. I don’t want that kiss last night to be our last; I want it to be the first of many.”

“Me, too,” Mina murmured, her eyes straying to the tantalizing curve of his mouth.

“You do?” he coaxed.

Mina could only nod.

“How long?” The tip of his nose grazed hers. “How long have you wanted me? As long as I’ve wanted you?”

“It feels like forever.” She tilted her chin to capture his mouth, but he evaded her. She arched her back to reach, but it served only to press the budded peaks of her breast into the hard wall of his chest. It was all she could do not to rub against him like a cat. She’d loved the kind and gentle side of Harry, but this strong, dominant side of him was just as arousing—so much so that she had to press her thighs together to staunch the throbbing ache that was blooming there.

“Forever and a day for me.” He sealed his words with the briefest of pecks upon her lips before he took her hand and began dragging her after him to rejoin the path. “Now, let us meet with the Stinson boys, and I will make certain that they know they are not to sniff around your skirts.”

Mina’s entire body flushed with frustrated arousal.

The Stinson boys were most certainly boys no longer. Each weighed at least thirteen stone with enormous, calloused hands, sun-darkened complexions, and bodies built from muscle earned through years of hard work. They’d once been of a similar height with Harry, but they now stood several inches above even his six feet and two inches in height. They were healthy, handsome men by most anyone’s standards, yet Mina had insisted she felt nothing more than a friendly affection toward them.

Still, Harry had nearly growled when Michael and Samuel took turns pulling Mina in for an embrace. His hand flexed at his side until Mina separated herself from Samuel’s arms and reached back to take Harry’s hand in hers. All at once, everything quieted. The twins’ hazel eyes met knowingly, and they shared a silent conversation before turning back to Harry and Mina.

“To what do we owe this pleasure?” Michael asked, gesturing for their guests to join them at the worn kitchen table. The farmhouse was small, and Harry found it impossible to believe two such giant men could live there comfortably, let alone with their parents, younger sister, and now Samuel’s wife and their child. Mina had timed their visit to catch the brothers during their afternoon meal, so the rest of the house was quiet since the family took their meals in shifts, and both the younger and elder Mrs. Stinson were off visiting a neighboring farm.

“I believe we have an interesting proposition for you,” Mina said, clearly trying not to smile too broadly.

Michael leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms over his barrel-sized chest. “Sorry, Mina, but I cannot marry you,” he said, much aggrieved. “I know it’s breaking your heart since you’ve loved me for so long, but we just wouldn’t suit.”

Mina giggled.