Page 16 of Her Obsessed Lumberjack

“Disqualification,” he says, pointing at me. “You’re disqualified for violence toward your fellow contestant. Only way you can stay in the competition is if you come over here and kiss me right now.”

The competition is put on hold while I circle the table and rise up on my tiptoes, pressing a soft kiss on Roman’s lips. He gives me one of his small smiles, eyes twinkling as he lets me go back to my pumpkin.

“Finished!” I say after a few more minutes, washing the juice off my hands.

“Me too.”

I turn my pumpkin around and join Roman on his side of the table, inspecting the finished products. Immediately, I snort. My pumpkin has a wide grin and cute cartoon eyes, smiling up at us benignly. Roman’s is the grumpiest-looking pumpkin I’ve ever seen, with a down-turned mouth and frowning eyebrows.

“Yours is better,” we say at the same time.

“Draw?” Roman suggests.

“Draw.”

We put tea lights in our jack-o’-lanterns and set them on the nearest windowsill, where their carved faces flicker spookily at us. The sky outside the window is darkening fast, and asnighttime approaches, the tension between me and Roman is growing.

Does he want me to stay the night?

Or is he waiting for me to go home?

My worries from before are rushing back with a vengeance, and as I sit on the couch, watching Roman carry two mugs of cocoa toward me, I know I can’t keep them in any longer.

“Today has been amazing,” I say as he passes me a steaming mug and sits beside me.

“It sure has.” He sips his cocoa, his other hand stroking my plum-colored hair. “I love being with you, sugar.”

He looks so handsome, his deep green eyes fixed on me, the silvery hairs of his beard glistening in the firelight. I swallow hard and meet his gaze as I finally pluck up the courage to say, “But you’re holding something back. I can feel it.”

Roman blinks at me, frowning slightly. He lowers his mug, setting it down on the coffee table with a sigh that makes my throat tighten. I’m scared to hear what he’s about to say.

“You’re right, Freya.” He looks down at the fire, running a hand through his hair.

“Is it…is it because you’re not into me?”

His eyes snap up to meet mine, his face slack with shock like I just slapped him. He reaches for me, forcing me to look at him as he says, “Freya, I’m fucking nuts about you. Have been since the minute I saw you.”

My heart flutters, the tightness in my chest easing slightly as I ask, “So what is it, then?”

He shakes his head, still cupping my cheeks. “You’re perfect, Freya. You’re beautiful, sweet as hell…and I’m a middle-aged man with a shit ton of baggage and a mental health problem that I can’t shake. You deserve better than me. That’s why I’ve been holding back. I want you so fucking badly, you have no idea. ButI don’t want you to be stuck with a grumpy, broken old guy like me.”

His words tug at my heart, and I see the pain in his eyes, the internal battle raging in them. I tilt my chin at him defiantly, my voice firm. “That’s not how I see you, Roman. I think you’re brave and strong, and I want you just as you are.” I wrap my arms around his neck, our faces close enough to touch. “Don’t you remember what you said to me earlier?”

He shakes his head, waiting for me to go on.

“You said, ‘if someone can’t handle all of you, they don’t deserve any of you’. And that applies to you too. I want all of you, Roman, including the broken parts.”

He lets out a shuddering sigh and closes his eyes, resting his forehead against mine. “I still think you’re too good for me. But there’s no way I can let you go. I feel like I’ve known you forever, like I was meant to meet you in that corn maze…”

I nod, my pulse fluttering. “I feel it too. From the moment we met, I just knew there was something…”

“Something special,” Roman finishes. He wraps his arms around me, pulling me tight against his broad chest. “You’re all I want, Freya. I’m so sorry I made you doubt that.”

I smile at him, pure happiness warming my veins, melting all my doubts to nothing. “I forgive you, Roman. But no more holding back, okay?”

“No more holding back. Ever.” He lifts my hands to his mouth and kisses them softly. “I swear I’ll never give you a reason to doubt my feelings again.”

As if to seal his promise, he leans in and captures my lips between his own. It’s a searing kiss that takes my breath away, full of fierce emotions and feelings that go deeper than words. I kiss him back urgently, my heart swelling with happiness. I’ve finally found the man of my dreams—and now I want him to make me his in the most intimate way possible. He lifts me upinto his arms, our cocoa sitting forgotten on the coffee table as he carries me toward his bedroom, his eyes blazing with a fire that warms me all over.

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