Love In Secrets (Love Distilled #3) - Scarlett Cole Page 0,62

seeing she and Anders are already planning their wedding, I wouldn’t be surprised—not that it needs to be a precursor, but Liv is more traditional. What about you?”

Jake reached into the basket and found a packet of cashew nuts to munch on. He opened them and poured some into Cass’s palm before tipping some into his own. “I do.” He threw a nut into the air and caught it in his mouth. “I want what Mom and Dad had. A family business. Kids. A really fucking happy life together. One that hopefully lasts longer than theirs did. And if Em and Liv have kids, I want all the cousins to hang out together, like their own mini squad. Kinda like us when we were younger.”

Cassie laughed. “We went everywhere together.”

He watched a dad, waist deep in the water, holding his kid on a paddle board while the kid wriggled and giggled. He couldn’t help but smile at the enthusiasm.

“When’s Carter coming home?”

Cassie flopped over onto her back. “He’s done filming in seven weeks and will head home to see Dad. They’ve been video chatting and stuff, but we realized Dad would need more of his help with rehab. No point in us both being out of work over it.”

“You’ve enjoyed getting your dad on top of things again, though.”

Cassie shrugged. “I love a challenge. I love big, ugly projects, breaking them down so they can be executed in the most effective way. I love all the stakeholder conversations, all the different moving parts. When I look at a problem, it’s like a jigsaw puzzle, yet somehow I know where every piece goes.”

“I think it’s amazing what you’ve been able to accomplish. When you think about it, your dad lost a bunch of key people, but you managed to get everything back on track.”

“Thank you,” Cassie said, snuggling against his side. “Not back on track, but at least under control.”

Jake lay down and wrapped his arm around her. He kissed the top of her head, then closed his eyes, savoring the dappled sunlight warming his face and the soft armful of Cassie tucked up against his side.

“I can’t remember the last time I did nothing but lie out on the grass,” Cassie muttered as sleepily as he felt.

Jake felt the same. His heart rate lowered and his mind cleared. He didn’t want to think about anything other than this very moment in time. It felt like a slice of heaven.

Cassie slid her palm beneath his T-shirt, placing it on his stomach, and he placed his hand over hers, his T-shirt tucked between them. It was intimate, not sexual, and he found he loved those moments possibly more than the sex they had.

“It’s incredible what you’ve done, Jake. With the distillery.”

“Thanks. We’ve all had to—”

“I mean you, Jake. You’ve held it together. Without a distiller, you’ve got no product. And you’ve been Herculean in your efforts, the amount of work you’ve put in. I think your dad would be really proud of you.”

He sighed. “I miss him. A lot. I enjoyed working with him. It always felt like a partnership.”

Cassie pressed a kiss to his chest, and she glanced down at him, the sun catching the edges of her hair making it look blue. Another thing he loved about her.

Yeah. Loved.

He might as well admit it, because it was going to fucking hurt when she left, regardless of whether he said the actual words. But, fuck, he didn’t want the afternoon to turn maudlin. But she’d said it to him the previous evening, drunk or not.

“I love you, Cassie. Just wanted you to know.”

“You aren’t supposed to say things like that,” she whispered, her eyes so wide and blue, reassuring him she needed to hear it.

He ran a finger down her cheek. “I know. But you said it first.”

“I said I thought your dad would be proud of you.”

“Not just then. Last night. While you sat in my kitchen eating toast. And before you start telling me you were too drunk to know what you were saying, I know. So, I don’t hold you to it. But for the official record, you said it first.”

Cassie put her head back down on his chest and was so silent and still, he wondered if she’d forgotten how to breathe. “I guess I love you too,” she muttered, as if frustrated with herself that she’d let it come to this.

And he’d take it. A part of him wanted to lift her chin and look her