Total pages in book: 25
Estimated words: 29800 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 149(@200wpm)___ 119(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 29800 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 149(@200wpm)___ 119(@250wpm)___ 99(@300wpm)
“How’s your shoulder?” he asks quietly.
“Bruised.”
“You need ice.”
“I need coffee.”
“You need both.”
“Bossy.”
“Always.”
That shuts me up for a second.
His hand tightens slightly against my hip while silence stretches between us, softer now than it used to be. Easier. The storm burned something down between us along with everything we were still pretending.
Now there’s just this.
Us.
And somehow that’s scarier.
I set my coffee down carefully. “Rhett.”
His eyes narrow slightly like he already knows he’s not going to like whatever comes next.
“I should probably leave soon.”
The change in him is immediate.
Subtle if you don’t know him.
I do now.
His body stills completely.
“What?”
I force myself to keep talking anyway because if I hesitate, I won’t say any of this at all.
“What happened between us…” I exhale slowly. “It was intense. And the storm and the stalking and almost dying probably didn’t exactly help with perspective.”
His expression hardens slightly.
“Nora.”
“I’m serious.” I push forward before he can interrupt me. “People bond during traumatic situations all the time. Fear does weird things to your brain. Adrenaline. Proximity. Survival instincts.” I gesture vaguely between us. “This could just be obsession born from danger.”
Silence.
Heavy.
Rhett stares at me long enough that my stomach twists.
Then he reaches over, takes my coffee from my hand, and sets it aside before backing me slowly against the counter.
My pulse jumps instantly.
“You done?” he asks.
“Probably not.”
“Too bad.”
I glare up at him. “See? This is exactly what I mean. You just bulldoze over everything.”
“No,” he says quietly. “I bulldoze over stupid things.”
“That’s insulting.”
“It’s accurate.”
I try to push at his chest. He catches both my wrists easily and pins them lightly against the counter beside my hips.
Not rough.
Certain.
The heat in his eyes turns my thoughts unreliable immediately.
“I’m trying to have a rational conversation,” I mutter.
“You’re trying to run again.”
That lands harder than I want it to.
“I’m not running.”
“You’re standing in my kitchen explaining why wanting me isn’t real because you’re scared it is.”
My breath catches.
God, I hate when he does that.
“That’s not fair.”
“It’s true.”
His grip loosens slightly but he doesn’t let me go completely, his thumbs brushing the inside of my wrists while he watches me too closely.
“You wanna know the problem with you, city girl?”
“I’m sure you’re about to tell me.”
“You think feelings only count if they happen slow enough.”
I blink at him.
“What?”
“You trust fear more than you trust peace.” His voice lowers. “You think because this hit hard, it can’t be real.”
I open my mouth.
Nothing comes out.
Because the worst part?
He’s right.
Rhett exhales quietly, his gaze dragging over my face slower now, softer than before.
“You became home before I realized I still needed one,” he says.
The words hit me so hard I physically stop breathing for a second.
No teasing.
No arrogance.
No possessive growling mountain man routine.
Just honesty.
Raw and steady and completely unguarded.
His eyes hold mine the entire time.
“I spent years up here alone because it was easier than needing people,” he continues quietly. “Then you showed up in my town acting tough while somebody hunted you, and suddenly every instinct I had locked onto you so hard I couldn’t think straight anymore.” His jaw tightens slightly. “I tried to keep it about protection. Didn’t work.”
Emotion climbs thick into my throat instantly.
“Rhett…”
“You wanna call it obsession?” he asks. “Fine. I’m obsessed with you.” One hand slides up my waist slowly. “I’m obsessed with whether you’ve eaten. Whether you’re sleeping. Whether somebody looked at you too long in town.” His mouth curves slightly. “I’m obsessed with the way you argue when you’re scared and the way you steal my shirts and the way you reach for me in your sleep.”
Heat and tears hit me at the same time.
Completely unfair combination.
“You’re making this very difficult.”
“Good.”
I laugh despite myself, and the sound seems to affect him more than it should because his entire expression shifts.
Warms.
God.
That look alone could ruin me permanently.
“You don’t miss Seattle,” he says quietly.
“I know.”
“You don’t wanna leave.”
I swallow hard. “No.”
His thumb brushes my jaw gently this time. “Then stay.”
Just like that.
Simple.
Certain.
Stay.
I stare up at him while my chest pulls painfully tight because for the first time in my life, leaving feels worse than staying.
And that realization changes everything.
Rhett studies my face for another long second before adding, quieter now, “Marry me.”
I blink.
“What?”
“You heard me.”
“That’s not a casual thing to just slip into conversation.”
“I’m not casual about you.”
My heart stumbles so hard it actually hurts.
“You’re serious.”
“Very.”
I stare at him. “Rhett, we’ve known each other like three weeks.”
“Longest three weeks of my life.”
“That’s not reassuring.”
His mouth twitches slightly. “You love me anyway.”
I should argue.
Instead, I whisper, “Probably.”
“Definitely.”
I laugh again, shaking my head while tears threaten properly now.
“You’re insane.”
“Yeah.”
“And bossy.”
“Yeah.”
“And weirdly intense.”
“Definitely.”
I narrow my eyes at him. “You’re not selling this.”
“You already decided.”
There it is again.
That confidence.
That certainty.
The thing that should drive me insane but somehow makes me feel safer than anything else ever has.
I look around the cabin slowly. The fire crackling in the stone fireplace. My boots beside his near the door. My camera sitting on his kitchen table next to his coffee mug like it belongs there.