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“Duke, I…what is all this?”

He smiled, stepping around me, shrugging and stuffing his hands in his pockets.

“Guess I just wanted to give you a few more reasons to stay.”

“But—”

“I might have bribed Charlotte into telling me a few of your favorite things.” He grinned.

“Duke …”

“Hold on. Just listen. I know Shady Grove is a far cry from the city. We don’t have a wide variety of restaurants or bars, we’ve got one tiny café that’s closed on Sundays, and we’re so far in the middle of nowhere that some fruits and vegetables that are commonplace everywhere else seem exotic and rare. But I looked into it, and the nearest Starbucks is only an hour away. And a couple towns over, there’s a Mexican place that claims to be authentic. As for the rest of this stuff, I had to do some digging?—”

I cut him off with a kiss on the lips, throwing my arms around his neck.

“But what about Amber?”

“Payton isn’t mine. She cleared it all up last night.”

I kissed him again, this time running my fingers through his hair. He wrapped me in his arms, my body sinking into his broad chest. When we parted, I looked around again, shaking my head at all the things he’d gotten me.

“Dios mio, cabron, when did you get all this?”

His proud, dimpled smile made my heart melt.

“Let’s just say it was an early morning. Turns out, I’m no good at coring pineapple. That’s attempt number two.”

“You bought two pineapples?”

“I had a feeling I’d need a spare.”

I smiled and shook my head again, bringing the lukewarm latte to my lips. The familiar scent wafted up through my nostrils, a scent that used to bring me comfort and calm on hectic mornings, and on occasion, in the middle of a crazy day. But when the liquid hit my tongue, something about it tasted different. The barista did fine. The order was spot-on.

It was me. I was different. I didn’t need the comfort and calm as much as I used to. The country had done that instead. I didn’t need the liquid form.

“Everything you ever dreamed of?” Duke asked, amusement on his face.

“Nothing tastes quite as much like corporate America.”

He chuckled, a serious look quickly falling over his face.

“Now, I want to be clear, darlin’, all this is meant to show you that life here in Shady Grove doesn’t have to be all that different from the city. I’m not trying to bribe you into staying. My winning smile and matchless charm already do that for me.”

I rolled my eyes, making a face like I was going to be sick. But he was right. I didn’t have to stay. Even if he didn’t have a ten-year-old son, there was no guarantee that what Duke and I had would last. We barely knew each other, only had sex one time. What if it was all just a fluke? What if the moment I decided to stay, the magic disappeared, and we quickly started to resent each other for the time and energy we were both wasting on a relationship that was never meant to go past a summer fling?

I looked up into his eyes, those two green gems that had the power to make my blood boil with frustration one second and with lust the next, and I knew that none of that was true. From the moment we met, our dynamic came naturally, the playful energy between us a symptom of the cellular-level connection we had. It was too real, too magic. That was why we insisted on teasing and fighting. Because the idea that soulmates might be real, that love at first sight might exist?

That was scarier than hating each other’s guts.

“My firm did just roll out the option of working remotely,” I said, slipping my arm around his waist.

Duke beamed down at me, relief and joy radiating from his face.

“And we do have an extra house on the property for you. Before you move in with me, of course.”

“What makes you think we wouldn’t move into my place? Your place is cute, but just wait ’til you see what I can do with a Home Goods catalog.”

“Charlotte let me in on a few of your big-city secrets, darlin’.”