Page 60 of A Package Deal

Well, fuck. Now my fancy jeans were too tight, reading into her words in more ways than one. “Well, as much as I love Gigi, I can’t live with my mom forever. I want to build a custom house on the back of the property, right by the pond. Mom said she’s going to put all three of us boys on the title to the land. That way we can each build a house somewhere on the property and it’ll transfer to us when she passes.”

Em reached across the table to squeeze my hand. “Warrick. That’s amazing. You really want me to build it?”

“Fuck, yeah, I do. I wasn’t lying when I said you’re the best builder I know. You and the crew you’re building are amazing. I want your input as I hire an architect and I want you to bring the plans to life. Will you do that for me?”

Surprisingly, Em’s eyes filled with tears.

“Hey, what’s wrong? You don’t have to if you don’t want to. I can?—”

She held up her other hand, stopping me. “No, it’s not that. I’m actually very honored you’d want to hire me again. I’ve been wanting to get into custom home building but figured it would be a couple years off.” She put her hand on her chest. “I can’t believe I get to do something like that so soon.”

I watched her face as she grappled with obtaining her dreams. “One day you’re going to believe in yourself like I believe in you.” That only made her eyes tear up further.

Our food arrived, platter after platter of sushi rolls, and we turned our conversation to lighter topics as we ate. When we couldn’t eat anymore, I paid the bill and walked her to my truck, helping her up into the passenger seat. I paused to look up at her, drinking in this moment. I wanted a thousand more nights like this one with her.

“This has been a great second date, but there’s one more place I want to go.”

She reached over and ran her palm along my cheek. “I’m finding that I’ll go anywhere with you, Warrick.”

I felt ten feet tall as I closed her door and got in on the other side. I held her hand the whole way back to the Timberwolfe Farms, country music softly playing in the background. Pulling around the back of the property, I parked just about where I envisioned my new house. I wanted Em to be in on the vision of this place right from the start. If things went my way, she and Georgia would be living here with me, after all.

I swept Em into my arms and out of the truck, spinning her around ’til she laughed and begged me to stop. Setting her down on her feet, I kept my arm around her waist and pointed at the pond.

“The kitchen should be right here, with a view of the pond. Might even build a little dock we can fish off of. Back porch with views of the trees. Every bedroom will have incredible views of nature. I want this place to feel like a sanctuary.”

Em was nodding, looking around and getting more excited as I explained what I wanted. She pointed at a tall tree near where Georgia and I had sat fishing that one afternoon. “You ever thought about putting up a rope swing from that tree?”

Of course she’d suggest that. Just more proof we were on the same page. I squeezed her tighter. “That tree had a rope swing when my brothers and I were younger. It broke one year and Dad just never fixed it. Then we got older and got busy with sports and we never replaced it.”

Em smiled up at me. “I’ll put up a rope swing for you, Wolfe.”

I leaned down and kissed her, needing to feel that smile intimately. She slid her arms around my waist and clung to me, letting me tip her back and claim her mouth. My hands slid into her hair and then down her back, molding her small body to mine. When my fingertips reached the hem of her sundress, I stopped. If I touched those smooth thighs, I might just take her up against the truck and I wanted to give her so much more than that. Instead, I placed my hands on her waist and swayed her side to side to the love song streaming from the truck speakers. I broke off the kiss, our foreheads pressed to each other’s as we caught our breath.

“Em,” I whispered.

Her eyes flew open, but she let me keep dancing with her.

“I want this every night. Conversation, laughter, dancing, sharing dreams. I want this with you.”

She blinked her eyes, her rhythm faltering. I pulled back just enough to see her expression clearly. Her eyes were filling again and I didn’t know if that was agreement or regret. Honestly, I couldn’t wait any longer. I needed her to know how I felt. If losing Dad had taught me anything, it was that when love was felt, it needed to be shared. No gatekeeping.

“I’m in love with you, Emmerleigh,” I admitted softly.

She inhaled slightly. “You…you are?”

I nodded, watching her process and struggle to accept what I felt so freely. “I want to make this marriage real. You don’t have to agree or say it back, I just want you to know how I feel. This isn’t temporary for me.”

Her hands gripped the back of my shirt in tight fists. She blinked up at me, studying my face, sorting through my words.

“I’m scared,” she finally said, her normal bellow nowhere to be found tonight.

I stilled, wanting her to truly hear me. “I know you are. Cayden lost your trust. You learned in stunning fashion how you couldn’t rely on him, which you took to mean you couldn’t rely on anyone. But I’ve been trying to prove to you that you can rely on me. Because if you do trust me, then you can be vulnerable with me too. With vulnerability comes intimacy. And I want all that with you, Em. And it all starts with your trust, baby. Only you can decide if you trust me wholly.”

She sniffled and swallowed hard. Then she stunned me by letting go of my waist and gripping my shirt, yanking me toward her. She got in my face, her expression fierce.

“I’m trusting you, Wolfe. You better not let me down or I’ll kick your ass and you’ll wish you never moved back home. You hear me? I trust you and you better not fucking break my heart!”

Ah, there was the bellow I loved so much. My contractor had her spine of steel back, but this time, her heart was cracked wide open too.

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