Page 11

Chapter Eleven

EVERLY

I've been staring at the ceiling of my apartment for two days, and I still can't get Trent's words out of my head.

Wilder's given up trying to talk sense into me. After the first day of my moping, he switched tactics to bringing me increasingly ridiculous comfort foods. Yesterday it was chocolate ice cream for breakfast. Today he's threatening to show up with a full turkey dinner if I don't snap out of it.

But I can't. Because what if Trent's right? What if I am rebelling against my safe, predictable life? What if Bruno is just a fantasy I've built up because he's so different from everything I've known?

My phone buzzes for the hundredth time today. Bruno's been calling, texting, even showing up at the apartment, but I can't bring myself to face him yet. Not when I'm this confused. Not when I might just hurt him more than I already have.

The latest text is simple:

Bruno: Please talk to me

I set the phone aside without responding and pull the covers over my head.

That's where Mila finds me an hour later, after Wilder lets her in.

“Everly Louise Parnell,” she says, yanking the blankets off me. “What are you doing?”

“Hiding,” I mumble, trying to grab the covers back.

“From what? That gorgeous cowboy who's been calling me asking if you're okay?”

My heart clenches. “He's been calling you?”

"Him and half the town. I hear the sheriff’s ready to arrest your ex if he shows his face in Snowflake Falls again.” Mila sits on the edge of my bed, her expression softening. “What happened, honey? You looked so happy when you left the fair with him…”

So I tell her. Everything. About the perfect night and morning with Bruno, about Trent showing up, about all the doubts that are eating me alive.

“And you think Trent might be right?” Mila asks when I finish.

“I don't know. Maybe. We barely know each other, Mila. It's been less than a week.”

“Honey, I knew Brock was the one the first time I saw him. Sometimes you just know.”

“But what if I'm wrong? What if I'm just caught up in the romance of it all? What if?—”

“Why don’t you stop asking 'what if' and start asking 'what do I want'?” Mila interrupts. “Forget everything else. What does your heart tell you?”

Before I can answer, there's a commotion outside. Hooves beat on the street outside, followed by voices raised in excitement.

Mila and I rush to the window, and my heart stops.

Bruno sits astride Ranger in the middle of Main Street, his cowboy hat tipped back on his head.

“Everly! I know you're in there, and I've got something to say.”

“Oh my God,” I breathe, my hands pressed to the glass.

“Two days ago, I didn't fight hard enough to make you understand what you mean to me.”

Tears are already blurring my vision.

“Everly, I know you're scared. This all happened faster than green grass through a goose. I know there are a thousand reasons why this shouldn't work.” He pauses, looking directly up at my window. “But there's one reason why it should. Because I love you.”

Love. He loves me.

“I love that you're brave enough to try new things, sweet enough to worry about everyone else, and strong enough to walk away from people who don't deserve you. Including me, if that's what you decide.”

He reaches into his jacket and pulls out a small black box.

“But before you make that decision, I want you to know that this isn't a fantasy for me. This isn't about rebellion, a summer fling, or an old man trying to recapture his youth. This is me, asking the woman I love to spend her life with me.”

He dismounts Ranger, then starts walking toward my building. My heart hammers against my ribs as his footsteps echo up the stairs. There’s a firm knock at my door.

Mila’s grinning at me as I leave my room and I pass Wilder, who’s grinning like a fool in the doorway. They both nod encouragingly.

With shaking hands, I open the door.

Bruno fills the doorframe, more handsome than any man has a right to be. The black box sits in his calloused palm.

“Howdy there, beautiful…” he says.

“Hi.”

“Can I come in? I promise I'll leave if you ask me to. But I needed to say this to your face.”

I step aside, and he enters the apartment. It feels tiny with him in it, but also somehow complete.

“Bruno—”

“Let me go first. That bastard was right about some things. I am older than you. I do live alone on a mountain. We haven't known each other very long.”

My heart sinks, but he continues.

“But he was wrong about everything that matters. He was wrong about this being fake. Wrong about you not knowing your own mind. Wrong about me not being able to offer you a future.” Bruno steps closer, close enough that I can smell his cologne, see the dark shadows under his eyes.

“Because I want to offer you everything, Everly. My heart, my home, my name, my future. All of it.”

He drops to one knee right there in my tiny living room, opening the box to reveal the most beautiful ring I've ever seen. It's vintage, with a center diamond surrounded by sapphires that catch the light like stars.

“My grandmother’s ring. She always said it was meant for the woman who would love a Castelli man completely and forever.”

Tears stream down my face as I look down at him. This gorgeous, strong, incredible man on his knees for me.

“Everly Parnell, will you marry me? Will you let me spend the rest of my life proving that what we have is real? Will you come home with me and build something beautiful together?”

Despite the short timeline, despite the age difference, despite every logical reason this shouldn't work, I know.

“Yes! Of course, yes!”

Bruno's face breaks into the most beautiful smile I've ever seen as he slides the ring onto my finger. It fits perfectly, like it was made for me.

He stands and crushes me against his chest, spinning me around my tiny living room while I laugh and cry at the same time.

“I love you too. I love you so much it scared me. Still does.”

He covers my face with kisses. “Don't be scared. We're going to be okay.”

A squealing noise makes us break apart. Wilder and Mila are clapping as they jump up and down.

This is real love, the kind worth taking risks for, even if it scares me. I've found exactly where I belong. In his arms, by his side, in this life we're going to build together.

Forever.