We sit there for a while. Side by side on our horses, looking out at the water, the mountains, the sky turning from gold to amber to the deep purple that comes just before the stars.
He doesn’t speak. Neither do I. We don’t need to.
This is the place he brought me to show me who he really is. Not the mafia boss. Not the rancher. Not the man who kills people and buries them in unmarked graves.
Just Hunter. The boy who fished with his dad. The man who named me after the lights in his favorite place on earth.
Eventually, he turns Tornado, and I follow on Penny, and we ride back in the fading light. He even shows me the animal rescue center that he and Colt set up. I’ve also learned that Colt has a favorite animal. Some kind of lizard.
Oh, and they have so many animals that could kill me. And I didn’t have a clue.
A jaguar. Bears. I thought my main enemy was a damn snake. Turns out, there are a lot more.
And Hunter has a specialist center with a vet to help any injured animals. Even the ones that would eat us. They all deserve a chance.
Which is cute. But scary.
By the time we reach the stables, the sky is nearly dark, and the first stars are appearing above the mountains.
Hunter dismounts in one fluid motion and comes around to help me down. I swing my leg over and slide into his arms. He catches me easily, holding me against him for a beat longer than necessary.
“You did good, city girl,” he murmurs against my temple.
“I rode a horse, Hunter.” I grin into his chest. “I actually rode a horse.”
“Yeah, you did.”
“And I didn’t fall off.”
“And you didn’t fall off.” He confirms.
“And I only screamed once.”
“Twice.”
“Once.”
“Twice, baby. I counted.”
I shove his chest. He catches my hand and pulls me back in. He kisses me in the stable doorway with the horses shuffling behind us.
I pull back and look at him. “Thank you for showing me that place.”
“It’s yours now, too. All of it.” He tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “The lake. The view. The fireflies. This ranch. It’s all yours, Lola. Every acre.”
I rest my forehead against his chest and close my eyes.
Tomorrow I fly to New York. Back to my parents. Back to the world I left behind. Back to champagne and cameras and people who know me by a name I don’t want anymore.
But tonight I’m standing in a stable in Arizona with dirt on my jeans and the smell of horse on my hands. And I have never been happier.
This is where I belong.
And I’m coming back.
But I need some more of my husband before I leave him for the weekend.
CHAPTER SIXTY-TWO