Page 152 of Falling Overboard

I spoke into his shoulder. “We’re going to fill in each other’s gaps, remember? You sacrifice for me and I’ll sacrifice for you. Because we love each other.”

His arms tightened around me. “I’ve been worried for the last couple of weeks that you would realize you didn’t love me. You don’t know how relieved I am to hear you say it.”

I laughed. I couldn’t help it. “How could I not love you, Hunter Cartwright? You are practically perfect. Plus, you shouldn’t be catastrophizing things and imagining the worst-case scenario.”

“You’re right,” he said in that teasing tone I loved.

I pulled my head back so that I could gaze into those bright blue eyes of his that I loved so much. “I know I’m a messed-up chocolate chip cookie, and I’m hoping that’s good enough for you. Or that we can start the recipe over again.”

“You are the best chocolate chip cookie ever,” he insisted, kissing the tip of my nose. “There’s no reason to start over when you came out perfect.”

Neither one of us was perfect by any stretch of the imagination, but I supposed that was what love did. It polished over the rough spots so that even good enough chocolate chip cookies seemed like the absolute best.

“I just wish that my heart didn’t have so many dents and bruises,” I said. “I wish I could have been more open from the beginning.”

This time he kissed my forehead. “Those dents and bruises make you who you are, and I love who you are. And I don’t ever want to be apart from you again. This was ...”

“Torture?” I finished.

“Yes,” he said. “I hated it.”

“Me too. So now what?”

“Right now or in the near future now?”

“Near future now,” I said.

“East Haven is not too far from some great places where I could set up the center. Plenty of acreage and farmland.” I knew he wanted a lot of land for horses, another thing his sister had loved.

“You’re staying here?”

He gave me a funny look. “I’m staying wherever you are and we’ll figure the rest out.”

“I love you,” I said, the feelings washing through me all over again.

“And I love you,” he said, grinning. I had missed his smile so very much. It was like the sun returning after a week’s worth of rain. “So as far as grand romantic gestures go, how was this one?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know. I think it was a little lackloyster.”

“Lucky! An oyster pun?”

“I’ve been saving it for a special occasion.” And things didn’t get more special than this moment with him. “And I can explain why it was hilarious in case you didn’t catch it.”

“Are you going to clamsplain your jokes to me now? Or should we just shellibrate the way I’ve converted you?”

“I’m so lucky that I get to love you,” I said.

He nodded, serious. “I am something of an expert on love, did you know that?”

“You are?”

“Yes. And this, right here, is love.”

I laughed and shook my head. “Since we’ve got the near future now sorted out, what about the right now, Mr. Expert?”

“It depends. How long are we going to be alone for?”

My heart sped up, my skin tingling with anticipation. “Rose is at work and Lily walks really, really slowly. So we have time.”

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