Not a sacrifice.
But seeing that she never really needed a reason to cuddle, they might as well get that fixed. Besides, she wanted to make a cake tonight for Cole’s birthday—a carrot cake.
Her nose wrinkled at the disgusting recipe she’d gotten from Mimi.
How in heaven’s name was that cake anyone’s favorite? It had real carrots in it! But Cole loved it, and she was just starting to learn how to cook, so he’d doubly love it because he proclaimed everything she made was gold.
He was such a liar.
A cute liar. He just wanted her to feel great.
And it turned out that his evil plan always worked. She was loving life, and learning to cook was a lifelong dream. Thisallwas—just like it was to find her own handsome cowboy.
Eva was living her very own fairy tale.
She cheerfully greeted Sleipnir and found the stall where Dopey munched on his sweet hay. “Hey, baby,” Eva called out to the oversized and awkward beast. Her heart melted a little when Dopey’s big eyes settled on her, and he let out an eager cry. He knew that she represented food, but a part of her liked to imagine that Dopey was also pleased to seeher.
A girl could dream. And she often did! She brought out his bottle and the calf began to dance around. She giggled a little under her breath. Dopey thought he was a human sometimes. Eva hoped that wouldn’t be a problem later on.
It probably would.
She carefully arranged the bottle for Dopey, finding a stool, since this was going to take a while. The cute baby wanted to nuzzle her as he sucked out the milk. She’d take it. The adorable move was better than Dopey trying to eat her clothes.
Arms slid around her from behind. Nowthatcame from a human.
Glancing up and to the side, she met Cole’s brilliant eyes. She knew his touch anywhere. He grinned at her and slid behind her on the stool, but of course, there wasn’t much room, and so he just ended up stealing her seat. He made up for it by scooping her up and resting her on his lap.
Dopey let out a disgruntled grunt as the bottle jerked from his mouth. Eva cooed consolingly, and rearranged herself so everyone was happy. Soon the sounds of Dopey’s content sucking filled the stall.
Cole buried his face into her neck, sending blissful tingles through her. “You smell good.”
See? A liar!
She playfully pushed him back with her shoulder. “No, I don’t. I couldn’t get a shower because our electricity is out. I am so not taking a cold one!”
“Hmm.” He smelled her again, like he was trying to find the source of her fragrance. “Well, it’s not the coveralls, I’m smelling. Did you wrestle the pigs in these?”
Now he was the worst! She wriggled so that he couldn’t get his hands on her to smell her again, but that really wasn’t going to work when she was sitting on his lap. She had no desire to move away from him anyway. “Even if I did wrestle the pigs,” she argued, “I’d come out smelling like roses. That’s just the way I roll. Besides, you just said that you like the way I smell!”
“Yeah, I do… just not your coveralls… you should change.” He tugged at the straps.
Oh, he was making a move on her. She smiled, always fascinated by what Cole thought looked cute on her—it was never what she expected. “Change into what?”
“There’s a red dress I saw hanging up in your closet.”
“Hmm, well, itisyourbirthday.” She leaned back against his chest, resting the back of her head against his shoulder. “Any other requests?”
Besides that horrid carrot cake… not that I’m refusing to make it, but still…
“Let me think.” He rested his chin against her shoulder. While he deliberated on it, he sneaked a kiss next to her ear, and then another on her forehead, and another and another. Her cheek lifted under his lips as she smiled.
They were still very much honeymooners. They’d gotten married in that sweet little Harvest Ranch chapel in February.
For once, she wasn’t the only one rushing to the altar.
Cole had even helped her plan the wedding—from the colors to the decorations to the food. He hadn’t minded a bit—in fact, she suspected that he enjoyed it. They were like two peas in a pod, debating on what cake tasted best and which flowers were best for the bouquet.
They’d pondered almost religiously on the flowers, which made sense, since it was the best way to honor his momma.