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I forgot what a simple pleasure it is to just be with someone sharing a meal and conversation. I’ve always believed food brings people together, and I definitely want to make enjoying meals as a family a ritual in my future life.

Even now with my maybe-girlfriend, everything is changing for me.

Weeknights versus weekends make no real difference to ranchers and farmers. Work needs to be done regardless of whether it’s Monday or Saturday. But my evening routines were pretty boring before Ashley came along.

Dinner usually eaten alone at an ungodly hour because I couldn’t turn the work off.

Hiking with Scout.

Crashing early so I could wake up even earlier without being a miserable prick.

But now, Ashley making me come every night is a much better mood stabilizer than extra sleep, and having her constant company has made me realize just how lonely the life I was living really was.

“What are you thinking about?” Ashley asks. “Your face just changed.”

“Just that I’m so happy and grateful you’re here with me.”

She takes another sip of wine before setting the glass down and climbing onto my lap. “Really?”

“Really.”

“I love being with you,” she says.

She has thrown the word love around in a lot of sentences. Loves how I look. Loves spending time with me. But she hasn’t said that she loves me again since the night we lost Scout and I was close to losing my mind.

And maybe she’s waiting for me to take the lead since she was the one ballsy enough to say it first without any guarantee of an “I love you” back.

“Do you know what I love?” I ask against her lips.

“Mmm?”

“I love the curve of your neck. I love how swollen your lips look after I’ve kissed you breathless. I love how much you genuinely care about me and are so invested in everything we do together. And most of all, I love you. So fucking much.”

“Oh, Gav,” she whispers, and when she kisses me, I taste the salt of her tears.

“I think you mispronounced, ‘I love you, too,’ but you can try again,” I tease.

“I love how you want to carry the weight of the world for everyone in your life. I love how you’re starting to let me take some of that load because I want to be a team with you. I love every inch of your perfect body. And, Gav, I loveyou.”

“Ah, babe.” Unexpected emotion clogs my throat, blurring my vision, and I kiss both of her eyelids.

I don’t know how she’s gotten under my skin again so quickly, but she has. She means the world to me, and the realization completely sneaks up on me.

Loving someone is a risk because they have the power to cut you down at the knees. I’ll just have to trust that she won’t hurt me this time.

“Okay, you’ve earned some loving,” she says, with a grin.

“Whew,” I say. “The plan worked.”

Chapter 28

Gavin

Sheleansbacksoshe can unhook my belt and slowly undo my zipper. She works my jeans and boxer briefs down far enough to free my stiffening cock before taking it in her hand.

When she slowly works her fingertips up and down the hard length, I twitch when she reaches an especially responsive spot.

“Mmm, right there?” she asks, her finger massaging below the head on the sensitive underside of my cock, making me moan long and loud.