She glared at me. “Not you too, Jase. Of all people I thought you would understand. Look at you and Taylor.”
My hands came up in defense. “Whoa. Hold on a second. I do understand and I get it. I’m just saying it would be different if he was in Austin and all of this was happening. Your parents are trying to deal with not only the fact that you’re going to be getting married, but you’re moving to Montana also. That’s huge.”
With regard, she nodded. “I know. The whole time I was flying down here I think I pinched myself at least ten times to make sure this wasn’t all a dream. I realize what I’m walking away from. I have a great life in Austin. My job, my badass apartment, friends who are a blast. My family is here in Texas . . . I know what this means.”
“But?”
Her eyes filled with tears. “I love him so much. Being away from him the last few days has only shown me how much I love him. I honestly don’t think I could even attempt to have a relationship with him where I’m thousands of miles apart. Plus, I feel some sort of connection there.”
With a speculative eye, I asked, “What kind of connection?”
She shook her head and frowned. “I can’t explain, and if I tried you would think I was insane.” Waving off where her thoughts were going, she continued. “But that doesn’t matter. What matters is I know being with Ryder is what I want. And he’s in Montana so that means I’m in Montana.”
“I envy you, Ava.”
She lifted her eyes and gave me a funny look. “Why?”
“You knew what you wanted and no matter what the costs, you went after it. You explored it and you found happiness. I’m really happy for you, I really am.”
Her face lit up as she pushed off the counter and walked up to me. Kissing me on the cheek, she winked and said, “I’m happy for you too. Are you going to be able to see her tonight?”
Wiggling my eyebrows, I answered, “Hell yeah, I am.”
Chuckling, Ava hit me on the chest and walked out of the kitchen.
“Hey, make sure you say goodbye before you head back to Montana!” I called out as Ava turned and blew me a kiss. It was then my phone went off.
Taylor: Heading home.
Me: I’ll see you in a bit.
Taylor: I can’t wait to see you! Be careful driving.
Me: Will do! You too!
Walking into the game room, I made my way over to my father. “Dad, I’m going to go see Taylor.”
He smiled and nodded his head. “You staying with her tonight?”
“Probably. I’ll be back home early. We’ve got a delivery of hay that I need to be here for.”
“I can take care of that if you don’t want to rush home.”
Placing my hand on his shoulder, I gave it a squeeze. “Thanks, Dad. I appreciate it, but this is my job and I have no intentions of slacking off.”
He pinched his brows slightly together. “I’ve got to tell you, Jase, that is a very responsible thing to do. I’m not sure if at your age in a new relationship I would have picked my job over my girlfriend.”
Letting out a gruff laugh, I shook my head. “Well, I learned from you so maybe you would have.”
Laughing, he nodded. “Maybe. Make sure you say goodbye to everyone before you leave.”
“Will do.”
I made my way around to everyone and wished them a Merry Christmas before stopping in front of my mother last.
“Thank you for dinner, Mom.”
With a soft smile, she placed her hand on the side of my face. “Enjoy your evening, sweetheart. Tell Taylor I said Merry Christmas. Oh! And don’t forget her gift, it’s under the tree.”
“I won’t. Night, Mom. I’ll see you in the morning.”
“Good night, Jase.”
Pulling in behind Taylor’s car, I glanced at the cabin. I could see a faint hint of a light coming through the front window. Jumping out of the truck, I shut the door and quickly made my way into the cabin. Taylor had sent a text and told me to come in and head straight to her bedroom. I’d been uncomfortable the whole drive here with a hard-on the entire trip.
“Tay?” I called out as I opened the door and locked it behind me. The last thing I’d want is for her dad to make a surprise visit.
“In the bedroom!”
I dragged in a few deep breaths before making my way to her. The bedroom door was shut some so I pushed it open. The sight before me almost had my legs buckling out.
“Holy. Shit.”
Her face was lit up by the candles that flanked either side of her bed. She was dressed in the sexiest piece of lingerie I could ever imagine. It was red and white satin and lace. My eyes swept across her body as I tried to take everything in. I swallowed hard when I saw the thigh-high stockings and garter. To top it all off, she had on red heels.
“I’ve died and gone to heaven,” I mumbled.
Her face blushed as she motioned with her finger for me to come closer.
“I wasn’t sure if I could pull off sexy, but Lauren assured me I could.”
I ripped my shirt off my body and threw it to the floor. “You sure the hell can. I’ve never seen anyone so fucking sexy in my life.”