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“I’m over him. That was a shallow, stupid infatuation, where I was more interested in his money and position than I was in the man himself. That’s not the way I feel about you.”
“Hmm. How do you feel about me?” His thumb brushed along her chin and the edge of her jaw, and she put a hand on his side to steady herself.
“Like you’re the kind of man a girl could fall in love with.”
“I didn’t think I’d ever hear you say something like that to me.”
“I mean it. I... I’m definitely falling in love with you.”
“It’s about time. I’ve been in love with you forever. I think since the first day when I parked my bike in front of your diner and saw you trying to do everything yourself. I felt that was a girl a guy could get behind.”
“Beside. We’ll be beside each other.”
“Beside. I like that a lot better.”
He bent his head and trailed his lips along her temple. She closed her eyes and shivered, moving the hand that had been on his waist to steady her around just because she wanted to be closer.
He moved his lips along her jaw before they settled on her mouth.
Later she thought it was appropriate that they had their first kiss in the diner kitchen. They’d spent so much time there together. So much time because it had taken her forever to figure out that Griff was the kind of man a girl could grow old beside.
He lifted his head. “So are you going to go with us to Cord Stryker’s farm in North Dakota to see the Percherons?”
“Next week is Christmas.” That seemed to be the only thing her brain could latch onto. Kissing Griff was dangerous to her mental stability.
“I thought we’d go the day after. We're closing the diner down, and we’re going to do the renovations. It will take a day to drive out and a day to drive back. If we like the horses, I’ll buy them, and he’ll bring them in sometime when the weather cooperates.”
“Yes,” she said, smiling up at him. He could ask her to go to the moon with him, and she would have said yes. It didn’t seem to matter where he wanted to go, she was ready. Maybe that was because she trusted him.
Funny, after James cheating on her, and cheating on his wife, and cheating on everyone, she should have had a bigger problem with that. But Griff was just the kind of man who was dependable. Who was there. Who would help her. He would help Rodney, he would help whoever needed him. And he would stand beside her. She could bank on it.
“While you’re in the mood to say yes,” Griff grinned. Chi held her breath. “I... I’m not asking you to marry me, but I’m telling you that’s what I want.”
It took her a minute to process that. But she thought she understood. He was letting her know that he wasn’t playing games.
“I know you’re not the kind of man James was.”
“Thanks. I didn’t want you to think that I was just messing around with you. I wasn’t sure what you were thinking after what happened with James.”
“I’m thinking James was a jerk. And he was a lot different than you. I knew that then. That you were different. I just didn’t understand that it was because you had character and he didn’t. I do now.” She touched her lips to the side of his neck. “And whenever you’re ready to ask, I’m ready to say yes.”
“I don’t want to rush you into anything.”
“I guess you’re a better person than I am, because I do kind of want to rush you into something.” She smiled against his skin, and he drew his fingers lightly down her back.
“Then maybe we need to talk about a date.”
“Can it be before we go out to get the horses?”
He laughed, and pulled away, looking down into her face.
“Are you sure?”
“I’m sure. New year, new diner, new horses, new hobbies, new businesses in Strawberry Sands. Why not a new family too?”
“That’s a lot of new stuff.”
“Maybe we ought to check with Rodney. He might not want to share you right away.”
