Page 117 of Coldhearted King

“Beets, huh? Not my favorite.”

“Maybe you have to try them prepared the right way.”

I chuckle. “Maybe.”

We chat for a while, and then I hear the back door open and look up in time to see Delilah walk out. She stops in her tracks when she sees me. What thoughts are running around behind those pretty green eyes when she looks at me?

“Hi,” she says softly. “You came back.”

“Of course.” Didn’t she believe me when I said I wasn’t going anywhere?

“And you’re helping Mom plant beets?”

I glance down at my fingers wrapped around the spade. “It appears so.”

She walks down the steps toward us, and she’s so fucking gorgeous that it’s suddenly hard to take a breath.

“Delilah, do you mind finishing this off while I get dinner started?” Beth says, and when I glance at her, she gives me a subtle wink.

My lips tilt up in response, and then she’s standing and brushing the dirt off her knees, and handing her trowel to Delilah, who sinks down next to me.

The scent of sunshine and wildflowers invades my senses. All I want to do is to pull her to me and kiss her, but I doubt she’d appreciate that.

“This is something I never thought I’d see,” she says, and when I look at her profile, the corner of her mouth is turned up in a smile.

“Me either. You’ll have to take a photo and send it to my brothers.”

She’s silent for a moment, dropping seeds into the holes I’m digging. “Do they know where you are?”

“I told them I was coming to try to get you back at the same time I told them I wouldn’t marry Jessica.”

“Were they okay with it?”

I laugh. “I didn’t really give them a choice. We just had to find a way to secure Berrington’s investment that doesn’t involve his daughter.”

“And what way is that?”

“We’ve given him first right of refusal on any international commercial properties we develop for the next ten years.”

I sense rather than see her turn to look at me. “That seems like a good deal for him.”

“It is. It’s not something we’d normally consider offering anyone.”

“And your brothers didn’t have a problem with that?”

I face her then. “There was an intense discussion, but once they realized how serious I was, they came through.”

Her eyes brighten. “They showed up for you.”

I nod. “Maybe there’s hope for my brothers and me after all.”

“I’m happy for you, Cole.”

Her words ring with sincerity, and I can’t resist the urge to touch her any longer. I grip her hand firmly, pulling her to her feet, then gently brush my thumb over her cheek. “I enjoy talking to you like this, Delilah,” I say softly. “I like being in the house where you grew up. But I want to make it crystal clear why I’m here. I’m here for you. I want a future with you. I’m not just looking for a casual fling or your friendship. I want all of you, heart, body, and soul. The only future I can envision now is one with you by my side. And I know I fucked up with the car and the—”

She shakes her head and I stop.

“You didn’t mess up, Cole,” she says softly, her voice filled with emotion. “Those weren’t gifts that Mom and I could accept, but the fact that you wanted to take care of her...” She swallows, and it’s there, shimmering in her eyes—the look that makes me feel alive the way nothing else does. A smile trembles on her lips. “It took me a moment to see it, but it means more to me than anything else. It showed me that you know my heart. And it showed me yours.” Her hand comes to rest on my chest, right over the wildly beating organ. “And I really, really like what I see.”

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