Page 87 of Shelter from the Storm

She’d said them once before to the wrong man, to a man who only wanted to possess her. She’d mistaken gratitude for love. Facing Briggs had been incredible, but it had also driven home how wrong she’d been.

“Theo—” she started.

He shook his head and pressed his thumb against her lips. “Don’t say it back.”

It was the second time she’d left him hanging. How long would it take until he decided she wasn’t worth it? Her shoulders tensed.

“I don’t know exactly what you’re thinking.” Theo cupped her cheeks. “But I know I don’t like it.”

She gave him a sad grin.

“This is a marathon, Gretchen, not a sprint.”

She raised one eyebrow, and he burst into that beautiful, boisterous, joyful Theo laugh of his.

“Fair enough,” he retorted, since she hadn’t needed to speak a word. “I’m obviously a sprinter. But you? You’re a long-distance runner, and there’s not a damn thing wrong with that.”

“I’ve said those words before and…” She gestured in the general direction of the brewery. He’d seen firsthand how that had turned out.

“I don’t want you to tell me you love me until you’re one hundred percent certain, and until you can do it without fear or without doubting yourself. Can you do that right now?”

She wished she could, but she didn’t want to lie to him. She shook her head.

“Then don’t say it. And don’t worry about not saying it. I’m a very patient man, remember?”

This time, she was the one who laughed. “So you keep saying.”

“Kitten, you are smart, brave, and beautiful. You’re worth the wait.”

Unbidden tears sprung to her eyes. “No one’s ever said that to me before.”

“Then I’ll have to say it every day until it finally sinks in.”

Gretchen wasn’t sure it ever would, but damn if she didn’t want him to try. She lifted her face, kissing him, wrapping her arms around his shoulders, and sinking into not only his strength but his belief and his optimism.

When they parted, she glanced down and giggled. “Look at us.” Her jeans were dangling off one foot, while his had dropped around his ankles.

Theo smirked. “We look like two people so desperate to be together, they couldn’t even take the time to undress.”

Gretchen didn’t look at him as he spoke because her gaze was locked on what was going on below his waist. “That’s some world-record recovery time,” she joked.

“What do you say to us doing a little more private celebrating here, badass, before we rejoin my family at the brewery?”

Gretchen tapped her chin, pretending to consider his offer, but it didn’t last long when he wiggled his fingers, threatening to tickle her.

“Yes,” she said.

“Good girl,” he praised. “Now go bend over my desk.”

Oh yes.

Chapter Fifteen

Theo sat in the living room in his parents’ house with Gretchen right beside him. Sunday dinners were the norm for his family, as it was the one night of the week the B&B was closed to visitors. Mom insisted that—despite the fact they worked on the farm and saw each other all the time—sitting down to dinner once a week was good for them.

No one argued because his family truly enjoyed each other’s company. Their Sunday dinners had shrunk by one member late last year when his cousin, Lucy, moved to Philadelphia to live with her fellas. However, they’d more than made up for that loss this fall with the addition of Kasi’s dad, Tim, and her brother, Keith.

And now, Gretchen.

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