Page 126 of The Billionaire Who Hated Me (Until He Loved Me)

When I’m done, the look on Cal’s face sends alarm shooting through me.He spins Leroy around in circles, then paces the horse back and forth, obviously trying to cool down.I’m not sure it’s working.

He pulls up close to me and Bella.“I am so very sorry.I can’t imagine how that feels.Baby, I’m so sorry you had to experience that.”

I nod.“Thanks.I’ll get through it.”

“I’ll help you.”

“I know you will.You already are.”

We continue our ride.Cal tells me we’re almost to the spot.He’s quiet, lost in his own thoughts.He asked and I told him the truth.But I almost wish I hadn’t.

“Nigel Backlund is a garbage human being,” Cal eventually says, turning to me.In his eyes is a mix of sadness and rage.“He doesn’t deserve you.And it’s a damn good thing he’s about nine hundred miles away because I want to kill the son of a bitch with my bare hands.”

“Cal.Stop.Revenge in any form is not what I want to focus on going forward.The less I think of him, the happier I’ll be.My hope is that one day we might find a way to reconnect, but that day is a long way off.”

“You’re a better person than me, Victoria.Somebody needs to take him down.”

“Easy, sailor.The justice system is already doing that.”

“I still want to do damage to that smug face of his.”

I shake my head.“My father is not your mission, Cal.”

“Yeah?”He looks up.“What’s my mission, then?”

“To love me.To trust in me.To see me for who I am and be willing to stand by my side.”

He’s silent for a long moment.All I hear is his breathing and the soft thud of the horses’ hoofs on the ground.I close my eyes, hearing the breeze as it brushes across the sage, creosote, and pines.I breathe in the fresh smell of the high desert.I’m about ready to tell Cal it’s been a lovely ride and it’s time to go back when he brings Leroy beside me again.

“It’s my honor to accept that mission, Victoria.”He gives me a sly sideways glance and smiles.“Is there any chance I can perform most of my duty from Yosemite Ranch?”

That makes me laugh.Cal and his obligations, his history, his land… it’s a good thing I know and love all of it.It’s been clear for a while that the man is part of a package deal.“Are you asking me to live with you?”

“Not really.”

We’ve come near the edge of a high cliff.Cal stops the horses and dismounts, then lifts me off Bella.He drapes the reins on tree branches and reaches for my hand.

“This is the most spectacular lookout on the ranch,” he says.“This is what I brought you out here to see.”

I’m speechless.I gaze out on hundreds of miles of mountains and valleys and sky.It’s jaw-droppingly beautiful.The sun has begun to set, and everything around us is bathed in a curtain of golden light.I turn to say something to Cal and find him on one knee in the dirt.

CHAPTER 67

Cal

The pink and orange of the sunset glints in her hair.She stares at me in confusion for an instant, but I watch the understanding move into her eyes.She slowly raises a hand to her mouth, then lets it fall limp at her side.

“Cal?”

Here I am.On my knees in the dust, vulnerable as hell, with that little black velvet box burning a hole in my back pocket.She can do whatever she wants to me at this point.Kick me in the jaw.Toss me over the embankment.

Or make me the happiest man on the planet.

“I’m not asking you to live here, baby.I’m asking you to be my wife.Anywhere and everywhere.”I reach into that pocket, pull out the box, and crack it open, holding it up to her like the begging bastard I am.“Victoria Backlund, will you marry me?”

She opens her lips to speak.She takes a breath.Finally, she says, “Hold up.”

All the blood drains from my head.