Page 28 of Truly (Peachwood Falls #2)

L aina

“What the hell happened?” Luke asks, pouring us a glass of tea. I think it’s out of habit more than anything. “I was just gone for a couple of hours.”

I collapse in a chair at the table. I can feel the adrenaline ease, and the aftereffects make me shiver.

“I was just folding laundry and preparing my speech to give you when you got home,” I say. “And I heard a truck and thought it was you. Obviously, it wasn’t.”

He hands me a glass and then scoots his chair closer to me. As expected, he sets his tea on the table and doesn’t even take a drink.

“What kind of speech were you preparing?” he asks.

“I don’t know. It was kind of like the State of the Union but with fewer politics and more promise of sex.”

“You know, that’s a good analogy. Because whether you were going to fuck me over or promise me illicit things to get what you want, it works.”

I laugh.

He lays a hand on my thigh as if he can’t bear not touching me.

“I never want to do last night again,” I say, touching the side of his handsome face.

“Me either. I resorted to texting my siblings in the middle of the night just for a distraction. It was that bad.”

“You could’ve come to bed with me.”

“I know. But I thought you needed some space. I probably did, too.”

“This is so hard for me because it’s like looking in the mirror and seeing a huge zit on your forehead the day you have a date with your crush.”

“I better be the crush in this scenario.”

I giggle. And this is why I love you, Luke Marshall.

“You’re the crush in every scenario,” I say.

He presses a sweet kiss to my lips. I want to lean into him and have him hold me, to forget the past eighteen hours and get back to being us. But last night proved that we have some things to clear up if we’re going to go forward.

And we must go forward. He’s the other half of my heart.

“I’m not making excuses for myself,” I say, “but I truly never realized until last night how scared I am. Admitting that makes me squirm because it’s being so vulnerable, so exposed. It’s like I’m opening myself up all the way to my soul. I walk around with a shield half-cocked all the time.”

“Of course, you do. You don’t have to explain that. I don’t know anyone in the world who could navigate your life without being on edge at least a little.”

I smile at him. “I want you to know that I love you, Luke, with all my heart. And I know you love me, too. I can see it in how you look at me, touch me, and are willing to sacrifice for me. Even though you didn’t see me in Cleveland, it was a selfless act.

I see that now. I think I was so upset and angry—mostly at my father—that it got all muddy, and I just drowned in the depths of it all. ”

“I would do anything for you. I mean that.”

Tears pool in my eyes. “It’s the little things for me—the shirts from the feed store, your kindness when you realized I basically broke into your house because I didn’t know where to go, and you making me work in the barn because you somehow knew that I needed a shot of normalcy.

That’s love, Luke. And I would have to be blind and deaf and unable to feel your touch not to know you love me. ”

“Sounds like you do get me, after all.”

“We’ll have rough patches. All relationships do. And I want those for us so we can work through them, grow a scar over the wound, and have that part of us be impenetrable.”

“Don’t say penetrate.”

I grin.

He squeezes my thigh and then sits back in his chair. “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you about Cleveland and that I kept Troy’s presence from you.”

“Well, obviously I’m glad you did that now.”

We laugh softly.

“I won’t keep anything from you again,” he says.

“And I won’t assume every little thing is a conspiracy either. I need to relax a little.”

“Taking control of your life will help. You’re building a new team, right? Get people you can trust and who are loyal to you. Surround yourself with people who make your soul feel good.”

I take a sip of tea and sigh. Now comes the tricky part.

I get up from the table and move aimlessly through the room. My brain works better when I’m on my feet, and I need my brain to work overtime now.

How do I bring up the fact that I have to leave soon? What if he wants me to split my time at work and at home? Because I can’t always do that. And I can’t ask him to give up his work either. It’s such a big part of him.

“What are you thinking?” he asks.

Just go for it . “If we’re doing this?—”

“Oh, we’re doing this.”

I grin. “Then how does it work? I’ve already decided that I’m going to pull back on a lot of things. I didn’t want to be this busy to begin with, but my former business manager had a habit of using me like a show pony.”

Luke’s jaw sets.

“But even if I do that, I will be gone a lot. And when I’m here regularly, I’ll always have to have security around—even when I’m not. Because people are absolutely delusional. You have no idea.”

He finally takes a drink of his precious tea.

“I feel like I’m so much to deal with, that my life is so big in so many ways that wanting to be with me means having to accept all of this, too,” I say, my words falling faster.

“And that feels unfair to even ask of you, Luke. If I’m in your life, it will turn it upside down.

It’ll change in ways I can’t even predict. ”

My heart thunders as I wait for his response. I don’t know if he’s thought about all of that. I assume he has to some extent. But I need to make sure he knows what he’s getting into before he chooses me.

He lowers his glass, uncovering a smirk. “Are you done?”

“What?”

He sighs. “I’m not walking away from you again, Laina. Even if you take me to the edges of the earth and demand we stay there, I’ll pack your favorite snacks.”

“Oh, Luke …”

“We can’t have all the answers right now because, like you said, we can’t predict everything that will come at us. But that’s the thing—it’ll be coming at us . Not you. Not me. Us .”

I blink back tears.

“My world has never felt righter than it has these past two weeks,” he says. “And it’s not just having you around that’s made it so amazing. It’s being able to make you smile. To hear your laughter. To do little things that make your eyes light up.”

“Why are you so good to me?”

He grins. “Because you’re my girl. My life began the day I met you, and the only way it makes sense is when we’re together.”

“But what about me having to be gone so much? I have to leave Monday.”

“Then you go and work and have a ball. Enjoy the fruits of your labor. If you need me, I’m a phone call away.”

My throat is sticky with emotion. “And what about all the changes around here?”

“As long as they come with a new closet for your shit, I’ll manage.”

I laugh. It grows louder as relief and joy spread through me.

“Anything else you want to cover?” he asks.

I stare at the barn and consider what our future will look like.

I still want to make music. It’s a huge part of who I am.

But I also want to spend afternoons in the barn, mornings folding clothes, and late nights eating pizza in bed and listening to Luke’s stories.

I want to watch my man work and learn more about his business.

I want to be a champion of his life like he is mine.

It can happen.

I don’t know much, but I know this much is true—love is real.

It’s good. Love doesn’t hurt you or try to shrink you.

It waters your seeds and shines light so you can grow.

It’s everything I read about in books. I didn’t think that was possible.

But I know, thanks to the love of a sexy, green-eyed, tattooed farrier who has the key to my heart.

“That was the best damn State of the Union speech I’ve ever heard,” Luke says, grinning. “But can we get to the promises of illicit activities part of it? I really want to use that rope again.”

My stomach flutters. “How about this …”

He reaches for me and brings my mouth to his. The kiss is just like Luke. It’s strong, yet soft. Sweet, yet … not. It holds promises for the future while not missing a beat now.

Luke Marshall proves one thing—true love never ends.

Now that I’ve found it again, I’m never letting it, never letting Luke , go.