Chapter 21
Rowan
I love spending time with my family, but today, I wanted to be alone with Hattie. I wanted to spend my free time with her.
After dessert, we played a few games, and then I said we had plans. My brothers teased me, but I tuned it out. I didn't care about anything other than what Hattie thought of me, and I was fairly sure she'd enjoy the evening I'd planned.
At the brewery, I unlocked the door and pushed it open for her to walk inside first. I hadn't changed anything in the tasting room because I hadn't planned to spend any time in there. "Let's go to the brew bath side."
She raised a brow. "Are we enjoying a bath together?"
I nodded. "We didn't get a chance on the night my family was here, and I regretted that. I wanted to experience it with you."
I kept family bathing suits in my office, but I'd got our things ready when I was here earlier.
The decking around the bath was covered with large pillows and blankets. Lights hung from the ceiling, creating a magical ambiance. Outside, the outline of the mountains was visible in the moonlight. "You want to get changed?"
"Sure."
I handed her a suit. "There's a robe in the changing room."
"Thanks, Row."
I loved that she shortened my name. It reminded me of when we were friends, before everything changed. I loved that we had history. It wasn't perfect, but maybe we were destined to take this journey. I finally had her back in my life, and I wasn't letting her go.
I ducked into the changing room to pull on my trunks, excited to share this experience with her.
I couldn't help but think that this thing with Hattie was similar to my dream about opening a brewery. I wanted her in my life, and now she was. It was up to me not to mess it up.
When I was changed, I stepped outside.
She was already waiting across from the door. Her robe was open, revealing a green string bikini, the same one she wore at the soft opening with my family.
This time, I was alone with her. I could do whatever I wanted with her. "You look like the perfect elf."
She smiled. "Does that make you Santa?"
I pulled her to me so that her body was pressed against mine. "I can grant all your wishes."
"Mmm. I'm looking forward to that." Her nails scraped over my pec as she walked away. She dropped her robe as she went. I stepped over it, following her wherever she was going.
She dipped her foot in the water. "It's perfect."
I hadn't bothered with a robe, so I stepped in next to her. Then I moved toward the side where I'd placed the holiday brew, along with a plate of strawberries and whipped cream.
I poured the brew and handed her a glass.
Then I raised my glass. "To us."
She smiled. "To the Harts' newest addition, Hart's Brewery and Bath House."
"I love the sound of that."
She sipped her drink and then said, "How does it feel to have everything you've ever wanted?"
"Fantastic." I was fairly sure she was talking about the brewery, but I was talking about her. I'd thought I'd never talk to her again, but now she was in my brewery.
She moved closer to me, and I pulled her into my lap. She adjusted, straddling my thighs.
I wanted to enjoy the view of her in my bath. "You're gorgeous."
She hooked her wrists around my neck. "So you've said before."
I arched a brow and leaned back when she meant to kiss me. "You don't believe me."
She shrugged. "I guess?"
"I think you're the most beautiful woman I've ever seen, and it's so much more than looks. You're a good person through and through. Everything you do seems to turn to gold."
She rolled her eyes. "My hot chocolate truck? My apartment?"
“The apartment is a stepping stone to the perfect cabin—"
"Cabin, huh?"
I nodded. "And the truck is a precursor to your storefront."
Her brow furrowed, and I reached out to smooth it. "Where am I going to get a storefront?"
"I'm still thinking on it." I actually had Beck researching possibilities for me. He was all too happy to cleanse his pallet and do something different. He'd been so mired in the brewery for so long.
"Well, I'm happy to dream about it. But it's so far from this." She held her arms out, indicating the brewery and bath.
"Who says you don't get to see your dreams become reality?"
She snorted. "My track record isn't great."
"You're not your father. Your family history doesn't have to be yours. I see you rising above your past and creating every single thing you want."
She relaxed against me. "That sounds lovely."
I pulled her down so that I could kiss her. She was sweet and spicy, and I'd never get enough of her. I ran a hand down her back. "I like having you here in my bath."
She arched a brow. "And what are you going to do with me now that you have me here?"
"Mmm. I have so many plans. But first, we never exchanged presents."
She slumped. "I left your present at home."
I loved that she referred to my cabin as her home. I definitely wanted her to think of it as that. "I stopped by earlier and grabbed it."
"You're a sweetheart."
I cracked a smile. "I think this side of me only comes out with you."
She shifted so that she was sitting in my lap sideways. "Should we get out and unwrap presents?"
"I clearly didn't think this through properly." I got out and grabbed a warm towel. "I have the heaters on, so it won't be too cold."
She reached for my hand, and I helped her out of the water. I wrapped her in a heated towel. Then grabbed one for myself. We dried off and sat on the cushions. It was warm, so she let the towel fall away.
I handed her the first present.
She weighed the small square box. "What's this?"
"You have to unwrap it."
She slowly unwrapped the paper as if it was something she didn't want to rip. When she revealed the box, she carefully set aside the paper and lifted the lid. "It's a bracelet."
I pulled the silver bracelet out of the box. "It has charms on it. One for your truck, a hot chocolate cup, and a cabin. Everything you love."
"I do love those things."
