Liam looked at the sky. “Thank fuck.” Then he took my mouth in a searing kiss. I moaned into his mouth, and Liam pulled back on a groan. “Not here.” I giggled. His gaze traveled over my face in the most tender of caresses. “Why did you want to know why I was asking?”
I threaded my fingers through his. “I only want to move in with you if it’s because you truly want me there and want to take that step in our relationship, not because you’re scared that something’s going to happen to me.”
I studied Liam’s face carefully. This was an area we were still finding our way in. Everything that had happened had been traumatic for Liam in its own way. It was incredibly hard for him to let me out of his sight for more than a few minutes. He’d eventually had a session with Susan to talk about how much he was struggling, but it was a long conversation with Walker that had really seemed to help.
The two men shared a bond, their woman had been harmed, and they had to deal with the guilt they’d placed firmly on their own shoulders. It didn’t matter how many times I told Liam it wasn’t his fault, he would always carry a piece of misplaced responsibility inside himself. I pressed my lips to his and then whispered against them, “I love you.”
Liam framed my face in his hands. “I’ll always worry about you.” I stiffened slightly in his hold. Liam kissed me quickly to silence any protest. “I’ll always worry because you’re the most precious thing on this Earth to me.” My muscles eased. “I lived an entire day thinking I might lose you.”
Tears stung the corners of my eyes. Liam caught one on his thumb. “It taught me not to waste a single moment of this life with you. I want you with me. Always and forever. And I’m ready for forever to start right now.”
I swept my lips across his, not caring a bit that tears were streaming down my cheeks. “Not soon enough.”
Epilogue
Tessa
ONE YEAR LATER
“What are you up to?” I asked from the passenger seat of Liam’s SUV. He had that smirking grin on his face that said he was up tosomething.
Liam adjusted the radio dial and kept his eyes on the gravel road in front of us. “What? A man can’t take his girl on a picnic lunch when he feels like it? I thought I was being romantic.”
I leaned across the console and pressed my lips to his cheek. I’d never get tired of the way his stubble sent pleasant shivers down my spine. “You’re so romantic. And I’m very grateful.”
Liam eyed me from under his lashes. “You can show me your gratitude later.”
I chuckled and settled myself back in the passenger seat. “So, where are we going on this picnic?” We were headed away from the lake and the Cole Ranch, our usual spots.
Liam put on his blinker. “I found this spot the other day, I think you’re going to love it.”
I frowned as we pulled off the main road and moved through what looked like a gate to some private property. “Uh, Liam?”
“Yeah?” he asked absently.
“I think this is someone’s property.”
Liam navigated the SUV around a dip in the road. “It is, but I got permission, don’t worry.”
My gaze traveled and took in the land around us. There wasn’t a house for as far as I could see, only rolling hills and forests. It was beautiful. “How did you find this place anyway?”
Liam turned the vehicle to head up a hillside. “I’ll tell you when we get there.”
I let out an exasperated sigh. “Stop being so cryptic.”
Liam grinned even wider and looked out the window. “Stop being so impatient.”
I was just about to snark back at him when we crested the hill. I sucked in a breath. The view was absolutely incredible. Just like at the Cole Ranch, you could see the mountains, the town, and the lake. There wasn’t one direction that didn’t have something beautiful to look at. “Liam,” I whispered.
He picked up my hand and brushed his lips against my knuckles. “Beautiful, right?”
“Breathtaking,” I answered, not looking away.
Liam squeezed my hand and released it. “Here.” He reached into the back and handed me a wool blanket. “Pick us out a spot, and I’ll grab our lunch.”
“Okay.” I took the blanket from Liam and slid out of the SUV. The summer breeze swirled my sundress around my legs as I headed towards a vista that gave us a view of everything we could ever want to see.
By the time I had the blanket spread out, Liam was walking over with the basket I knew Sarah had put together under one arm, and some sort of tube in his other hand. My forehead wrinkled. “What’s that?” I asked, inclining my head towards the tube.
