Page 17

WILLA

I 've never thought in terms of “forever” before. I guess I never thought I’d be lucky enough to find someone who accepted me for me – a bit of a homebody who just wants to read, study subjects that interest me, and create quirky jewelry.

As I slowly pace the kitchen, waiting for the oven timer to go off, a wave of gratitude flutters through me. I can see clear across the mountain through the open window. On the other side, I can make out part of the lake. I have a plentiful supply of beach glass and interesting stones.

Even though I've never pictured myself as a mountain woman or a country girl, I'm positive this is the right place for me.

The oven timer buzzes. I pull out the lasagna and set it down to rest for a few moments, then hear a noise from the spare bedroom that Hux has turned into an office.

He comes in from the garage a few minutes later. "I've got all of the pieces cut for your workbench. Tomorrow I'm going to set it all up, then if I could please have you check the height again before I really screw it all together…?"

"That sounds amazing, thank you. Hey – I think I heard your printer in the other room."

His chuckle is rich and deep. "Yeah. I forwarded something Crow just sent so we can both take a look."

He washes up in the kitchen sink, then goes to the office, returning with several pages. He spreads them across the kitchen counter so we can study them together.

The first picture is a photo of a detailed sketch of Hux’s proposed tattoo – the mountains at the top left, the medieval castle just below it and closer to the center, and greenery trailing down to the lake at the bottom right.

The next picture is a photo of Huxley's bare back, with the sketch roughly superimposed on top of it.

"Wow," I breathe. "That looks incredible."

"Yeah, Crow really does listen to every suggestion you give him, and always interprets them well." Huxley is examining the last few pages, which are zoomed in to show different areas of the artwork in greater detail.

Leaning in, my fingers tighten on the edge of the counter as I stare in disbelief. In the first draft I saw, the partial edge of the lake simply had a dusting of sand. Now it has sand, pebbles, and a few tiny fragments of green and blue that are obviously meant to be beach glass.

The treasure chest in front of the castle had stacks of gold coins in the original version. Now the gold coins have become a pile of jewels, with a large necklace hanging from the chest. In the center is a green charm wrapped in looping copper wire.

"You…" My fingers flutter against my lips. "Is that…"

"My favorite piece of yours? Yes. I bought it as a gift for Desire a few weeks ago and sent Crow photos of it."

"You can't…I mean…my art on your body…it's just—" Huxley cuts my stammers off with a kiss that I feel all the way down the backs of my thighs.

"Angel, I want to show you that you're my treasure, and already a permanent part of my life. Even though it's just a small fragment of this huge piece?—"

"I'll know it's there." I smile up at him, my hands landing in the center of his chest. "Even if it's just the tiniest smudge, I'm going to know what it means."

"Exactly. Good." His eyes dart back and forth. "Also, once we’ve found a bunch of places to sell your work and are driving around from town to town, we're going to have to drop by all the big jewelry stores."

My fingers press against his t-shirt. "Oh, no. They won’t be interested. They only sell precious jewels. My stuff belongs in craft stores and cafés. Low-key, souvenir places."

"I was thinking more that I need to start doing some basic research like sizing this finger and asking it what it wants to wear forever." Huxley takes my left hand and gently kisses my ring finger. "So if you have any strong ideas there, the time to start sketching would be pretty much right now."

I can't feel my face. I swear, the air in my lungs stops moving. He's dead serious.

Then Hux tips his nose up and sniffs the air. "Okay, not right this second. Lasagna first. It smells amazing."

We laugh together, then he helps me plate up our dinner.

This is what our home life will be: always relaxed, always laughing, always planning for the future, but in a mellow way. Finding our own paths for career and work, and the way we want to live.

If anyone had told me a month ago that I would meet the love of my life while flattening a raspberry Danish into his stomach, I would've said they were crazy.

Now I already know in my heart that's going to be a story we tell our children someday.

This charming, rugged mountain man and I will be together forever.