Page 62 of Forbidden Flame

“I’m not backing off this time. What we have is too special.”

I kissed his palm, not responding with words. I wasn’t sure that I believed him. I’d been hurt before.

Chapter 14

Cole

When I’d dropped Daphne off at her house last night, I’d walked her to her door, and we’d made out like teenagers. This morning, I’d ordered flowers from the local flower shop, Petals, and sent her a huge bouquet of yellow and white flowers. On the card, I’d written, When can we go stargazing again?

I couldn’t help but smile thinking of the flowers being delivered and her reading the card.

“Where’s your head at today?” Heath stood in front of me.

“What are you doing?” I dropped the sledgehammer we used for demolition to my side. We were demoing a wall between the kitchen and the living room, and I was looking forward to letting loose.

Heath shot me a look. “I called your name several times. You never answered.”

“Sorry, I guess I was thinking about something.” Or someone.

Heath cocked his head to the side. “Thinking about the project, or is something else going on?”

Realizing the conversation could take a while, I shoved the goggles onto my forehead. “Nothing is going on.”

He narrowed his eyes on me. “You’ve been grumpy for months, and today you’re smiling at the wall you’re about to demolish for no reason.”

I scrubbed a hand over my face. “I was smiling?”

Heath nodded. “I have to be honest. It was a little creepy.”

I let out a breath, deciding to tell him a piece of the truth. “I decided to go for something I’ve wanted for a long time.”

Heath raised a brow. “Are you going to tell me what that is?”

I shook my head slowly. “Nope.”

Heath’s hands dropped to his sides. “Are you applying for a new job? If you’re not happy here—”

“It’s nothing like that. I love working here.” It was so much better to work with family than a stranger. Even if it created complications for my personal life.

“Is it the farm? If you want to relinquish your responsibilities there, we can figure something out.”

“I love the farm. I love living there. If you and Marley want to move back in, that’s fine too.”

“No plans of that. Not until Aiden has a better handle on running the inn. If it’s not the family or work, then what is it?”

I sighed. “I want to wait to talk about it until I know for sure it’s something I want in my life on a permanent basis.”

He rested a hand on my shoulder. “As long as you don’t accidentally crush a finger in the meantime.”

“I’ll do better,” I said to him as he walked away.

“See that you do,” Heath called over his shoulder.

I couldn’t get last night out of my head. It was beyond perfect. I’d wanted to share the stars with someone, and the only people that came to mind were Izzy and Daphne. Ever since we spent time together at the Easter egg hunt, I’d wanted to see them again. I hated not being able to follow up to hear about Izzy’s progress with her bike riding.

Daphne didn’t want me in Izzy’s life unless we were a sure thing, and I could understand where she was coming from. I’d already broken her trust.

I lowered the safety goggles and swung the sledgehammer. There was nothing like a little demo to get my mind off a woman.

---