Page 9 of Stripped Down at the Fair (Sweetheart County Fair #2)

CATE

M y heart raced as I pulled into the parking lot of the Wildwood Valley Inn.

We’d made it to the seven-week mark, but the guys on Dustin’s crew were getting restless.

The bad news was that two weeks had been tacked onto the end of the project, which meant we had another three weeks to go, and nobody was sure that would be the end.

The good news was that some of Dustin’s guys had started going home on weekends.

One of those guys was a married father of two who’d been rooming with Dustin in a double queen bed room throughout the project.

When Dustin told me we’d have the room to ourselves all weekend, I’d almost jumped in the car right then and there, but I had to wait until Friday when their work was done.

I pulled into a parking lot of a large Tudor-style building just off the interstate.

I didn’t know what I’d expected in a small town like this one, but I was pleasantly surprised.

The landscaping was clean and impressive, and the surrounding businesses were equally charming, including a pancake restaurant next door.

I had two surprises for Dustin. One would be delivered to the room any minute. He thought we were going out for dinner, but based on his visits to Sweetheart Bend the past six weekends, we wouldn’t want to leave bed until morning—if then.

There were more vehicles in the parking lot than I thought there would be, but one of them was Dustin’s black pickup, and that was all that mattered.

I hadn’t set up a plan for getting to his room before he was off work for the day.

Sure, I could have gone by the work site and gotten a room key, but I was counting on him getting off work in plenty of time for my arrival.

“Well, hello,” a woman at the front desk called out as I walked in. “You must be Cate. It’s so nice to finally meet you.”

I froze halfway across the lobby, my thumb hitched under the strap of my overnight bag.

I blinked, surprised this woman knew my name.

It was a small town, sure, but I didn’t live here.

That meant Dustin had been talking about me, and it looked like what he’d been saying was enough to make this woman enthusiastic to meet me.

I felt like a celebrity for the first time in my life.

“I’m Bobbie,” she said. “I run this place. Your boys have been great company the past couple of months. Thanks to your town for loaning them to us.”

I didn’t think of them as my boys or Sweetheart Bend as my town. Not yet. Not until Dustin came home for good and made everything feel…right.

“Anyway, your man’s up there waiting for you,” she said. “Room 243. Have fun…but not too much fun.”

She gave me a little wink, and I couldn’t help but smile as I headed toward the stairs. This place may have had an elevator, but I couldn’t see it from where I stood. It was just easier to take the stairs than wander the lobby, looking for the right signs.

My heart was racing by the time I reached the top of the steps, and not because of the exertion.

It had only been five days since Dustin had headed back to Wildwood Valley after we’d spent the entire weekend together, mostly in bed.

I had a feeling my excitement over seeing him would be the same even if it had only been eight hours.

I raised my hand to knock, but the door burst open before my knuckles could even make contact. I was face-to-face with the man I loved, and he couldn’t have looked happier to see me.

“Damn, I’ve missed you,” he said. “Get in here.”

That last part sounded bossy, but it was just the kind of bossy I liked. We couldn’t do anything just yet, though. We still had dinner coming. But there was always time for a kiss.

I wrapped my arms around him, drawing him toward me. His mouth was on mine before our bodies even made contact, his tongue parting my lips. He had a way of distracting me.

When his hands began fumbling with my T-shirt, I pulled back. “I have a surprise for you.”

His eyes were heavy as he straightened. He seemed to be trying to get his bearings.

“What’s that?” he asked.

“Dinner delivered to the room.”

He frowned. “This place doesn’t have room service.”

“Right. Restaurant delivery to the rescue.”

He frowned. “There’s no delivery in this town.”

“There is when you know someone who knows someone.” I smiled. “My friend back in Springfield does restaurant delivery. She got me in touch with a friend of hers in the next town over. She’s going to leave everything outside the door.”

I turned to take a couple of steps toward the door, but I’d barely started moving when I heard three taps. Once I got to the door, I looked through the peephole and verified nobody was standing out there before lowering from tiptoe and reaching for the lock.

“Hold up,” he said. “Do you mind if I do that? Just in case, you know.”

He was protecting me. I knew there were no dangers lurking in the hallway of this charming inn, but I was so touched. Just the fact that he cared enough warmed my heart.

I stepped back just far enough to let Dustin get to the door. He grabbed everything, handing some of it off to me, and we carried it to the table together. It was small, with a big cushy chair on either side that made me feel almost like royalty as I sat.

Once that was all unloaded, Dustin crossed the room and opened the minifridge, kneeling to peer inside. When he stood, he had a bottle in his hand.

“Wine for you and beer for me,” he said.

Oh crap. I hadn’t planned on revealing my second surprise quite this early. But it looked like I’d have no other choice. He knew my favorite wine, and I definitely would have drank at least one glass any other night.

“You know what?” I asked. “I think I’m in the mood for water tonight. Do you have any?”

He looked confused. “No, I didn’t buy any bottled water. I could get you some from the tap. Or they sell them at the reception desk downstairs.”

I should’ve added drinks when I ordered all the food. What was I thinking? I was just so excited to see him, it totally slipped my mind.

“I’ll call down there,” I said. “Maybe they could send one up.”

“No. You stay right there.”

He grabbed the room key and was out the door before I could say a word.

I stared down at the containers full of food.

I’d ordered a cheeseburger and onion rings for me and a ribeye with baked potato for him.

My work at a grocery store near Sweetheart Bend paid enough that I could handle my own expenses, along with little things like this.

But I wasn’t fooling myself. If I hadn’t been able to stay in his cabin for free, I definitely would’ve been strapped for cash right now.

A few minutes later, I heard the loud click that indicated he’d waved his keycard in front of it. When the door popped open, he held two bottles of water.

Then and there, the decision was made. I was going to tell him, and I was going to tell him now.

“I’m pregnant,” I blurted.

The silence that followed terrified me. I hadn’t expected that.

I’d imagined that he would grab me, pull me into his arms, and kiss me.

Then he’d be ready to call everyone we knew, but I’d have to hold him off, telling him we had to wait until the second trimester.

That’s what the internet advised, anyway.

“Are you sure?” he asked.

I nodded. The door had closed behind him, but he was still standing there, holding those bottles of water and staring at me with a completely blank expression.

“I’m going to be a father?” he asked.

I nodded. “In seven months—give or take a week or two in either direction.”

“I’m going to be a father.”

His face broke into a smile. Then he made up for lost time, transitioning from frowning to nearly jumping for joy in milliseconds.

“I’m going to be a father!” he called out.

“You’re going to be a father. And I’m going to be a mother. We’re going to be the best parents ever.”

That did it. He closed the remaining distance between us and pulled me to my feet.

Then he wrapped his arms around me and tugged me toward him, the bottles of water chilling my back.

I didn’t care, though. I was in the arms of the man I loved—a man who would become my husband soon enough. And we were going to start a family.

Life was good. And it would only get better from here.