Page 95 of Caught Up In You (The Monroes 2)

Cora laughed and stepped forward, her arms out. When Eric hugged her, she patted him on the back. “I want you to call and I want to be part of this company, I just want the freedom and less responsibility.”

“You better let me go,” he whispered in her ear. “Your bodyguard is glaring at me.”

Still smiling, Cora eased back. “I’m happy for you, Eric. Thanks for telling me.”

“Yeah, I was looking for you earlier. I’ll let you two get back to your talk, I just wanted to let you know where things stood.”

Cora nodded her thanks and listened until his presence was no longer evident. Turning, Cora pulled in a ragged breath. Now she was free of the heavy weights that had

been on her shoulders for so long. She still had a major clench in her heart, though, for the man who’d come here fully expecting her to leap back into his arms. Was it going to be that easy? Was he fully prepared to be committed to a woman unlike anyone he’d ever been with? Could she hope for all of that and not get hurt in the end?

“What’s going through your mind?” Braxton asked softly.

Turning back around, Cora pushed her hair away from her shoulders. “I can’t even concentrate on one thought right now. This is what I’ve wanted for a while. I don’t want to leave the company hanging, but there’s no way I want to run it and have all of that responsibility simply because I was born with the last name Buchanan.”

Braxton’s fingers curled around her shoulder, his shoes scuffed against the porch as he shifted closer. “And what’s going through your mind about us?”

Cora dropped her head and tried to home in on exactly what she was feeling, but the emotions were so jumbled up she was struggling.

“Honesty,” Braxton added. “Don’t worry about a right or wrong response. Just tell me what you’re thinking.”

Those messy feelings all gathered in her throat, forming a ball of tears so thick, she had trouble swallowing. “I want this to be real,” she whispered, biting her quivering lip. “I feel like we were almost victims of such intense chemistry. Then I got so caught up with how you made me feel and I worry it’s so appealing because this is new.”

The pad of Braxton’s thumb swiped at her damp cheek as his arm wrapped around her waist. When he tipped her chin up and gently kissed her lips, Cora nearly lost it completely. The party going on inside didn’t matter because she felt as if her life, everything she’d been seeking, was right here in front of her. But could she trust the feelings? Trust that Braxton was ready for the type of commitment she longed for? Too many uncertainties.

“You’ve spent your whole life having everything planned out,” he told her, sliding his fingertips along her jawline and cupping the side of her head. “What happened with us wasn’t planned and you’re scared to death. Whatever nonsense Anna spewed to you only gave you the ammunition to run, which is exactly what her intent was.”

Cora nodded. She couldn’t argue with the truth . . . that didn’t mean she had to like it, either. She didn’t want to look like a fool, but she also worried about being so exposed, putting her heart on the line when she was trying so hard to be independent and stand on her own. She had felt so good leaning on Braxton the past few weeks, and maybe that was the crux of all her doubts.

“Maybe we should take things slower,” he went on. “I’m willing to do whatever it takes to give you peace of mind, to ensure you know how serious I am about you, about us. I won’t let you question what we have, Cora. Not when I’m in love with you and I want you to be by my side so I can tell you every single day.”

Cora’s breath caught in her throat. The dam of tears burst and she sank forward, her forehead resting on his chest as days of worry and doubt poured from her. She’d wanted this with every piece of her bruised heart.

Braxton’s soft chuckle vibrated from his chest. “Not the reaction I was hoping for when I told you I loved you.”

His arms banded around her, his hands stroked up and down her back as she clutched his shirt. If people were passing in and out of the party behind them, she didn’t care. Cora had all she needed right here in Braxton’s arms and with Heidi resting at their feet. In such a short time, this had become her world.

“Tell me you don’t love me,” he whispered in her ear. “Tell me you don’t want to make this work and I’ll leave right now.”

“I do love you.” Cora lifted her head, blinked back the tears, and sniffed. “I don’t know how I fell in love with you so fast, so hard, but I did. Maybe it was the first time I had my hands on you. Maybe it was the night at the pond or when you let me drive. But you’ve given me back a piece of myself that had been missing and when I think of you, when I’m with you, my heart is so full. How did you do this to me?”

He nipped at her lips. “I was going to ask you the same thing. I’ve never ached for a woman the way I do you. You’re part of me, Cora. The next steps in this relationship can go as fast or slow as you need, but please don’t walk away from me again. I can’t live without you.”

Throwing her arms around him, she buried her face in his neck. “I’ve never been in someone’s heart before . . . not like this. I don’t know what to do.”

“Neither have I, but with your strong will and my determination to keep you happy, I guarantee we can make this relationship thing work.”

“Where will we live?” she asked, lifting her head and sliding her hand around to touch the side of his face. She wanted that extra connection, wanted to feel that smooth glide of his strong jawline beneath her palm.

“Live? You mean, you want to live together?” His arms tightened around her as he smacked a kiss on her lips. “I want nothing more than to wake up with you every day. But are you sure you’re ready? You’ve been wanting this independence and I don’t want to take that from you.”

Cora nodded. “You’ve given it back to me, Braxton. Don’t you see that? You’ve shown me that I can make it on my own, but I want to be with you as I stand on my own. Does that make sense?”

“Perfect sense.” He kissed her again, slowly, passionately. . . as a promise of more to come later. “Your house or mine? I don’t care where we live.”

Cora shrugged and smiled. “I know a good real estate agent who can help us decide which house we should put on the market.”

Braxton’s hands slid lower down her back as he pulled her tighter against him. “I love how you think, Cora Buchanan.”

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