My face crumpled again. “Stop that.”
He shook his head, smiling faintly. “You deserve tenderness and care and all the soft things that life has to offer. You don’t have to earn them.”
“Spencer,” I gritted out, barely holding back another wave of humiliating tears. “You’ve made your point.”
“I haven’t even started to,” he promised with savage cheer. “But it’s a start.”
I licked tears off my lips and sniffed. “Well… will you help me put it on?”
Spencer looked like literally nothing could have made him happier. He turned me in his lap so that I sat between his legs, and then with a soft brush, he pushed my pink hair aside and threaded the necklace around my throat. It was just long enough that I could hide it under my shirts if I wanted, but I left it lying on top of Spencer’s T-shirt I still wore from last night. And then,before I could think too much about it, I shimmied my new coat on, stuffed my feet in the boots, and sat cross-legged on the rug again, doing my best not to look as pleased as I felt.
I gestured to the two presents under the tree with Spencer’s name on them. “Well, for what it’s worth, those are yours.”
He gleefully reached under Monster Tree and dragged them out, plopping them on his toned thighs. “Did you get me vitamins?”
“Would that make you a little less chipper?” I droned.
“It wouldn’t.”
“Damn. No, they’re not vitamins.”
Like me, Spencer went for his bigger present, which was pretty fucking big because I’d stuffed it in a box my bulk toilet paper had arrived in. When he pulled open the flaps on the box, his eyes widened. Slowly, he hooked a thumb under the leather straps and pulled out a new set of reins, halter, and bridle. I jumped to explain just like he had. “I thought if I was with you, I could teach you to ride, and you’d be less… anxious. With the horses.”
He stared at me in mute surprise, still holding the tack in the air.
“You don’t have to,” I hurried to assure him. “I’m not the best gift giver. I’m sorry. I just thought you might—”
He cut me off, batting the box aside, slamming the tack to the floor and capturing my lips with a swift kiss. He brought his hand to the back of my neck pressing me to him and deepening it, sliding his lips over mine and luring me into a warm, satiating kiss that banished every fear I had about my gift for him. When he pulled away, his coffee-rich eyes burned. “This is the most thoughtful gift. Ever. You are incredible.”
I blushed so hard, I thought my ears would steam. “You sure?”
He nodded once, easing away from me again to inspect the reins. “It’s the best. Because you want me to come back,” he grinned sideways.
My heart actually fucking fluttered. I wasn’t sure how much more of this I could take. “I guess you’ll have to. For… riding lessons.”
He held my gaze with mock solemnity. “For riding lessons. Yes.”
I was surprised the hungry look he was giving me hadn’t set me on fire. “Okay, open the other one.”
He unwrapped the second one, which was only marginally smaller than the first, and as he did, another smile lit up his features. As he lifted the lid on the hat box, he scratched his beard, shaking his head. “You didn’t.”
“We don’t half-ass things on the ranch,” I said.
Spencer pulled out the cream felt cowboy hat, and grinning like an idiot, he plopped it on his head. And my God, he looked good. With his rugged beard and sharp jawline, he looked like he belonged shirtless on a calendar. “Yeehaw,” he winked.
“Oh my God,” I squeezed out. “I take it back. You can’t have that.”
“No way, partner,” he teased, leaning forward again and angling his head so the hat didn’t bump my forehead. He nudged my nose with his. “This is all mine, now.”
“What have I done?”
He kissed me again, slowly and achingly tender. I leaned into him, and then he cupped my face, holding me steady so he could pull away and look into my eyes. “You are precious. I mean that.”
The inferno in my face went supernova hot. “It’s nothing, Spence. Really.”
He lifted his eyes for a moment, clearly amused by my deflection, and then his eyes searched mine. “What will it take for you to believe me?”
“What do you mean?”
