“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.