Page 167 of Rough Around the Hedges

“What?” I jumped out of his arms, sending the contract fluttering to the ground. He still had hold of my hand even as I turned around, and I stared at him. “You wanted to dowhat?Are you fucking insane?”

His lips pulled to one side. “What can I say? You’ve been rubbing off on me, princess.”

“You can’t just gift someone land! My Christ, you have got too much money.”

The spark came back to his eyes, and he pulled my hand up to his mouth, brushing his lips over my fingers. “That’s what my lawyer said. He also said that if you owned it, there was a chance we could end up back at square one one day, so this was a bit safer to guarantee the longevity of it. I figured it was fine, because I’ll just give you a chunk of the gardens at Hanbury House.”

“What are you—” My words caught in my throat at the softness in his eyes.

“I’m sorry, Rose. I’m sorry I ever tried to tear this place away from you. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you when I changed my mind. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you what I wanted to do. I’m sorry I created a situation where you could misunderstand my intentions. I’m sorry I didn’t get there last night until you’d already gone. I’m sorry that I hurt you. I’m sorry if I made you cry.”

I turned my face away from him as tears filled my eyes. “I don’t cry.”

“Yeah?” He ran his thumb under my eye. “What’s this, then?”

“Hay fever. It’s back.” I swiped at my cheek, but he stepped into me. His warm hands cupped my face, and he leant down, kissing each spot where a tear was falling.

One, two, three, four, five tiny kisses were dotted over my cheeks, wiping away any trace of my sadness.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered, his lips hovering over mine, asking for permission.

“You should be,” I said back. “You should have told me.”

“I know. I should have. I thought you might have guessed. How could I sell this place when it means so much to you?”

“It means so much to all of us.”

“Yeah, but Rose, I didn’t change my mind because of everyone else.” He pulled back slightly, meeting my gaze. A hint of a smile crossed his handsome face. “I didn’t change all my plans for these people, as lovely as they are. I didn’t do all of this for them. I did it foryou, princess. You wanted to save this place, to make me change my mind, and you did. But not because of a newspaper article or a protest or a craft fair. You made me fall in love with you.”

Oh.

My heart thundered against my chest.

He said it.

He really said it.

“Oli—”

“I love you, Rose. The thought of hurting you for even a second kills me. How could I take this place away from you, knowing what it means to you? Knowing how much you love it here? This is where you’re happiest. It’s where your heart is. If I take that away from you…” He shook his head, lowering his forehead to touch mine. “I can’t do that. I once told you that the feelings of everyone here are none of my business, and that still stands true, but not for you. Your feelings are the most important thing in the world to me. And I’m not saying this because I want you to say the same thing. I understand if you truly do never want to have anything else to do with me again, so know that this agreement isn’t contingent on that. I just want to be honest with you. I love you, and I want you to be happy.”

He released me and bent down to pick up the contract and pen. He held both out to me without another word, smiling ruefully.

I looked at the papers, then at him, then back down. Goosebumps prickled all over my skin.

I love you.

They were words I heard a lot.

But never had I heard them said to me so softly, so carefully, so goddamn honestly.

With a swallow, I took the contract from him. “Well, I, um, have to have a lawyer look it over first. It’s not that I don’t trust you. I mean, I probably don’t, but never sign anything without someone else checking it and all that.”

His lips tugged to one side. “Of course. Take as long as you need.”

“Um. Thank you.” I sniffed and tried to open the envelope to put the contract in, but the paper kept getting caught.

“Here.” Oliver took it from me smoothly, as if he hadn’t just professed his love and not gotten a response. He slid the paper into the envelope, but I caught it just as he tucked the flap in.

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