Page 48 of One Kind Soul

“Totally crazy.”

“Makes you wonder where almost getting killed by a rogue van, spending a night in a Boston hotel, and having two weeks together in Vermont might lead, doesn’t it?”

Nicole had been thinking exactly that. “Yeah.”

Christian’s hand slid over hers on the console between them. “I’m willing to see how this plays out. Are you?”

“Yes.”

Infinite possibilities existed. Wonderful ones. Horrible ones. Neither of them had a way to predict which way it would go, but she was willing to take the journey.

“Not seeing you while I’m here,” she said, “is not an option.”

Christian turned onto his road. “You crave me, don’t you?”

“Afraid so.”

“Good.” He raised their hands to his mouth, dropping a kiss to the back of hers.

He pulled the truck onto his driveway. After escorting her out of the passenger seat, he steered her toward the farmhouse. “Surprise is this way.”

Nicole followed him into the house after they allowed the pack cats to enter first.

“This way.” He stepped over Pebbles and Roxie who were grappling with each other and led her to the stairs. After ascending, he navigated to a room with the door closed at the end of the hallway.

The master bedroom.

“I spent the day in here today so we could upscale from the barn loft.” He brushed his lips to hers then opened the door and arced his arm for Nicole to enter.

Inside, a king-sized, sleigh bed was centered on the far wall. The pine wood was knotted and iron hardware gave it a beautifully sturdy look. A deep burgundy corduroy comforter covered the bed and burgundy and cream checkered pillows were piled against the headboard. Bedside tables flanked the bed with iron, lantern-style lamps casting a soft glow onto their surfaces. Above the bed on the wall was a painting of a snowy red barn.

“Hey, is that your barn?” Nicole asked as she walked deeper into the room to get a better look at the painting.

“Yeah. My buddy, Noah Williams, is an artist when he’s not working at Brenton Sawmill or building shit.”

“Wow. It’s lovely.” She turned in a slow circle, taking in the chest of drawers against another wall—and the cranberry-scented candles atop it that Christian lit just now. A tall armoire that matched the style of all the other furniture took up another corner and two armchairs in a brown suede sat together by a large window that during the day must have offered a nice view of the farm. “This entire room is lovely.”

“I’m glad you like it.” Christian slid his suit jacket off and draped it over one of the chairs.

“Did you pick out and arrange all this stuff yourself?”

“I did. Remember?” He tapped below his eye. “I’ve got an eye for what looks good.” He stalked toward her. “And right now, you’re what looks good.”

“I don’t feel good.” Nicole toed off her heels and grabbed a curl to twirl around her finger. “I’m actually feeling bad. So bad.”

A low growl vibrated out of Christian and before Nicole could say anything more about being a bad girl, he had her in his arms, his fingers on the zipper of her dress.

She let him strip it off her then she undressed him. “Thanks for doing this room up so nice.”

“You deserve more than a barn loft bed that smells like horses. I know you didn’t complain about it, but I wanted to have you here in this house.”

“This is a great surprise.”

Christian Henley was a great surprise.

****

He didn’t often do the lazy Sunday thing because there was always work to be done on the farm, but when a soft, sexy female cuddled up to him in bed, Christian could make exceptions. Having Nicole last night in this brand new bed in the master bedroom of what would soon become his home had been wonderful. She had been touched he’d set up this room for her, but the truth was, he’d done it for himself too. Being with her in the barn loft had been amazing, but those accommodations were temporary. Something about having her there felt temporary too and he didn’t like that. Sure, what they were doing was temporary, but taking her to the farmhouse this time had been like a . . . a trial run of what it would be like if this thing with her wasn’t temporary.