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He sighed, knowing he couldn’t really say no to her, not when she looked at him the way she was now “I’ll wait”

“Promise?” Her blue eyes were uncertain as they met his “You won’t wait until I’m upstairs and then take off?”

He held her gaze “I’ll wait,” he said, and the connection that had beentheether He’d been a fool to think they could just walk away from each other easily

She whirled in a swish of skirts and disappeared up the stairs, jogging down again in record time in jeans and a T-shirt

“Let’s go for a walk Let’s go to the top of the mountain and look down over Jewell Cove and the estate” She reached out and took his hand “You are the one who took this falling-down ain You’re the one who’s been here fro”

“I can’t argue with that,” he replied hesitantly This was already difficult enough without prolonging the torture And yet tiive back

They strolled up the road to the gate, the sun soaking through the cotton of his shirt As they skirted the barrier, Toh huravel beside the post Once they were on the dirt road, he kept her fingers in his

When they reached the summit they stood for a moment and stared at the rubble of the barn Then she turned to look up at him and smiled “Come on Let me show you my favorite view”

She led hirass and wild blackberries, not yet ripe

Torass She was so beautiful So strong … and headstrong That one trait bugged the hell out of his about her He ad what he had to offer

“It’s pretty, right?” she asked quietly

“Gorgeous” But he didn’t look down over the town, as she was doing He simply watched her, the tiny sht touched her hair From now on he would always consider this spot theirs; that whatever happened in the next several ether, inextricably linked by threads that were beautiful and co could take this moment away from them From him

“Look,” she said softly, nodding at the stately house that had once been a neglected mausoleum

“What a at?” he asked

“Home,” she replied