Page 99 of The Fiance Dilemma

That was so silly. And I loved it so much. “Did you guess today?”

The back of his fingers grazed my jaw, his gaze down, fixated on my mouth. “Yes.”

“And what did you win?”

His other hand rose, and he cupped my face. “This,” he said, the pads of his thumbs skimming over my cheeks. “This blush.” I tingled. All over. My feet moved closer, the tips of my sneakers touching the toes of his boots. “It makes a little boy who used to get called four-eyes puff his chest with pride.”

I felt my face fall a little, and Matthew chuckled.

“Hey, none of that.” Hands moved around the sides of my facebefore dropping to his sides. “Have you seen me now? I’m hot as shit.”

The chortle that left me caught both of us off guard. Matthew’s eyes glinted as they roamed around my face, whether pleased with himself or what he saw, I couldn’t tell. Knowing him, probably both. I loved that about him. He was so shamelessly smug where I was concerned. The thought gave me pause. I was quickly realizing I probably loved one too many things about this man. And maybe… maybe I should linger on that thought.

Do you think I can mend it? Her heart?

Maybe you should ask her. Or tell her you want to.

“Matthew,” I started. “Earlier…”

Before I could finish that statement, he pulled something from his back pocket and any confession I might have had died at the sight of what he was holding.

A blue thimble.

“Last of the season,” Matthew said, my gaze on that stunning violet I’d always loved so much. “They should stop blooming around August, but this one had extra defiance.” I looked up at him. His expression was soft. Incredibly so. “It’s what makes it so beautiful. So unique. She’s brave and resilient and can overcome anything.”

My throat went dry, and when he slipped it in my hair, just like he’d done with that daisy two, three weeks, or what felt like an eternity ago, something solidified in my gut. Deep inside me. Something scary, something beautiful, something that was impossible to push aside.

“They remind me of Mom.” Matthew’s expression sobered, as if he knew I was about to tell him something I didn’t admit readily. “That’s why they’re my favorite. She had a handkerchief embroidered with blue thimbles. She’d done it herself, and she always told me it’d be my…” I trailed off, short of breath. He clasped my hand. “My something borrowed and something blue.” That void I’dlearned to live with expanded for a moment, opening a hole. “Remember what I told you a few days ago? In my truck? She would tie it around my wrist, and we would walk down the hallway.” A smile blossomed, it wasn’t sad or happy, just something in between. “But I’ve never taken it out of the drawer. Never felt… right. As if it was too violet for something that was supposed to be blue, and no longer borrowed now that she’s gone.”

Matthew stepped into me, his body providing the warmth that had left me at some point during my speech. And when his hands cupped my face, it didn’t feel like when he had done it a few moments ago. It felt like so much more. It felt like if I told him that some nights I cried myself to sleep because I missed Mom so much, he’d have a way to make it better. It felt like if I told him that I’d been flying on autopilot ever since he arrived in town and I wasn’t brave enough to admit that I was lost and truly terrified and had no idea where I was going, he’d just be able to find me. Take me somewhere safe. It felt like if I ever felt the urge to run, he’d come after me.

“Can I be blunt?” Matthew whispered, peppermint tickling the tip of my nose.

I gave him a nod.

“There’s nothing I want more than to kiss you,” he said, voice hard. With the same fierceness I felt in the grasp of his hands. My heart cartwheeled, eyelids fluttering closed. “Wipe that sadness off your face with my mouth.”

“What’s stopping you?”

“I told myself to make it count.” His fingers slipped into my hair. “Remember my rule? I kiss you because you know what it’ll mean, no matter what’s down the line.”

My eyes blinked open. I remembered that. It was all I’d been thinking of lately. “And what would it mean? If you kissed me now.”

Surprise registered in his gaze. The corners of his lips twitched.“That’s exactly what I mean, Baby Blue. You shouldn’t be asking me.” His forehead pressed against mine, just like he had that day in my truck. “You shouldn’t be asking me.”

Something fizzled inside me. It wasn’t rejection. It was… determination. Curiosity.Defiance.“I do remember there being a part about you kissing me because you fucking need to. And another one about me needing you to. What if I do?”

A laugh escaped his lips, falling right on mine. And it wasn’t a kiss, but it was pretty sweet, too.

Then the grip of his hand around my face changed. He tipped my head back, and when I met his gaze, I swallowed. Hard. He licked his lips, mine parting in response. His eyes dipped to my mouth, just the once, making my heart thrum.

His jaw clenched and he—started humming a song. Just under his breath, soft but loud enough for me to pick up the tune. It was a country song I knew well, and it talked about a girl who had roped in a man from a country mile and tangled him up. Just like one big ball of Grandma’s yarn.

Grandma’s yarn.

That had been my answer to his question about whether I had him wrapped around my finger. That night that seemed like eons ago. In my kitchen.

I smiled. And Matthew did too, even through the prayer in his eyes.

---