Under Pressure
Page 20

“Remember I said I realized something?”
“Yeah.”
“Well, what I realized was that you love me.”
“I do love you,” I blurt out, unable to hold it in for one more second. “I didn’t know how to tell you. I was so worried about losing you as a friend.”
“I’ve loved you for a long time, but I didn’t realize our friendship went so much deeper until our trip to Africa,” he says, his voice low and soft. “I guess that’s why I was so miserable when you were with Jared that I couldn’t stay here, couldn’t watch you two together.”
“You…you love me?”
He laughs. “Fuck yeah, I love you. And that’s why we can’t go back to being just friends. When you told me to go away, it nearly killed me. But after making love to you that last night in the hotel, I realized what you were doing.”
He loves me.
My heart soars as my entire body trembles with happiness. When I’m able to breathe again, I say, “Cole,” as a tear falls down my cheek. I sniff, and he wipes it away.
“Hey, why are you crying?”
“I’m just…” My throat is so tight it’s hard to get the words out. “I can’t believe this is what you’ve been doing for the last week. When Kennedy said she saw you at the airport, I was so scared I’d lost you forever.”
“I was at the airport because I had to pick up my brother. He’s home for his upcoming high school reunion. I’ll probably put him to work on the house while he’s here.
At the mention of the house, I stiffen. Wait, I can’t let Cole stay here, working in a job he hates. “What about Colorado and your work? You love it so much.”
“Sure, it’s great. It’s a once in a lifetime adventure, and I’ve done it hundreds of times.” He pulls me in tighter. “But the only adventure I want now is with you.” He wags his finger between the two of us. “This is the once in a lifetime that I want, Reese. And it’s time I started my own company.”
“You always talked about that.”
“I’ve been researching. Lots of opportunities for guides on the Hudson River.”
I wriggle closer to him, and he drops a tender, slow, excruciatingly intimate kiss on my mouth. When he pulls back, I say, “What will you do in the off-season? There’s not as much to do here as there is in Colorado. Will you be bored if you’re not involved in some kind of adventure?”
“Bored? Hardly. And every day will be a new adventure taking care of our little ones.”
I grin and nod toward the backyard where he wants to build Bed and Barkfest. “You mean our rescue dogs?”
His blue eyes soften as they race over my face. “No, Reese,” he says, his thumb brushing my cheek so softly it turns me inside out. “I mean our kids. I want you to marry me. Have a family with me.”
My heart misses a beat. He wants to marry me. Have a family with me. “Cole.”
“Oh, and just so you know, I want a whole litter of little ones.”
I laugh, and he laughs with me. “That’s a lot of kids, Cole.”
“Yup, and I’ll be their stay-at-home daddy for the better part of the year.” He dips his head, and his lips close over mine. His kiss is imbued with so much love I’m sure my heart is going to explode.
“Cole?”
He inches back and looks at me, his grin crooked. “What? Still hate me?”
I laugh, everything between us so perfect that it’s hard to explain what I’m feeling. Instead of trying, I say, “I love you.”
His smile widens. “Yeah, I know, and it’s damn well time you told me that!”
I whack him and can’t help but laugh. “God, I hate you.”
He laughs with me. “Hate you, too.”
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Acknowledgments
To the amazing team at Entangled, who do so much work behind the scenes, thank you!