The Heartbreaker of Echo Pass - Maisey Yates Page 0,103

a long time ago.

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

EVER SINCE HIS realization that he loved Iris, ever since his realization that he wanted her to be his wife, Griffin had been trying to figure out the perfect time to bring it all up. He had been trying to figure out the perfect time to take her to the house. And then he realized there wasn’t going to be a perfect time. And you couldn’t wait for things.

It was crazy, because they’d known each other just over two months. And he was pretty certain that a lot of people would think this was too quick.

But he’d lived several lifetimes in his thirty-eight years. And in the last five years he’d lived none.

Until her.

And in these two months he had fit years worth of healing and joy, pain, regret and finally hope. Why would he wait another minute to tell her everything he felt? It didn’t make any sense.

So he told her they needed to head up to the cabin to do a few things, and had managed to tear her away from cleanup at the bakery just a little bit early. He was grateful that things were structured so they could still see each other, even while she was working seven days a week, all day every day. But that had been her goal, given that she felt she needed to keep the business open as often as possible, and there was no way she could afford an employee.

He could pay for one. That was the thing. He had a lot of money. And honestly, all the better reason to get them married and joined together. So that they could join their finances. So that the bakery really was hers too.

He was thinking he was going to sign it over to her. So that it could be hers. But he would be there, to back her every step of the way. He wanted to join everything he was, everything he had with her. He had never been so confident in anything in all his life.

When they got out of the truck, he took her hand.

“What?”

“I just want to... I’ve never shown you. Not really. I got mad at you, and I chased you away, and I didn’t really show you.” They went up the path, and she was silent, as he led her to the building site of the house.

“This is going to be the front door.” He led her through a big wide open space. “We’ll have a big wide one. One that makes you feel welcome.” He showed her the big, expansive rectangular cuts in the wall across from them. “The living room. There will be a fireplace there. All made of rock. And you’ll just see mountains. Just mountains. And not another living soul.” He turned her around so they were facing the other wall. “And the kitchen. While you’re standing at the sink you’ll be able to see all these trees. Just nothing but pine. All that wilderness.” They walked across the open plywood floor, to a hallway that led down to another mass of space. “Master bedroom, bathroom. Two walk-in closets. And this is my favorite view. Because here you can see just through the trees and off the mountain, down to the valley below. To Gold Valley. And you know why they call it that, don’t you? Because when the sun spills over the mountain and down to the fields and houses and Main Street below, it’s like it’s covered in gold. It’s magic.”

“This is beautiful,” she said, muted. “But I’m not sure why... I mean, I love it. You’ve done an amazing job.”

“I’ve been working on it alone. So it’s taken all these five years to get this far. Though, to be honest, I didn’t work on it solid the whole time. But I didn’t care when it was finished. Because truth be told, I couldn’t imagine a life here.” He met her gaze, conviction blazing in his chest. “But I can now. That’s the thing, Iris. I can now. I can see exactly what kind of life I could have here.” He swallowed hard. “But it won’t be by myself.”

“Griffin...”

“I know it’s convenient to live above the bakery, but I don’t want you there forever either. I want you here. I want you here with me. I thought that I was here building a monument to the past. I was devoted to my grief like a monk devotes himself to the church. But I... It’s not what