Chapter 20
HARPER
Istood on the porch of Connor's house with my hands wrapped around a warm coffee mug, watching spring and winter have a custody battle over April.
The mid-morning air couldn't decide if it wanted to be warm or freezing, which felt oddly appropriate given how my life couldn't decide if it wanted to be a romance novel or a crime thriller.
The firepit sat dark and cold to my left.
We wouldn't light it until later when everyone arrived for what they thought was just another Saturday cookout.
But my gaze wasn't on the firepit. It was trained on the old barn across the driveway, where two figures moved around horses in preparation for what Anna thought was just a romantic trail ride and picnic.
A trail ride that would end with Jaxon on one knee.
I smiled against the rim of my mug, taking a slow sip of the coffee Connor had made for me. The sun was warm on my face despite the confused weather, and anticipation bubbled in my chest like champagne I was trying not to shake.
Chester lay sprawled next to me on the wooden planks, his golden fur catching the sunlight, his tail thumping a steady rhythm against the deck. With Chester, it was impossible to tell if he sensed my excitement or was just hoping someone would drop food. Probably the latter.
The sliding door whispered open behind me, followed by Connor's boots on the deck.
He stepped up behind me, solid and warm, his arms wrapping around my waist and pulling me against his chest. The coffee sloshed slightly in my mug, but I didn't care.
I leaned back into him, fitting against the planes of his body in a way that still made my pulse quicken even after a month together.
He pressed his lips to my temple, the kiss soft and lingering. “Hey, sweetheart.”
“Hey.” I sighed out the word, contentment settling over me like the world's most comfortable blanket.
“I promise I'm not staring into the fire again,” I said quietly, knowing he'd noticed my fixed attention on something outside. He was probably already running through his mental checklist of how to distract me if I was spiraling.
Every weekend, we'd lit the firepit for Saturday gatherings. And every weekend, Connor had found me at some point standing and staring into the flames with an expression I couldn't quite control as I remembered the flames that had burned through my apartment.
He'd never said anything. Never made me feel broken for the fear I couldn't quite shake. Just pulled me away from the fire, distracted me with kisses or conversation or whatever else he could think of. Gentle and understanding in a way that made me love him more every day.
He chuckled, the sound rumbling through his chest into my back in a way that made me want to purr like a cat. “Really?” His arms tightened around me, one hand splaying across my stomach in a gesture that felt protective and possessive in the best possible way. “Then what are you looking at?”
“Watch.” I lifted one finger from my mug, extending my pointer finger toward the barn like I was about to reveal the world's best-kept secret. “They're coming out now.”
The barn door had opened while we'd been standing here.
Jaxon emerged first, leading two horses, Molly, one of Sam's mares that Connor had taken in after Sam's death last year, and Choco, Anna's Arabian-Quarter Horse mix with his distinctive chestnut coat and white socks that made him look like he was wearing fancy boots.
Anna followed, dressed in jeans and one of Jaxon's flannels rolled up at the sleeves, her blonde hair pulled back in a ponytail.
Even from this distance, I could see her smile.
Bright and genuine and, even better, completely unsuspecting of what was about to happen.
She had no idea her whole life was about to change in the best possible way.
Jaxon helped Anna mount Choco with careful hands, making sure she was secure before swinging himself up onto Molly with an athleticism that spoke of his past. They looked perfect together.
Just two people on horseback with the sun and the mountains rising in the distance like something you’d see on a postcard.
“What exactly am I watching?” Connor asked, his voice confused as he tried to figure out what had me so captivated. “I know they're going out for a trail ride and a picnic.”
But his attention was already straying, because apparently Connor had the attention span of a golden retriever when I was in his arms. I felt his lips leave my temple, trailing lower, finding the sensitive spot just below my ear that made my breath catch every single time.
His stubble scratched against my skin in a way that shouldn't be as hot as it was, and heat began to pool low in my belly despite the important moment happening in front of us.
“Connor,” I breathed, tilting my head to give him better access even as I tried to focus on Jaxon and Anna. “Jaxon is going to propose to Anna.”
