Page 229 of Mountain Boss

I got you.

The same words he told me just the other morning. When I woke up with tears in my eyes.

And when we reach the top of the stairs, Sterling slowly lowers me to my feet.

My head swims for a moment, and Sterling lays his hands on my shoulders. “I don’t want to be casual with you either, Courtney. And I should have done things differently since the first time.” His thumbs stroke along my throat. “I should have taken you to my bed the first time.”

“You don’t?—”

“I do.” He slides one hand to the back of my neck. “I’m sorry I didn’t do this better. If I think on it, I probably thought that you’d feel more comfortable in your own space. But considering how things started for you in that cabin…”

I press a hand to the center of his chest. “It’s a good cabin.”

He shakes his head. “Whether it is or not, I want you in here, with me. Now. Tonight. Tomorrow. Any time you feel like it, I want you to stay with me.”

“Sterling…”

It sounds… too good.

Too easy.

Sterling pulls away from me.

He opens the front door, the unlit room dark beyond the threshold. “Let’s start with tonight.”

He holds his hand out to me.

And it’s just like my dream.

“That’s not for us.”

I take a deep breath.

“Maybe it could be.”

I place my palm in his.

And everything changes.

Chapter 173

Sterling

Her hand iswarm in mine.

And when I walk Courtney into my home, it all feels different.

Chapter 174

Courtney

We passa kitchen with a small piece of paper stuck to the front of the refrigerator. TheHappy Birthdaymessage is the only thing on the surface.

And I feel a piece of my armor unlatch.

We walk through the living room. A place with comfortable furniture but no decoration.

And I see more of Sterling.

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