Was the crowd going to get mad since the attendant had made them wait but had ushered the two of them on ahead of the line?
Don’t worry, people, you wouldn’t want to be in my seat right now.
At least the attendant had the good grace to walk back to his post after he’d locked them into the gondola.
So this was how it was going to go down. It would end in the middle of a crowded fair on a broken-down ride. If that wasn’t symbolic, she didn’t know what was.
But then—whoa—the gondola rocked as the ride lurched to a start, carrying them up, up, up over the big Marietta Fair.
Charlotte braced her hands against the safety bar. “I thought the ride was broken.”
Jesse gave a quick one-shoulder roll. “Broken things can be fixed.”
Oh. Oh! Yes, they could.
“I’d like to think so. God, I hope so.”
She didn’t want to read anything into the way he was looking at her now. But when she searched his gaze, he held hers. His gruff facade had relaxed a little.
It was now or never.
“I shouldn’t have walked away from you the other night.”
He nodded.
She took a deep breath. “I only have one thing to say to you: I love you. I’m pretty sure I’ve loved you my entire life, but sometimes it takes awhile for me to figure out my heart.”
Jesse didn’t respond. He just sat there looking at her, his poker face giving way to a slight upturn at the corners of his mouth.
For a heartbreaking moment, time stood still. He may have had a gruff exterior, but he wasn’t a mean, thoughtless person. He was trying to figure out how to let her down easily. Minimize the hurt. Preserve the friendship.
And, yes, that was okay. She needed to tell him that. She needed to tell him she understood. Because maybe if they went back to the start and were friends for a while, they could regain all the ground they’d lost.
She really wanted to tell him that, but the words were lodged in her throat—a knot of regret that expanded as her hopes diminished. She was afraid if she dislodged the lump, she would start crying and wouldn’t be able to stop.
How ironic her history of never quite hitting the mark when it mattered. Always Miss Congeniality or runner-up to another woman who was meant to be queen. She’d made a life pretending it was okay to be second-best. That being the runner-up was an honor.
Then again, being the runner-up had gotten her out of Marietta. She’d gone away, and she’d chosen to come home. Sometimes, she did need to go the distance before she realized where her heart truly belonged.
She broke Jesse’s gaze and turned away to stare out at the mountain vista and veins of her city. The people below were the size of ants from this vantage point. She wondered if she allowed the tears to roll from her eyes and spill out over the fair, would they fall like a rainstorm?
They might, but she wasn’t going to find out. She was going to be gracious and give Jesse the time and space he needed. Hadn’t he done the same for her?
She would turn back to him and smile and tell him her feelings stood. It was okay if he needed time to think—but the ride stopped.
Their gondola was at the very top.
“Oh, no. Is it broken again?”
She turned to face him. He was holding a small black box.
“No. It’s not broken. Not if you love me.”
He held the box out to her.
Her heart swelled so much it dislodged all the fear and anguish that had been stuck there moments before, and a sob escaped.
She accepted the box and held it for a moment, its black velvet warm and soft under her fingers. Her gaze snagged his again, and she knew even before she opened it, it would be perfect.
He was smiling at her now.
“The guys agreed to stop the ride for as long as it takes for you to figure out if you want to marry me.” He shrugged and stretched his arm over the back of the gondola, his hand resting on her shoulder. “The fair is going on for another three days. So take your time.”
She laughed. “You are such a bully.”
The tears she hadn’t been able to shed were finally welling in her eyes and spilling down onto her cheeks.
Happy tears.
Tears of anticipation.
When she opened the box, there it was—the emerald-cut diamond she’d fallen in love with.
“This is it.” Her voice sounded a little breathless. “This is the ring. How did you know? Because I know I didn’t tell you.”
“No, I told you. When it’s right, a man can pick out the perfect ring and propose at the perfect moment.”
He pulled his arm from around her, took the box and removed the ring from its cushion.
“I love you, Charlie. Will you marry me?”
“Yes! Yes! Of course I will.”
He slipped the ring on her finger and kissed her.
He must’ve given the guy below a signal, because the ride started its descent. Jesse kissed her the entire way down.
When the ride finally stopped at the bottom, Jesse helped her out and announced, “She said yes.”
The crowd cheered, and he kissed her again.
“They knew what you were doing?”
He nodded.
“So you had this whole thing planned?”
He nodded again, looking pretty smug. And, God, how she loved that gorgeous face of his. It was the face she would grow old with. A love so deep that it took her breath away coursed through her.
She thought about asking him if he’d had a backup plan. What would he have done if she’d said no? But there was no way she would’ve said no. He was the love of her life.
Besides, she knew what he would’ve said: When it’s right, you know it’s right.
He was so very right.
The End
The Big Marietta Fair Series
If you enjoyed Beauty and the Cowboy, you’ll love the other Big Marietta Fair series novellas!
Cowgirl Come Home by Debra Salonen
Buy now!
For Love of a Cowboy by Yvonne Lindsay
Buy now!
Her Summer Cowboy by Katherine Garbera
Buy now!
A Fair to Remember by Barbara Ankrum
Buy now!
About the Author
Award-winning author Nancy Robards Thompson has worked as a newspaper reporter, television show stand-in, production and casting assistant for movies, and in fashion and public relations. She started writing fiction seriously in 1997. Five years and four completed manuscripts later, she won the Romance Writers of America’s Golden Heart award for unpublished writers and sold her first book the following year. Since then, Nancy has sold 30 books and found her calling doing what she loves most – writing romance and women’s fiction full-time. Please visit her website at NancyRobardsThompson.com, email her at [email protected] or connect with her on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/nrobardsthompson and Twitter @NRTWrites.
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Beauty and the Cowboy Page 9
