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I nod emphatically to let him know I’m more than good. He seems to squirm in the seat, and I feel the unmistakable outline of his hard-on pressed against my ass.
“Right now?” I roll my eyes and laugh.
He shrugs, two thick hands controlling the tractor as he boxes me into his lap. “The sexiest woman I know is sitting in my lap while I drive a powerful piece of farm equipment and she dons my straw hat. Baby, this is my every fantasy come to life.”
Leaning back into him, I whisper, “Good to know. Maybe we can reenact this when it gets dark.”
A choking noise comes from Liam’s throat, and I pat myself on the back for taking his mind off the more threatening issues afoot.
A couple more feet and we come to a stop with him powering off the tractor. I stand to make space for him, and then he helps me climb down until we’re standing in the dirt next to rows and rows of crops and plants.
“You do this all by yourself?” I look around in wonder.
Of course, I know how hard those in agriculture work to provide food for this country, but I didn’t quite understand it until I shadowed him today. From inspecting the greenhouse plants that were in the early stages to placing orders for next year’s supplies to checking on the growth of vegetables and fruits set to ripen a few weeks from now to coming out here to harvest some more tomatoes … this is a lot to have on his plate.
“We always hire a bunch of farmhands who rotate throughout the seasons. My family helps out. I definitely don’t do it alone, it’s a lot of work. But I love it, so I don’t much mind when I have to tough it by myself.”
I see it in his eyes, his love for this land. The way he observes every tiny leaf and patch of dirt. The way he carefully walks through the rows as I follow, trying to pick up on what he’s looking for. There is so much care in his actions, and I have no idea why this man is still single when he’s got a heart like the one in his chest, but I’m damn thankful he was before I found him.
His footsteps stop at a particular tomato plant, this one swirling with vines that snake across the ground. All over it are plump red orbs that look ripe for the picking.
“You want to try one?” he asks, producing a pocketknife.
“Please.” I grin, remembering the tomato and mayonnaise sandwiches Grandma Lucy would make me as a kid.
She’d always swear those sandwiches tasted best with tomatoes fresh off the vine.
Liam plucks one off, wipes it down with a wet paper towel, then inspects it for a moment before slicing into the flesh vertically in a neat, even cut. He hands me a juicy, dripping piece of the tomato, the sun glistening down on what appears to be the perfect ripeness gleaming up at me.
“Damn, this looks delicious.” I wink at him.
“Probably why people are climbing the fences to steal it,” he mutters, making a joke. But I know there is frustration behind it.
Ignoring his tossed-out comment, I bite into the slice he gave me and groan. “This tastes like summer.”
Liam blinks at me like I’ve read his mind. “Exactly.”
We cheers our half-eaten slices like they’re tasty beverages, and I sigh with contentment. Despite all the chaos of last night, I’d trade anything to stand here with him, the sun beating down on us in our dirty, dusty clothes, sharing tomato slices like kids trying not to get caught. It’s so simple yet freeing, and I know at this moment that I want a million more of these days with him.
“You told me you loved me last night.” I squint up at him as his straw hat falls back a little on my head.
Liam shifts it so that I’m no longer blinded by the light. “And?”
I shrug, not wanting to be that insecure woman who needs to hear it every moment but also being that woman completely.
“I just … it was a heated moment, and we got swept up. In the light of day?—”
“In the light of day, I’m still just as in love with you as I have been since pretty much the moment I first saw you. And before you ask, yeah, that moment was a long time ago. You think I’m not serious, Gabrielle, but I’ve told you from the start. It was like I was struck by lightning when we first met, and I mean every word I say to you.”
God, sometimes when he talks, he damn near steals my breath.
“Never in a million years did I think I’d end up here.” I gesture around me.
“In Hope Crest? With me? Or standing in a field eating tomatoes?” The wiseass crooks the corner of his mouth up.
“All the above?” I smirk back.
“Do you want to be here?” There is a weary hope in his voice.
