Chapter Twenty-Six
THE RESTAURANT WAS dimly lit, with a brick fireplace, candlelight, and extraordinary views of the mountains, but Crew couldn’t take his eyes off Birdie.
The dress she’d found at the consignment shop was soft and feminine, with wildflowers and tiny sunflowers on a thin, gauzy material.
The long, summery, off-the-shoulders dress had a ruffled top, cinched at her waist, and brushed the tops of the furry brown leather boots she’d had on with her jeans.
Her hair fell in messy waves down her back.
Anyone else might look out of place in that thin dress in the middle of a snowy day, but Birdie, with her radiant smile and effortless confidence, looked like she could bend the weather to her will if she wanted to.
Birdie ate a piece of shrimp scampi and leaned against him in their cozy booth. “You know, most people blink occasionally during dinner.”
“Most people aren’t sitting next to the most beautiful woman in the room, trying to figure out how she can smell like summer sunshine on a winter’s night.”
“You like the way I smell?” she asked with surprise.
“I dream about the way you smell.”
“You do?” She let out one of his favorite breathy, disbelieving laughs, so different from the bold laughter she usually shared with the world.
He slid his hand over her thigh. “I do. Often, in fact. Very naughty, detailed dreams.”
The appreciative sound that slipped from her lips as he moved in to kiss her wasn’t disbelieving at all.
“And that dress? You have no idea how sexy you are in it.” Or how perfect it is that you found one with sunflowers on it. She’d come out of the consignment shop wearing it, and they’d gone straight to dinner.
“I love that you’re not embarrassed to be seen with me in a summer dress with my winter boots.”
The only thing he was embarrassed by was that he couldn’t show the world how crazy he was about her and take her out in Hope Valley or Allure. “You could never embarrass me.”
“Good, because when I saw this dress in the consignment shop, it looked as romantic and carefree as I feel tonight, and I had to have it. Can you believe I got it for twenty dollars?”
“Twenty dollars?” He dragged his gaze over her again. “Best twenty bucks anyone ever spent.”
She grinned. “Right? Total score.”
There’d been a time when the women in his life wouldn’t have been caught dead in anything that didn’t come with a designer label and a three- or four-figure price tag.
Everything had been about status and appearances—sitting at the right tables, going to the right parties, and of course, moving in the right circles.
He’d played along, throwing money around like it proved something about who he was.
Now he had accounts full of money, and it just sat there.
A painful reminder of a life he wanted no part of.
And here was Birdie, glowing in a twenty-dollar dress she’d found on a whim.
He’d trade every cent in his accounts for the way she was looking at him right now, like nothing could dim her light.
Dinner was delicious, and conversation was fun. They talked about bad movies, debated what kind of junk food tasted better at midnight than it ever did during the day, and a hundred other silly things.
Birdie’s phone chimed in his pocket, and he pulled it out, handing it to her. He’d carried it so she didn’t have to bring her bag.
“Sorry,” she said, glancing at the screen. “It’s a group text with the girls. I should check it, or they’ll wonder where I am.”
He knew that to be true from the evenings they’d spent together. If she didn’t answer a text quickly, her phone would chime three more times in ten minutes.
“Yay,” she said as she read it.
“Good news?”
“Yes. All the girls in my family get together to make pies the day before Thanksgiving. They’re just confirming that everyone can make it.” Thanksgiving was about three weeks away. She thumbed out a quick confirmation and set her phone on the table.
“That sounds fun. That’s a big week at the food bank. They’ve been a little shorthanded lately, so I told them I’d try to put in a few more hours each week, and I hope you don’t mind, but I committed to being there Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday evenings the week of Thanksgiving.”
“Why would I mind? I love that you’re doing that. I wish I could go with you.”
“Me too.” He squeezed her hand.
“You’re having Thanksgiving dinner at the ranch, right?”
“I wanted to get your opinion on that. Tiny and Cowboy mentioned it, and I told them I’d be there, but I don’t want to make things harder for Dare and Billie.”
