Page 86 of A Sunny Sweetheart for the Cowboy

Paisley wrinkled her nose at him. “I’ll survive.”

He dropped a kiss to her forehead. “Be right back.”

She stared after his fine form, plaid shirt tucked into his slim jeans held in place with a brown leather belt. Worn cowboy boots and a well-used Stetson rounded out his casual look.

Paisley could stare at him all day, but the plates in her hands were drooping from the weight of warm food. She turned toward the picnic table as someone else claimed the seats Weston had pointed out.

Great. She looked around but didn’t spot two seats together anywhere, though quite a few of the diners looked nearly done. Ah, over there. The lodge steps had space, and Weston would probably prefer sitting on the side of the hustle rather than jostled in the middle, anyway.

She headed in that direction, catching Weston’s eye and poking her chin toward the lodge as he turned with their drinks. He nodded and followed, and soon they settled on the wide wooden planks.

“Good call.” Weston took a drink of his iced tea and set the tall glass down beside him. “Busy place.”

“It sure is. There’s so much energy, it’s crazy.”

“You pulled everything off.” Weston dug his fork into the baked beans.

“With a lot of help.” Paisley nudged him with her elbow.

“We make a good team.” He held her gaze for several seconds.

She held her breath. “Yeah, we do.” She stretched for a light kiss. Thoughts of the two of them teaming up for other events, other situations, maybe for life, spiraled through her mind with a myriad of flash photos. Could that really be her future? Could Weston be her future?

Why not? She knew she loved him. Knew he loved her. There wasn’t much about him that could surprise her after knowing him for over a year. She’d seen him at his worst… but also at his best.

And Weston’s best was very fine indeed.

He pressed his shoulder against hers and pointed with a rib bone. “It seems so strange to see Nana and Grandfather together. And she actually looked up at him and laughed.”

“I’ve never seen him smile so wide.”

“I know, right? I can’t help but wonder what would have happened back then if she’d told him she was pregnant.”

“Then none of this would have happened. You and I would never have met.”

“You think?” Weston’s brows pulled together as he studied her. “I guess you’re right. Grandfather wouldn’t have married Gladys if he’d married Nana. James and Theodore wouldn’t have been born, so none of my Sullivan cousins, either. Nana would have hated living in Chicago all her life. She’s even chafing in Missoula. She always said she was made for the big skies of Montana.”

“All of life as we now know it would be different.” Just the thought made Paisley lose her appetite just a little, though there were definitely parts of her life she could have done without.

“I guess I’m glad things happened the way they did, in that case.” Weston’s eyes darkened as he looked at her. “Because I wouldn’t want to live in a world where I never met you.”

Paisley bit her lip. “I think that’s the nicest thing anyone ever said to me.”

His arm slid around her, his hand settling on her waist and tugging her closer. “Stick around, sweetheart. You’ll hear nicer things than that.” Then he lowered his lips to hers.

“We seem to be interrupting something,” Cadence whispered hoarsely.

Paisley waved her hand to shoo her roommate away. Couldn’t she stay within her comfy kissing cocoon? She liked it here.

Graham chuckled.

“I’d say we’ll come back later, but…” Jude’s voice drifted off.

“Don’t they ever need to come up for air?” Kaci, this time.

Weston groaned against Paisley’s lips. “Hold this thought.”

“Oh, I will,” she whispered back.

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