Page 98 of Forbidden King (Magnolia Falls)

But I was worried that this little bubble we’d created would be coming to an end. We were always together. When we weren’t, we were on the phone with one another.

“Hayes called before you got here, and the fire is finally under control,” I said, noticing the way his shoulders stiffened, and he nodded.

“Yeah. I talked to him earlier, and he said he’ll be home in a few days. I’m so glad this is almost over for him.”

“Me, too. So that’s what I wanted to talk to you about.” I cleared my throat, suddenly feeling nervous.

“I wanted to talk to you, too.”

Oh, God. Did he want this to be over?

“How about you go first, then?” I said, because if he wanted this done, I wasn’t going to pour my heart out to him and embarrass myself.

“Okay, well, I want to show you something first.” He pushed to his feet and shoved his hands into his pockets. “Can you come out to my workshop with me?”

“Of course. Let me turn off the chocolate.” I unplugged both fondue pots and took his hand. We walked out the back door to the barn-looking structure that Kingston had turned into his woodworking shop. It’s where he did most of his creating and building. He’d been spending a lot of time out there, working on a few projects that they had going on right now.

“Did you finish the desk for Cutler?”

“Yep. He’s coming over this weekend to paint it after his game. But that’s not what I wanted to show you.” He led me to the back of the shop, and I came to a stop in front of a tall bookcase standing in front of me. I’d never seen anything more beautiful. It was painted in a very light sage green color and with a hand-painted dandelion with a darker green stem and white fluffball on one side, and some words scrolled around it in beautiful script. I moved closer and ran my fingers over the words as I read them. “Some see a weed. Others see a wish.”

“This is stunning.” I moved around to the other side, and there was a pair of dandelion fluffballs on that side, as well. There were white petals in the shape of hearts fluttering around the stem, as if they’d already been blown. I read the script on this side aloud, as well. “Love is in the air.”

The detail and molding on this bookshelf were absolutely stunning, and I couldn’t stop staring at it.

“I knew you wanted to have shelves of your own to keep the books that you’ve collected at home.” He turned his baseball cap around backward before shoving his hands into his pockets again.

Was he nervous?

“This is for me?” I shook my head, blinking to try to keep the tears away. “This is what you’ve been working on?”

“Yeah. I wanted to surprise you.”

“You always surprise me, King,” I whispered, because he did. He had. He continued to surprise me every day with how thoughtful he was. How sexy he was. How vulnerable and protective and sweet he was. All at the same time, most days.

He took me around to the back of the bookshelf, and there was a handwritten note with a sharpie.

Dandelion, I finally know what I want to wish for…

Love, King

The date was written below, and he smiled at me before speaking. “When I close my eyes, I see you. Every fucking time. Whether there is a dandelion in my hand or I’m sitting in my car or I’m on a jobsite.I. See. You.It’s always been you. When I tattooed this flower on my body besideRide or Die, it was because I knew then what I was too afraid to say aloud.”

“What?” My voice shook as tears streamed down my face.

“That I love you. I’ve always loved you. These last few months—this is what I’ve been wishing for. She’s standing right in front of me.”

“King,” I said, shaking my head because I was overwhelmed by how much I loved this man. “I love you. That’s what I wanted to tell you tonight. I’ve been in love with you for a while now, and I’ve just been so afraid to say it. To feel it.”

He pulled me close and wrapped his arms around me, and we stood there hugging out in the woodshed for the longest time before I tipped my head back. “Does this mean you’ll finally have sex with me?”

He laughed hard and reached his hands behind my backside, grabbing my ass and lifting me up. “Hell yeah, it does. But we’re talking to Hayes right away. This is not a fucking fling. It never was.”

“Agreed. And he comes home in a few days, and we’ll tell him in person. So how about you stop holding back? I love you. You love me. Carry me inside and have your way with me.”

I saw how conflicted he was in his gaze. “I wish we could tell him right now. I’m ready to tell everyone. I’m done with all the secrets.”

“Me, too.”

---