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She opened her eyes. “You’re watching me,” she murmured.

“You’re so damn beautiful, Grace. And you’re all mine. Only mine.”

She nodded and moved her palms up my biceps, resting them on my shoulders for a few seconds before putting them at the sides of my neck. Then she nodded. “Only yours. I love you. And it’s bigger than me.”

I’d never heard her sound so raw.

I pressed my forehead against hers. “It’s the same for me,” I assured her.

“You have such a way with words. I don’t, but I know exactly how I can prove just how deeply I feel for you.”

“And what is that?”

“I’m going to share the remaining donut with you instead of eating it all by myself.”

I burst out laughing, straightening up. “You truly do love me more than I imagined.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Grace

One year later

“God, I love this place so much,” I said.

I looked around the fully renovated ranch. The first batch of campers was arriving tomorrow. Zachary and I came so we could help Gaston and Felicia with last-minute preparations. In the end, we invested together, and I was ecstatic about it. I never would’ve thought that I’d trust anyone enough to intertwine my life with theirs. But with Zachary, I was ready for anything.

My business had been doing incredibly well over the past year. More and more stores in the Quarter had started to carry our products. I still made the most money still through the online shop, but that was okay. After all, I’d never assumed that I would make a lot selling in physical stores. But having more shops sign up for our products meant that the Deveraux name was in the clear.

My parents were ecstatic. They’d started to attend more events throughout town and were more at ease when going to the theater or other public places. They were good people and deserved to enjoy their retirement without wondering what people were whispering behind their backs.

We hadn’t heard from my brothers, but we also weren’t really expecting them to be in contact. They’d never done well with defeat. The way I looked at it, time healed all wounds, and maybe sometime in the future they’d make their way back. I just hoped they learned their lesson before they did.

“Are you already done?” Zachary asked, coming up behind me.

Felicia said they didn’t need much help with anything except preparing gumbo, and we’d both been cooped up in the kitchenuntil now. Then she remembered that she still had some flowers to water, and I’d volunteered to do that.

I showed him the empty sprinkler. “Yep, all done. Should we get out of Gaston and Felicia’s hair?”

“Want to go by the stables first? You didn’t get to comb Starlight today.”

I smiled sheepishly. “You caught on to that, huh?”

He chuckled. “Babe, it’s what you do whenever you come here. You find one excuse or another. The last one was particularly hilarious.”

“What? It was honest.”

“Really? ‘The wind blew too hard and now his hair is tangled up’?”

“But it was.”

“He’s a horse.”

I pushed his shoulder playfully. “Hey, don’t let him hear you. I’m convinced that he might believe he’s human.”

Zachary laughed and tilted forward, kissing my forehead. “You’re so damn lovable, I swear.”

I’d never tire of hearing him say such incredible things.