I'd thought about adding a heart to represent my love for her. But I wanted to give that to her on the night of the brewery opening. That was the perfect night to tell her how I felt. I wanted her to know that there was room for the brewery and her in my life. We didn't have to choose between them.
I put it around her wrist and closed the clasp.
She shifted it around her wrist so she could examine each charm. "I love it. Thank you." She reached over and kissed me softly.
"I have something for you too." She reached for the present and handed it to me.
I unwrapped it, not caring about the paper, until I got to a hardcover book, showcasing breweries.
"I thought you might like to have it on the coffee table. You can look at the pictures and get ideas for yours. I thought it might be good inspiration."
I paged through the first few glossy photographs. "This is perfect. Thanks, Hattie."
She smiled. "I wasn't sure it would be enough."
"For the record, you don't have to give me anything. I'm perfectly happy just spending time with you."
"I wanted to give you something special because you've done so much for me. You've given me a place to live when my apartment was unlivable. And you've shown me how a family should be. It's given me a better appreciation for where Mom and I are now, and I think we're going to be okay."
"Yeah?"
She nodded. "We're going to come out of this stronger than ever."
"You know you have my family too. At this point, they probably like you more than me. I'm fairly sure Mom wanted more daughters, and she got stuck with us."
She laughed. "I doubt that."
"Just ask her. I bet she'd admit it." I placed the towel on the warming rack and stepped back into the water.
Hattie did the same and joined me underneath the water.
"You saved me from sharing this bath with a random single woman who wanted to get into my trunks."
"I saved you, huh?" Hattie asked.
"Would the bath have been videotaped for social media or a picture shared on the front of The Telluride Times? I can't even imagine how awful that would be." I shuddered at the thought.
Hattie shifted onto my lap and wrapped her arms around my neck. "It's a good thing I volunteered to be your girl then."
"Yes." My hands gravitated toward the dip in her waist. I was fully prepared to glide up to her breasts or down between her legs. My brain was all over the place. I wanted to touch her and taste her, but at the same time, I just wanted to be inside her.
"I can't imagine how awful it would have been to be the center of so much attention. All those women." She moved over my dick.
It was difficult to think straight with her on top of me. "I only want you."
"You're a sweet talker," she said before she kissed me.
I wanted to argue with her and remind her that I was all in with her. I wasn't playing a role or telling her a story. I wanted her, not some random woman who won a contest. I could care less about the rest of the single girls in town. No one compared to her.
But she was nipping at my bottom lip and gliding over my dick. It was difficult to keep thoughts straight in my head. They kept forming, then splintering in half. I couldn't remember what we were talking about or why it was so important to tell her how I felt.
Surely, she knew. She was in my lap and had my undivided attention. There was no one I wanted more. It was clear to anyone with eyes that I loved her.
Oh, shit. I was in love with her.
It was the only logical solution for the emotions swirling in my chest. But I couldn't tell her when we were having sex. She'd think it was a heat-of-the-moment kind of thing and not real.
I had to be careful and navigate this situation with kid gloves. Except now, she'd moved off my lap to tug down my trunks. She didn't bother to remove them all the way.
She moved up my body, pausing to slide her suit to the side, and sank over me.
I wasn't prepared for her to move so quickly. I thought we'd have more foreplay, more time to enjoy each other's bodies. But I couldn't bring myself to lift her off me or to tell her to stop. I'd be crazy to put a stop to this.
I had Hattie right where I always wanted her, riding my dick in my bathhouse. It might not have been in my actual fantasies when I thought of her, but that was only because I hadn't even thought of it. This was so far beyond what I ever thought I'd get with her.
I was the luckiest man in the world when she agreed to be my fake fiancée. I had a feeling convincing her to be my real girlfriend was going to be a whole lot harder.
She didn't trust easily, and she thought this whole thing was a sham. That was the hard part. How could she think that when my heart was bursting open, and I couldn't think of anything else but her?
She was it for me, a strong and independent woman. She loved fiercely, and she'd been through so much. I admired how tough she was on the outside and a total softy on the inside.
I'd tell her when the time was right. When I gave her that heart charm at the grand opening. Then she'd know how much I loved her. How I couldn't live without her.
I held her to me, telling her how I felt without words. How much I wanted to be with her. How I wasn't ready to let her go.
She gripped my shoulders, lifting herself up and then sinking down. I let her control the pace, mainly because my brain was all jumbled with emotion and pleasure. I felt out of control.
She dropped her mouth to mine, and I focused on kissing her. I reached around her back and tugged on the string. The top pulled away, and I cupped her breasts, rubbing my thumbs over her nipples.
She moaned into my mouth, and I continued to shower her breasts with attention. She moved faster, chasing her release now. My hand drifted lower, seeking her clit. When I found it, I circled the swollen nub, and she cried out, her body trembling from her orgasm.
I held her to me, thrusting from underneath. I hoped she felt the same way. How could she not? We'd lived together as a real couple for weeks. We'd explored each other's bodies and talked about our lives. Sharing our hopes and dreams. We were a real couple.
The only thing that wasn't real was the engagement itself. But that's what I wanted. A life with her. If only she was on the same page as me.