She was gearing up to argue, he could tell. She hated to be wrong almost as much as she loved her mushy romances. Before she got a chance to, he kissed her, pouring every ounce of his love into it.
“So, what do you think?”
Beth eyed the land in front of her, wondering what she was supposed to be looking at.
It had been two weeks since the dance and every spare second of it had been spent with the man beside her.
And it didn’t feel like enough.
Josh wrapped his arms around her waist from behind and rested his chin on the top of her head.
“Um — it’s great,” she said in confusion. “Very… green.”
He laughed and dropped a kiss onto her curls.
“I bought it,” he said simply, as if it was no big deal. “Three acres.”
She turned to stare up at him. “You bought it?” she repeated “Why?”
“Because the apartment won’t be big enough for the brood of children I’m hoping we’ll have. And I have no intentions of living with your brothers. Not with what I have in mind for you.” He winked, and her insides twisted with desire.
But she couldn’t let him distract her from what he’d just said.
“You’re building a house?” she asked.
“We’re building a house,” he said. “I’ve asked an architect to draw up some plans, but if you don’t like any of them, we’ll start over.”
“I can’t believe it,” she gasped.
After the dance, they’d talked through everything. Josh had told her in more detail about the awful, tragic end to his marriage and his reasons for being so scared of a relationship between them when he first arrived in Rocky Valley.
Elaine was back in Chicago and doing well, her mother had told Josh, and he’d told Beth. He couldn’t guarantee that she’d never try to come between them again, but he had guaranteed that she wouldn’t be successful.
Beth knew he wouldn’t keep anything from her again.
Although this was a bit of a surprise.
“I’d already decided on it before Elaine showed up and sort of scuppered things,” he said softly, taking her hand and pulling her farther into the field of wildflowers just starting to bloom.
It was gorgeous, and close to Zoe’s, she noticed happily.
“I’d already fallen in love with you,” he said, stopping and turning her to face him. “Rocky Valley is your home, so I wanted to make it my home too.”
“Josh, this is — this is amazing,”
“Course, I do expect you to make an honest man of me,” he said it so casually that for a second she didn’t pick up his meaning.
When he dropped to one knee, she cottoned on.
He pulled out a box and opened it to reveal the most exquisite princess-cut diamond she’d ever seen.
“Beth Carroway, you have taught me to love in a way that I never knew existed,” he said while Beth’s heart hammered in her chest. “You healed every part of me that was broken. And you made me believe in something that I wasn’t even sure was real anymore. I said you couldn’t hurry love, and I was right because it took me way too long to get here. But I’m here now, and I’ll never stop loving you. Will you marry me?”
“Yes!” Her screech echoed through the field as she thew herself on top of him, sending them both tumbling to the grass below him. She kissed him until they were both breathless, pulling back so he could slip the ring on to her finger.
“What do you say we christen our land?” Josh asked with a wink.
So that was exactly what they did.
Epilogue
“She’s gone all gooey-eyed again.”
Beth stuck her tongue out at Brooke even though the other woman was right. She couldn’t stop her mind from wandering to her fiancé. That was the trouble.
The wedding plans were coming along nicely, and they were all going to Denver for the weekend in a month to try on dresses. A part of her was filled with sadness that her mother wouldn’t be there to help pick out her wedding gown, but her friends, she knew, would make sure that she picked the perfect dress.
And Grayson who hated attention usually was proud as punch to be walking her down the aisle.
“Sorry, what did you say?” she asked Tara who was smiling indulgently.
“I just said I was a little nervous about starting at Big Sky,” the redhead said, chewing on her lip.
Beth had hired Tara to work as a parttime cook/housekeeper out at the ranch. She’d offered it as a live-in position, and Tara had jumped at the chance to have Teddy living on a ranch instead of in an apartment with no garden.
“There’s nothing to be nervous about,” Beth assured her quickly. “I’ll be there all the time until our place is finished, and it won’t take much to show you the ropes. Honestly, as long as you don’t poison the men, you’ll be fine.” She grinned.
“Great. Now that’s settled, let’s get back to the matter at hand,” Brooke spoke up in that take-charge manner she had. “Stopping the delectable Decker from ruining Paige’s library.”
“I wish you’d stop calling him delectable,” Paige said.
“What part isn’t true?” Brooke challenged, and when Paige didn’t say anything, she smiled triumphantly. “Exactly.”
“He has a horrible personality,” Paige argued.
“Honey, his personality isn’t one of the parts we’re interested in.” Brooke winked, causing Paige to blush furiously.
“Zoe, Beth,” Paige said with mock severity, “you’re both taken. You shouldn’t be giggling about the parts on Mason Decker.”
“Married doesn’t mean blind.” Zoe waggled her eyebrows.
“Yeah, and just because I’m partial to Thor’s hammer, doesn’t mean I can’t appreciate a good tool.”
They were all still cackling when the bakery door opened, and there he was, Thor himself.
“Hey sweetheart,” Josh called. “I’m almost afraid to ask what I walked into.”
He leaned over and kissed her. It was brief but full of promise, and Beth suddenly couldn’t wait to be alone with him.
“You ready to go?” he asked. “We’re meeting our contractor in less than an hour.”
“Sure am, let me just grab my purse.”
Beth hopped down from the counter she’d been sitting on, grabbed her purse, and pulled him toward the door, calling a general goodbye over her shoulder.
“Go easy on her, Thor,” Brooke called as the door closed behind them.
“Thor?” he asked with a raised brow.
Beth grinned up at him. “Ignore her,” she said. “It’s girl talk.”
Josh opened the passenger door of the car for her then walked around to sit at the wheel. “Yeah, but that’s me, right?” he asked, looking a little smug.
“Teddy Reid thinks you’re Thor,” she answered, figuring it was best to leave out the whole hammer thing. Some conversations were not for male ears.
“Oh yeah?” He looked even more smug. “And what do you think? You think I’m godlike?”
“I think we’re going to be late to meet the contractor,” she said firmly, but she felt she was blushing, and she knew he’d guess why.
Before she could blink, he was back out of the car and at her door, pulling her out too.
“I know we’re going to be late,” he answered in a voice filled with promise as he pulled her across the street toward the apartment.
“Josh.” She laughed, excitement making her breathless.
“That’s Thor to you.” He grinned, dragging her inside.
As it turned out, they were very late to meet the contractor. But neither of them particularly cared. They’d both learned that you can’t hurry love. And neither of them wanted to.
The End.
Acknowledgements
I want to say a giant thank you to everyone who helped get this book of mine off the ground. Thank you to Paula for your wonderful edits, to Jena for the beautiful cover. Thanks to all at Aurora Publicity, especially Came
ron who is my guiding light.
And a special thanks to Jill from Love Affair With Fiction who is a superhero and has guided me through all of this from day one.
Finally, thanks to my family, friends, and readers who are ever-loyal and always give me the confidence to keep putting pen to paper.
Thanks for reading!
Keep in touch with all things Nadine Millard at www.nadinemillard.com
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Also By Nadine Millard
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An Unlikely Duchess
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Mysterious Miss Channing
The Revenge Series
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The Spy’s Revenge
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The Saints & Sinners Series
The Monster of Montvale Hall
The Angel of Avondale Abbey
The Devil of Dashford Manor
The Saint of St. Giles
The Royals of Aldonia
The Hidden Prince
Protecting The Princess
Redeeming A Royal
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The Rocky Valley Series
Can’t Escape My Love
Can’t Hurry Love
Coming Soon:
Can’t Buy Me Love
Can’t Help Falling In Love
Can’t Hurry Love Page 16
