seem better, and before he knew it, Colton Lane woke up one month later to realize that he had fallen deeply and irrevocably in love with her.
It wasn’t a slow realization. It was like a lightning bolt.
One Sunday morning, she placed a plate of whipped cream– and strawberry-garnished pancakes in front of him. Then, grinning at him, she plucked the strawberry from the cream and bit it before offering the rest to him.
That’s when he knew:
I’m in love with you.
That’s all it had taken—a smile and a strawberry.
Sunshine and a sweet place.
Hell, he’d never had a chance.
CHAPTER 12
It had been a magical month for Verity Gwynn.
She and Ryan had settled into their jobs at The Legend of Camelot with unexpected ease. Although Artie gave her some pretty dirty looks when he passed her in the hallway at work, he hadn’t bothered her again as he had that day, and, as far as she knew, he didn’t bother Ryan either. In fact, Ryan was blossoming under Joe’s mentorship and guidance. He was already good with horses, but Joe was teaching him things, patiently correcting him when he did something wrong and praising him when he did something right. Her eyes misted to see the older man with his hand around Ryan’s shoulders, and she imagined that for Ryan, who’d missed their father terribly after he passed, Joe was easing an ache inside. And it made Verity grateful.
But she was most thankful of all for Colton in her life.
In short order, he had become her sun and moon, her best friend, her boyfriend, and, little by little, her lover. Though they hadn’t made love yet, she longed for the consummation of their relationship. It was harder and harder to leave him after watching a movie, curled up in the curve of his body, warm and safe, feeling more loved than she had a right to. No, he hadn’t said the words yet. Nor had she. But she felt them. With every passing day, she knew: she was falling deeply in love with Colton Lane.
Since losing their parents, Verity had been careful about how and when she shared news with Ryan. In a short amount of time, he’d endured a lot of change and transition, and it was important to Verity that, when she introduced Colton as her boyfriend and lover, Ryan understood it wasn’t a temporary arrangement—that Colton would be in their lives for a while and it was okay for Ryan to get attached.
With every passing day, she was more and more certain that she wanted that formal commitment with and to Colton, and she felt more and more certain that he wanted the same from her. This morning, for instance, she’d served him pancakes with strawberries and cream. She’d taken a bite of his strawberry, then giggled at his surprise, offering the rest to him. But the expression on his face as he sat at the table looking up at her was intensely tender, almost naked, and new in a way that felt different, that felt permanent, that felt like . . . love. It was then that she felt it in her gut: it was time to tell Ryan about them. And once she had, she could give herself completely to Colton.
With these thoughts swirling in her head, Verity found herself in Colton’s bed that night, a/c on full blast, fully clothed, under the covers, her back to his front, his arm slung over her hip as they watched the end of Titanic together.
“I totally would have shared that door with you,” she said, shaking her head in disgust as Jack was swallowed up by the sea and Rose hogged the wooden door that had more than enough room for two.
“I wouldn’t have risked you falling off it by jumping on.”
She made a sound like pfffsht and shook her head. “I wouldn’t have let you die without at least trying to share it first.”
“I’d rather die than put you in danger.”
“Colton,” she said, turning in his arms. “Don’t say that.”
“It’s true, baby.”
In the bluish-white ambient light from the TV, she could see his expression—the earnestness, the truth behind his words. Tears filled her eyes as she looked at him, and the words she’d been dying to say for days and days suddenly fell from her lips in a rush: “I’m falling in love with you, Colton Lane.”
Without any hesitation, he said, “I feel the same way, sunshine.”
“You do?” she asked, reaching up to wipe a tear from her cheek.
“Promise,”