“My father wouldn’t have mentioned it if he didn’t think you belonged there, and the fact that Cowboy mentioned it means he’s coming around. I’m glad that you care enough to want to stay out of Dare and Billie’s way, but you shouldn’t skip dinner because of them.”
Her gaze drifted to their joined hands. “I don’t know how I’m going to sit across the room from you and pretend I feel nothing, but it would suck even more if I couldn’t share the holiday with you at all.”
“Then I’ll go. I want to be there with you and because I’m grateful to your family. Hell, I always want to be with you, but I don’t know how we get from here to there in the long run.”
She squeezed his fingers. “I don’t either, and I hate pretending we’re not together. It’s really hard acting like I’m not mad at Dare for how he treats you, when I’m furious about it.”
“Don’t be mad at him,” Crew said evenly. “He’s just reacting to what I did.”
“Yeah, well, he could use a good therapist right now,” she said angrily.
Crew had to smile at that, because he’d had the same thought a few times. “I’m hoping time will help.”
“It better, because I’m not giving you up, so get that out of your head.”
“It’s not in my head, sweet one.” He slid his other hand to the nape of her neck, drawing her into a kiss. “I want more time with you, not less, but not at the expense of your relationship with your family.”
“Me too,” she said softly. “It’s just so hard. Even when I’m at the ranch for breakfast or dinner and you’re right across the room, it feels like you’re too far away.”
“For me, too. I got you a little something that might make you feel closer to me when we’re apart.” He reached into his pocket and pulled out a small white pouch.
“Crew…?” she said as she shook the contents of the pouch into her palm.
Her breath caught as she took in the silver charm bracelet he’d had made for her.
A silver flower charm sparkled with tiny diamonds, and a pink-petaled flower anchored one side of a gold heart, with two intricate green-sapphire leaves sprouting along the rim.
A brown bead boasted yellow-and-silver flowers, and several other colored beads shimmered with colorful flowers and gems. Dangling from the middle of the bracelet were two sunflowers.
One had silver petals. The other had gold petals that opened when she touched it, revealing the tiny silver circle inside, on which he’d had engraved Forever my light in his handwriting.
Her eyes brimmed with emotion.
“Turn that one over,” he said.
She turned it over, tearing up as she read the inscription on the back of that tiny silver circle. Always your Viking.
A tear slid down her cheek as she curled her fingers around the bracelet. “I love it so much, but you didn’t have to get me anything.”
“I know I didn’t.” He wiped her tear with the pad of his thumb. “Haven’t you figured out yet that I’m crazy about you?”
She beamed at him. “I hoped you were.”
“Don’t play coy with me. You know I can’t get enough of you and your rebellious streak and funky clothes and that insanely gorgeous smile that can make me do just about anything.”
She laughed softly.
“God, that laugh gets me every time.”
She laughed again.
“Now you’re just workin’ it,” he teased.
“Seriously, though. I love your fierce determination and your passion for the smallest things. I love how you say what you feel and do what you want and that you’re learning accounting not just to prove you can but to support Carly with her dreams, even though we both know you hate doing it. ”
She smiled at how well he knew her. “I couldn’t learn it without your help.”
“Yes, you could. I might not have all my shit figured out yet, but I know one thing for sure. You’ll never be too much for me, Trouble. I only hope I won’t cause too much trouble for you.”
Tears slid down her cheeks. “Not a chance.” Swiping at her tears, she said, “Give me your necklace.”
“Why?” he asked as he took it off.
Without answering, she carefully removed charms from the bracelet, lining them up on the table until she reached the silver sunflower. She put that charm on his necklace and slid it into place beside the North Star. “Now you’ll always have a piece of me when we’re apart, too.”
Swallowing past the knot in his throat, he said, “I’ve got news for you, Trouble. You snuck under my skin when I carried you down the ski slope that first day, and you hunkered down for the long run. You’re stuck with me, darlin’, and I’m not stopping at just a piece.”