He froze.
Every movement halted. His lips stilled against my neck, his hands went rigid on my waist, his whole body went statue-still behind me like someone had pressed pause on him.
“What did you say?”
I couldn't help it, I laughed at his shock, the sound bright and delighted and maybe a little smug because I'd managed to surprise Connor, which was harder than it sounded.
I turned in his arms, careful not to spill my coffee, until I was facing him.
His brown eyes were wide, his mouth slightly open in complete surprise like I'd just told him aliens had landed in the pasture.
“I said, Jaxon is going to propose to Anna. That's where they're going right now, out to that overlook on the north side of the property, the one with the view that makes you want to believe in something bigger than yourself. I helped him pick out the ring last week.”
Connor's gaze shifted from me to look over my shoulder, toward where Anna and Jaxon were now disappearing into the tree line, horses walking in easy tandem like they were heading out on just another Saturday ride instead of toward a life-changing moment.
Then his eyes came back to mine, and something in his expression shifted.
Softened. Heated in a way that made my stomach flip.
Before I could ask what he was thinking, before I could do anything except stand there like an idiot, the world tilted.
My coffee mug was plucked from my hands with the efficiency of someone who'd done this before as he set it carefully on the porch railing, and then I was airborne.
Lifted clean off my feet like I weighed nothing, his hands gripping my thighs, pulling me up until my legs automatically wrapped around his waist and my arms flung around his neck to hold on before gravity remembered I existed.
“Connor!” I squeaked, clinging to him. “What are you—”
He kissed me. Hard and deep and consuming in a way that made my brain short-circuit and forget whatever point I was trying to make.
His mouth claimed mine with an intensity that made my head spin and my body ignite like someone had struck a match.
One hand cupped the back of my head, fingers threading through my hair, holding me exactly where he wanted me.
The other supported my weight like I was made of feathers.
I was vaguely aware of movement, of Connor walking while still kissing me like his life depended on it, still holding me against him like he couldn't bear to break contact even for the few seconds it would take to get inside.
The glass door slid open, then closed behind us, cutting off the cool air and replacing it with the warmth of the kitchen.
Then my back was against something solid and cool.
The kitchen table, I realized distantly with some small part of my brain that wasn't currently melting.
Connor laid me down across it like I was something precious he was unwrapping, his body following mine down, covering me, surrounding me with his heat and his scent and his complete and utter focus on me.
“Connor!” I gasped when he finally released my mouth to trail kisses down my jaw, my neck, the hollow of my throat. “What are you doing? Everyone else will be here in thirty minutes!”
Felix, Denny, Jim, and a few other ranch hands were supposed to arrive at noon for the celebration.
Not to mention others from town I had invited.
They thought it was just another Saturday cookout, earlier than normal, but it would be warmer that way.
Only I knew, and now Connor, the real reason we'd be celebrating.
That Jaxon and Anna would return engaged.
Thirty minutes wasn't enough time for this.
Connor's hands found the belt of my jeans, working the leather free with practiced efficiency that should probably concern me. The metal clinked softly, and heat flooded my face even as my body arched into his touch like a traitor.
“Connor,” I tried again, but it came out breathy and wanting instead of reasonable. “We don't have time—”
“Then we'd better be quick,” he murmured against my neck, his voice low and rough in that way that made my toes curl and my brain turn to mush. His teeth found that spot below my ear and bit gently, making me gasp loud enough that I was grateful no one was here yet. “I need you now, Harper.”
His hands didn't pause. Belt open, button released, zipper down. He hooked his fingers in the waistband and pulled. Both my jeans and underwear were dragged down my legs, until I was completely exposed on his kitchen table in the middle of the day.
“This is insane,” I whispered, but my hands were already reaching for his shirt, tugging it up and over his head so I could feel his skin under my palms, so I could dig my nails into his shoulders the way I wanted to.
“We're going to get caught and have to explain to your ranch hands why I'm half-naked on your table.”