She wasn’t sure if she said the words or if he did, just that he lifted her off her feet and hugged her to him.
“I don’t want you to get heavy feet, Jack,” she told him, placing her palms on his cheeks and staring up into his eyes. “And, I sure don’t want to be what weighs you down. Not ever. That’s why I’m leaving Warrenville. I want to be with you, wherever you are.”
“Then I guess you’re going to be spending a lot of time in Warrenville.”
“We don’t have to stay there. I’ll go with you. Really.”
“That’s not going to work. I’ve a farm to take care of.”
“What?” Then it clicked, and her jaw dropped. “It was you who bought the farm, wasn’t it?”
He lifted one shoulder. “I live a simple life. The farm was a good investment. Besides, I have a lot of good memories at that place.”
“But...why would you buy it?” She couldn’t even begin to imagine what the farm had cost him.
“Because I have to have somewhere for us to live.”
“You want me to live there?”
Snorting, he ran his fingers through what was left of his hair. “I thought I had a few more days to plan this, to come up with something grand to convince you to say yes.”
Taylor’s heart missed a beat.
He took her hands into his. “I want you to live at the farm with me, Taylor. Or wherever it is you want to live. Wherever you are, that’s where I want to be.”
“Jack,” she whispered, fighting back moisture that was prickling her eyes.
“Say yes, Taylor. Tell me you’ll live at the farm with me.”
His words about his grandparents blasted through her head and the thought of the farm becoming a gilded cage that locked away his free spirit tore at her.
“No, Jack. I won’t.”
* * *
Jack’s ears roared. He’d thought...no matter what he’d thought. Obviously, he’d misunderstood.
He let go of her hands but she grabbed hold of his.
“I came here to find you, Jack, to tell you that wherever you are is where I want to be.” Her eyes searched his. “We don’t have to live at the farm or even have four walls of our own. So long as I’m with you, that’s what matters.”
He’d botched this. Then again, he really had thought he had longer to figure out what to say to her, to figure out what he was going to do next.
“I love you, Taylor.”
Like that. He hadn’t planned to just spit those words out. Had he had time to plan, he’d have come up with some elaborate way to have told her, some special way that a woman like Taylor deserved.
Her eyes widened, then softened as a smile lit up her face. “That’s why I’m here, Jack.” She placed both palms on his cheeks, cupping his face. “Because I love you, too.”
“You do?” His ears had to have heard wrong. He’d known she cared, known they were good together, but he hadn’t let himself dream that she might love him.
“Don’t act as if you aren’t fully aware of how I feel about you, Jack Morgan, because you know I love you.”
Had he? He’d not outright thought it, but maybe she was right. Part of why he’d bought that farm was because Taylor loved him and only a fool would let that love go to waste.
Especially when that love was reciprocated a hundred-fold.
“I’m not just the rebound sex guy?” he teased, running his fingers into her hair to caress her.