Page 47 of The Dairy Farmer's Daughter

She wanted to be happy.

She had been happy. So blissfully happy.

The computer pinged with a new notification.

Justin Wheeler is live now.

Damn. She knew she should have unfriended him. But he hadn't posted anything all week, and she hadn't been brave enough to look at his profile.

Another notification appeared on the screen letting her know that he had tagged both her and Emerald Hills in his live stream.

Curiosity got the better of her, and she clicked on the link. Facebook took a few seconds to load before it brought up the stream.

As the video caught up to the audio, all she could see was a frozen image of him. His chin was clean-shaven, and his short hair slightly damp.

He had dark circles under his eyes; he hadn't been sleeping either.

Finally, the audio caught up, and she played it from the beginning.

"Hi. For those of you who don't know me, my name is Justin Wheeler. I'm Boyd Wheeler's son, and when he passed away a couple of weeks ago, I found out that I'd inherited this dairy farm. I came to Maleny to put the farm up for sale, but I didn't count on meeting so many new friends and joining such a vibrant community.

While I was there, I met a girl named Freya Montgomery. And if you know Freya, you know that she is an incredible, passionate woman. If I had grown up in Maleny, she would have been the girl next door. We would have played together and gone to school together. But we didn't get that opportunity because I grew up in Brisbane. But from the moment I met Freya, I felt like we were always destined to be together. It took a little bit longer than it could have, but I know in my heart that she is my soul mate and the only woman for me."

He paused, and Freya let the words sink in. His declaration of love made her heart pound.

"Freya, if you feel the same way, please come and find me."

She frowned and looked at the screen as he panned the camera slightly until she saw a familiar view. He was outside, sitting at the employee table where they had first had lunch together.

Right here at Emerald Hills.

She pushed her chair back, and threw open the door, running straight into Greer.

"Where are you going in such a hurry?"

"He's here. Justin's here." Freya took off down the hallway, barely registering that her sister was following, calling out for their parents to follow.

Freya made her way outside and paused as she took in the scene in front of her. A small crowd had gathered to watch. Justin's mobile was set up on a tripod and he stood in front of it.

Their eyes met. A hint of stubble flecked his jaw, tense with nerves, while his hazel eyes, surrounded by those gorgeously long lashes, were fixed intently on her.

She stepped cautiously closer. He had already hurt her twice—could she face a third time? Then again, neither hurt had been his fault. He had only ever been honest with her.

"What's going on?"

She turned at the sound of her father's voice. Greer hushed him and waved her parents to join the other curious onlookers.

Freya stepped past the camera. "Is it still recording?"

He nodded. "Is that okay? I can turn it off."

She shook her head. He was within touching distance now. "I don't care who sees."

She leaned forward to kiss him, but his soft words stopped her. "I didn't take the deal. I'm not selling the farm."

She blinked and gave a little shake of her head, as though she’d been far away and needed to bring herself back to Earth. "You're not?"

"No. Boyd wouldn't want me to sell to a developer. It's a dairy farm, and it'll stay that way as long as I have anything to say about it."

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