Page 59 of Stormswept Colorado (Hart County #3)

We found our seats around the tables. Dane and Grace joined us, then Piper and Judson.

The Lonely Harts club, though everyone had agreed at our last get-together that “lonely” didn’t fit anymore.

The majority of us were in relationships now, and the others weren’t looking to change their single status.

My sister in particular had vowed she’d never couple up again. And Callum seemed happy enough, given the parade of different partners who passed through his bed.

Though this Zandra Alvarez situation did make me wonder.

But we all had each other. Nothing lonely about that.

We played several rounds of bar trivia, laughing with the other tables. We did especially when it came to the music category. But Grace got the most competitive overall. The woman was known for being sweet, but when it came to trivia, she was so intense it was scary.

After trivia wound down, Ayla slumped against me. Her chair was scooted right up to mine, close enough our sides and legs were pressed together. We’d sat in the corner so the rest of our group could shelter Ayla from any curious tourists. But it hadn’t been necessary. Nobody had bothered us.

“This was a great day,” she said in my ear. “Especially dunking you.”

I laughed and took a sip of my beer. “I just might get you back for that later.”

“I hope so.” Her gaze was heated. She played with the collar of my T-shirt. Then her expression turned more contemplative. “I know it’s been hard for you, being away from Silver Ridge so much.”

“Not nearly as hard as I would’ve imagined.”

“No second thoughts?”

“Never, sweetheart.”

She’d been working intensely on her new album. Watching Ayla make her music was awe-inspiring. She had the kind of talent I’d rarely seen in real life.

I never wanted to hold her back. If Ayla chose to quit or change her career, fine. That was her choice. But she had a gift. This world was better for having her voice in it, loud and proud and poetic.

I wouldn’t call myself her biggest fan because that phrase was spoiled for us. Besides, it didn’t really mean anything. I preferred to show how I felt through my actions. Cheering her on, living for every note and chord and lyric. Standing by her side. Keeping her safe.

It was difficult to believe it had only been six months since we got trapped in that snowstorm. Since she’d turned my world upside down. But I wouldn’t change a single thing.

It would get harder once she started touring again.

I’d be following her to cities all over the continent.

All over the world. But I was old enough that I knew when something felt right.

This, us , was so right. Making this relationship work wasn’t easy, but I’d been fighting battles my entire life. I had no problem fighting for us.

“This is working for you , right?” I asked softly, low enough nobody else in our group would hear. “Traveling between here and LA so frequently?”

She’d told me she was fully committed, and I trusted her word. Maybe it was the fact that we had both grown up fast. Ayla knew, as well as I did, how rare this kind of happiness was.

I still worried sometimes, though. She shone so brightly. What if her kind of light was simply impossible for a guy like me to hold on to?

“Are you kidding?” she said. “I love this. Life just feels so… rich .”

I grinned, knowing exactly what she meant. “Never a dull moment. All because of you, not me. I’m not the fun police anymore, but I’m hardly the life of any party. Much less the red carpet. ”

“Maybe not. But you’re the handsome, quiet guy who whispers jokes in my ear. The man I will always want to go home with. And you’re a lot of fun in the bedroom.”

I tilted my head back and forth. “That sounds pretty good.”

“ Pretty good ,” she teased. Ayla snuggled into me again, and we were both quiet for a few minutes before she lifted her head. “Teller, when we have kids, I want us to live here in Silver Ridge full time.”

A warm glow radiated from my chest. “Yeah? That would be amazing someday.” I’d been hoping we would settle here, but I’d figured we had plenty of time to figure that out.

“But what if it was sooner rather than later?”

Everything stopped.

“What are you trying to tell me?” I asked.

She snickered. “You’re so pale under that sunburn. I promise it won’t be that soon. I don’t have any big news.”

I exhaled, and my heart started pumping again. “Don’t do that to a guy. Of course I would be ecstatic, but…geez, I need some time to mentally prepare.”

“Sorry. But I was thinking, why should we wait a long time to start a family? We both know this is what we want. It wouldn’t hurt to try.”

“That’s true.” I wasn’t getting any younger. Though I never would’ve pressured her. “But your album is coming out soon. You’ll go on tour next year.” Cheryl and Ayla’s tour manager were already planning it all out and scheduling the venues.

“Yes, but it’ll go by fast. We could plan for after, and…see what happens.”

I shifted in my seat, glancing around at our friends and family carrying on their own conversations, oblivious to the way Ayla had just blown my mind yet again.

But my Ayla had her own way of doing things. I could always count on her to start up trouble.

I loved her kind of trouble .

“Then I guess we should make this official. Change your legal name from Hopkins to Landry.”

She stared at me, like I had just stopped her world for once. “Did you just propose to me in the middle of trivia night at Hearthstone?”

Uh oh. “That depends. If I did, would you say yes?”

She pressed her lips together, then slowly broke into a brilliant smile. “I would, because this is perfect. I don’t need a bunch of fanfare. Just you and me and our friends and family.”

Ho-lee hell . I had just proposed to Ayla Maxwell.

And it sounded like she’d said yes.

“So should we tell them?” I asked.

“Nah, not yet. It can be our secret for now.” She leaned closer, hypnotizing me with the look in her bewitching, world-famous eyes. “But I do need you to kiss me, Mr. Landry.”

“I can make that happen, future Mrs. Landry.”

Our lips touched. Slid until they locked together. Then parted as my tongue surged into her mouth, and her fist gripped my T-shirt.

Whoops and whistles suddenly rose around the room, and I knew they were about us. There were probably cameras recording us right now. I didn’t care. People could look all they wanted, say what they wanted, but the love I’d found with Ayla would always belong only to us.

In some ways, I had burned down my own world to be with her. Remade it into something new. Ayla had just said it best.

This, right here, was perfect.