“And you have been for a long time?”
“Years,” I agreed.
“And you want to invest in my business? Invest in my dreams?”
“Your dreams are my dreams,” I said softly.
“And you want me to move into your cabin with you?”
“Very much. So much.” I couldn’t think of anything I wanted more.
“Even if I decorate it in glitter and antlers?” he teased.
“Well.” I sank my teeth into my bottom lip and pretended to think about it. “Honestly, I think after tonight I may find glitter and antlers uncontrollably arousing, but if you’re willing to take that risk…”
He laughed. “And we’ll plant daisies in pots?”
Ah, shit. The idea of the future stretching out before us nearly made me tear up. “By the thousands. Whichever color your Granny Joyce likes best, since maybe it’d be nice to surprise her with flowers for a change.”
His smile softened. “And yellow for Grandmother Bell?”
“Yeah,” I agreed after clearing my throat. “Definitely.”
“And we can… we can maybe have kids down the line?” He swallowed nervously, like he thought maybe this would be the deal breaker. “I’ve always sort of wanted to adopt. To give a kid a family and a home here in the Thicket. To love them unconditionally.”
“Like your Granny loved you?”
Colin nodded slowly.
“Yeah, baby, we can do that.” Fuck, he killed me in the very best way. I hoped he always would. “In fact, I insist on it.”
“Then for heaven’s sake, Ryder Richards, how could you possibly think I’d say no to anything you ask?” His nose rubbed against mine, and his breath was warm against my lips. “Are you suggesting I’m some kind of flake?”
Epilogue
Colin
“Sadie, get back here!”
Ryder chased our daughter as she shrieked her way through the crowd toward the cotton candy booth.
I heard a soft gasp behind me and turned to see a blast from the past. “Why, Ava Ivey, as I live and breathe,” I said, sounding way more like a character from Steel Magnolias than I cared to admit.
“Colin Kearns, oh my goodness,” she said, enveloping me in a huge hug. She looked gorgeous if a little pale, and she was dressed to kill in a low-cut, sleeveless white shirt. The most popular girl in high school looked the same as she had ten years ago when she’d left town.
“It’s Colin Richards now, actually,” I said, feeling my face heat. Even though it had been five years since Ryder and I had tied the knot, I still got all flustered telling people about it.
“Richards?” she asked. “Who… Oh my God! Did you marry Rachel Richards? Marty Bell’s cousin? She is so freaking cute!”
I glanced toward Ryder in hopes he’d get that husband Spidey sense he seemed to get sometimes when I needed him. Unfortunately, he was busy plucking cotton candy out of our daughter’s hair.
“No, I, um… I married her brother, Ryder.”
Ava stared at me for a minute. “Ryder Richards? The guy who spray-painted dirty words on the back of the high school gym when we were in eighth grade?”
I barked out a laugh. “Oh my gosh. That was totally him, wasn’t it? I forgot all about that. I’m married to a criminal.” I found him in the crowd again. “Babe! Ryder! Get over here. We need to have words.”
His head full of messy dark hair popped up as he turned to face me. “Huh?” Then he spotted Ava and smiled. He grabbed Sadie around the waist and hauled her under his arm like a pirate with a cask of spirits. Her little ponytail puffs looked like fuzzy teddy bear ears and always made me smile. She kept a strong hold on her cotton candy bag despite being carried like a sack of potatoes. “Ava Ivey? That you? Is Brooks here?”
Uh-oh. I shot Ryder a look. How could you have just brought that up? Don’t you remember the scandal?
His eyes widened in response. What scandal? I want the scoop!
Ava’s eyes narrowed and her nostrils flared. “I wouldn’t know Brooks’s whereabouts,” she said with a sniff. “I haven’t seen the man in a decade until the other day. I’m here with my very serious and committed boyfriend, Malachi.”
She turned and looked around, finally spotting a cute guy with mischievous eyes, who looked totally out of place at the Lickin’ Artists’ Fair despite the fact that he was manning a booth.
“There you are. Mal!” She gestured wildly. “Come over here and meet my old friends from high school.”
Her “boyfriend” seemed nice enough, but when the guy looked at my husband’s dick before checking out my own bulge, Ryder and I lifted eyebrows at each other. Straight, my ass, we said in more silent husband-speak.
I opened my mouth to say something to poor Ava, but Ryder cut me off at the pass. “Here, take your hellion,” he said, shoving Sadie into my arms, cotton candy hair and all. He reached out a hand to shake Mal and Ava’s hands. “Forgive the sticky fingers.”