“What was that?”
“You asked me what group of people I’d want to be in. It was something I couldn’t stop thinking about. I’d find myself lying in bed in the middle of the night with answers to the question plaguing me by keeping me up all night. You see, until you asked me that, I thought I’d always want to be in the only crowd I’ve ever known. Never did I imagine myself in a place like Sutten. Until you. And the more I thought about it—the more I still think about it—I’ve realized I don’t care what crowd I’m in. As long as it’s the same crowd as you.”
“Camden,” I breathe, no other words coming to mind. He’s taken me by complete surprise.
“I love you, shortcake,” he continues, seemingly unaware of what his words have done to me. “I was so busy falling in love with you I didn’t even realize I’d fallen in love with this town, too. I’d never ask for you to give up your life in Sutten. All I’m asking is for you to welcome me into your life so we can create a life here together.”
A loud sob comes from my throat. My hand comes to my mouth as I look at him in disbelief. “You mean it? You’d be here with me?”
He leans in, his lips moving against mine. “I’d be anywhere with you. What else do I have to do to prove to you that I’m nothing without you?”
“Nothing,” I whisper, needing to kiss him for a moment before continuing. “I love you, Camden Hunter.”
“Not as much as I love you.”
“Are we going to argue about this, too?”
“Probably.” His lips tug up in a cocky smile. “But I’ve always loved fighting with you.”
“I know something else we’re going to fight about,” I offer, wrapping my hands around his middle.
“And what is that?”
“I have to pay you back for what you did today. I don’t have that much money, but we did raise some, and I want to give it to you.”
His lips press into a hard line, the muscle in his jaw angrily ticking away. He doesn’t have to say a word for me to know he’s upset.
“We won’t fight about this.”
My head cocks to the side. “You’ll let me?”
He laughs. “Absolutely not. The first moment I can, the ownership will be transferred to you the way it was always supposed to be. I’m going to transfer the gallery to you, too, so you can expand like you’d always imagined.”
My jaw hangs open. “We can’t. What about the gallery?”
He nips at my nose playfully. “I’d much prefer Wake and Bake to have more space. I only want to showcase local talent. I think it’d be really special to create something together where people can celebrate art and drink coffee.”
It takes a moment for me to form words. My throat feels clogged, completely overwhelming me. How is he so perfect? How do I make sure I keep him forever?
“It’s too much,” I finally get out.
“Too much would never be enough for you, shortcake.”
And then he kisses me. It’s long and sweet, as if he knows he has the rest of our lives to kiss me exactly like this. I kiss him back the same way. Months ago, I thought this man would be the bane of my existence. I wanted him out of Sutten as quickly as possible.
Now, my mind is filled with all of the possibilities of having him here with me.
I thought I’d always hate Camden Hunter, and I definitely never imagined myself falling for him. But I’ve always been a bit of a rebel, and as his hands drift up my leg, his fingers drifting underneath the hem of my dress, I’m looking forward to showing him more of Sutten.
I want to take him to the top of Peak Four during ski season and point to where you can see the ranch from the top. I want to take him to the Christmas Light Show that takes place in the Town Square. I want to test out my new recipes on him and make him enter the Annual Sutten Chili Cook-Off with me.
“I love you,” I tell him, pulling away because I need him to know. I don’t think I’ll ever grow tired of saying those three words to him. “And I’ll spend every day making sure you know how easy it is to love you. And how cherished I feel to have your love.”
His body shudders, making me want to wrap my body around his. I do just that, holding the beautiful, broken man who owns my heart. I’ll never understand why he was never shown the love he deserves, but from now until forever, I’ll make sure he knows how effortless it is to love him.
EPILOGUE - CAMDEN
“I can’t believe the day is finally here,” Pippa says from the passenger side of our SUV. She presses her forehead to the window, trying to get an early glimpse of the event.
“You’ve not so patiently been waiting for it,” I tease, flicking the blinker on to turn into the parking lot. It’s already full, even though the event doesn’t start for another hour. I search the lot, finally finding a spot that happens to be right next to a Jennings Ranch truck.
Good. Mare told me she’d make sure she and Cade and Jasper would be here early. I’ve been working on this surprise for Pippa for months, and now that the day is finally here, I’m incredibly nervous.
“I still can’t believe this is real,” she mutters, looking at the space in the distance.
“It’s about to become a lot more real,” I tell her, putting the car in park. My hand reaches into the pocket of my suit, making sure the little box tucked into the inside pocket is still there.
“Wait,” Pippa says when I open the passenger door. She twists in the seat, looking at me with anxious eyes. “Before we go in there, I just want to say thank you again for this. I know I’m about to be a sobbing mess, and before I see the completed project, I need you to know how much this means to not only me but my family and, quite honestly, the rest of Sutten.”
I push her legs open, letting my fingers trail up the skirt of her sundress. There are little blue flowers all over it. I itch to push it up and get a better view of her tan thighs. We’re in the middle of summer, nearing a year since I first opened the gallery in Sutten, and I’ve gotten attached to the golden glow of her skin from spending so much time outside.
When I feel like she’s close enough, I grab her by the hips and pull her just a little closer to me because I can.
She speaks up before I respond to her. “I know there’s so much we could’ve done with the money, but it means the world to me you decided to do this.”
We argued a lot about the money Pippa and the rest of the town raised from their fundraiser. All of the owners on the block wanted me to keep the money in an effort to repay me for buying it. I wouldn’t hear it. The moment I could, I put all of the properties in their respective names. I wasn’t lying when I said it was never my intention to rent it out to them. I’ve gotten to know every single one of them in the months since I permanently moved to Sutten. They’re all incredibly hardworking and deserve to own the space they’ve dedicated their lives to.
It didn’t sit well with any of them—including Pippa. After enough fights about it, we decided to put the money toward something for the town.
It was my idea to create a space for the community to gather. And thus, the Linda Jennings Community Center was formed. It’s been a labor of love to create and bring to fruition, but its opening today has been something we’ve been looking forward to.
In more ways than one.
“You scare me when you’re quiet,” Pippa teases, fiddling with my tie. “You’re not second-guessing this, are you?”
I scoff, my hands trailing up her bare skin underneath her dress. I grab at her ass, rocking her hips back and forth. “I should punish you for even thinking that,” I hiss. “This is one of the most special things I’ve ever been a part of. I’m excited to see it all come together. My only regret is that I never got to meet the woman it’s honoring.”
She smiles.