Chapter 30

"Luke is here to pick up his woman," she says, smirking at me, and I shake my head.

"I guess you heard about that." I put my hands on my hips.

"Oh, did we." She leans back in the chair. “We even googled what does being his woman mean."

"There were a couple of things," she says, trying not to laugh. “One said that you wanted to be the only man in her life, and the other—"

"Said something about a tiara and a sash,” Shelby says, coming into the room now, trying to hide her smile.

"I'll look into that,” I say, putting my hands in my back pockets and hoping like fuck that Clarabella gets her ass out here fast.

"Go away." I hear her voice and look over at her, seeing her walk into the room. I can't help but smile when she tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. She walks to me, and I'm expecting her to stop in front of me, but instead, she comes chest to chest with me and kisses my lips. I put my hands on her hips, bringing her even closer to me. “Hi," she says, once she lets go of my lips.

"Hi." I smile at her and kiss her again. “Ready to go?" She nods her head. “It was a pleasure." I look at Shelby and then Presley.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do,” Shelby teases.

"Yeah, and that says a lot from the woman who had sex at the side of her house last weekend." Presley shakes her head.

"Can I get any privacy in this place?" Shelby throws her hands in the air and turns to walk out of the room.

"Nah," I say, opening the truck door for her. “I can bring you back to work tomorrow."

"Good," I say, grabbing her hand and walking with her up the hill to the top where we can look down at the field in the distance. I pick a spot under the tree that gives us some shade. I open the basket, taking out the blanket, and put it down for her as she kicks off her ballerina shoes and sits down. My heart starts to speed up when I sit down and take everything out.

"What's going on?" she asks, looking at me. “You became quiet all of a sudden."

"Oh," she says, moving the basket to her so that she can keep her hands busy.

"Clarabella," I call her name, and she looks up at me. “What do you want out of life?"

"Um…" she says. “That's a loaded question."

"Is it really?" I laugh nervously.

"What do you want out of life?" She turns the question on me.

"Um, that's easy," I say, and if you would have asked me four months ago, it would have been the hardest question to answer. “A successful business."

"Same," she agrees, smiling.

"So, we got that one. We can put a check next to that." I pick up my hand and put an invisible check mark in the air. “I want someone to come home to." I swallow down, looking at her.

"I didn't know," she starts to say. “But I want the same." She looks down and then looks up again. “When Edward asked me to marry him, I felt like a deer in the headlights. But then I don't know." She shrugs. “I got excited about all the things that came with it. Even when I thought I was getting cold feet."

"When you showed up in town." She smirks at me. “Maybe a bit before then."

"What else do you want?" I ask, and she stares at me dead in the eyes.

"I want to eventually have children." She smiles, and her whole face lights up. “I'm not saying tomorrow, but I want to have them in the next five years." A tightness forms in my chest, and all I can see is her with a baby in her arms. "Are you going to go to New York?"

"Do you want me to go to New York?" I put my arms behind me and lean back on them.

"I don't want you to choose between me and your dreams," she says, not skipping a beat. “I would never ever make you choose."

"But what would happen to us?" I ask, the two of us tippy-toeing around the main question.

"Nothing." She shakes her head. “We could commute," she offers, optimistic. “I could come there for a couple of weekends, and you can come here."

"So we would do long distance?" I ask, and at that moment, it's the worst idea she’s ever had. At that moment, I know I don't ever want to do that. I also know that her whole life is here in this town. She has her business here, and she has her family here. She planted her roots here, and I would never take her away from here.

"Lots of people do it." She smiles, trying to convince me and maybe herself. "It'll be an adjustment, but I think as long as we communicate and put each other first, it can work out."

"I can't believe you're doing this," she says, pushing away from me, and I grab her waist before she jumps up, but she's faster than me.

"Clarabella," I call her name, and she just starts to walk away before stopping and turning around.

"Literally, it's been less than twenty-four hours since you called me your woman!” she shouts, and I try not to laugh at her. “Twenty-four hours. You literally stood in the middle of Main Street and basically peed on my leg, marking your territory." Fuck, she's beautiful. “And then one phone call, and it's like, see you later."

"Are you done?" I ask, and she glares at me. "One, you're fucking beautiful." I hold up my hand with one finger up. “Two, you are mine." I hold up another finger. “And three, I turned it down already." I hold up the third finger, and her mouth opens to say something and then she closes it, nothing coming out of her. "I turned him down."

"Why the hell would you do that?" she shouts at me.

"I don't want you to not do it just for me," she says, wrapping her arms around my neck.

"I'm not doing it for you," I admit to her. “I'm doing it for me."

"Well, that's good to know," she replies, and I laugh.

"I have to say, you really are hot when you’re pissed off,” I growl and bend to kiss her neck. “I thought you were going to throat punch me, and I've never been so turned on in my life."

"You are a sick, sick man." She shakes her head.

"Must be sick in love,” I offer, and for the first time in my life, I'm in love with someone, and I want to shout it from the rooftops. “With you." She goes stiff in my arms. “Breathe,” I urge. “Just take a deep breath in and then out."

"Luke," she whispers.

"Can we go home now?" I ask, and she shakes her head.

"You can't just throw out that you are sick in love." She sniffles, and I see the tears in her eyes. “It's not okay."

"My mother wants to meet you," she blurts out.

"Okay." I smile.

"I think I love you." She takes a deep breath. “Like, I knew I liked you a lot since we were in school, and then when we got close again, I felt something, but I told myself it was nothing. Then you left, and it hurt so bad even though I pretended it didn't." She palms my face in one of her hands. “And now when you told me you were leaving, I really fucking hated the idea." I can't help but laugh. “I mean, I would support you and do whatever you wanted, but I didn't like it, and then it hit me like a kick in the vagina that I love you." She wipes a tear that rolls down her face.

"It's good to know." I grab her face in my hands and kiss her. “Now can we go home and have make-up sex?" She looks at me and then looks at the blanket under the tree. "Are you insane? You know that being my woman means no one gets to see you but me." She rolls her eyes. “And that means we have sex where no one can see or hear you."

"Buzzkill," she retorts, letting go of me and then walking back to the blanket and shoving everything in the basket. “Shelby has sex everywhere," she mumbles. “Maybe I'm good with being a girlfriend and not a woman." This woman makes me crazy one minute and then just makes me laugh the next one, and I'm going to have so much fun having make-up sex with her.