"I wanted you to see my place."
She smiled. "I'd love to."
"It's nothing fancy. Nothing like your house in Nashville."
She reached for his hand. "Ethan. Don't compare Nashville and here. It's never about money. It's about home and what makes you happy."
She opened the car door and stepped out, staring at the house. "I wish it was daylight. Did you build the house?"
"Yeah."
"It's lovely. I'm sure Amanda loved it."
"This isn't the house where Amanda and I lived."
She turned to him, frowning. "It's not?"
"No. After she died I wanted a fresh start, didn't want those memories clouding mine and Zoey's life. Plus the house we had was tiny. So I built this place."
He tried to imagine what Riley would think of it. It wasn't oversized. It was a two story, gray and white, with a nice-sized back yard.
"I love all the trees. And the porch. I love porches."
He opened the front door and turned the lights on, let Riley walk in.
"Oh, Ethan, this is nice. The marble tile is beautiful."
"Being in construction has its advantages. I get a lot of stuff at cost, or not much markup. So I got to upgrade a lot."
She was already steps ahead of him. "This kitchen is magnificent! Double oven, granite counters. Ethan, I can't believe you built this. It's every woman's dream."
He smiled at that. "Glad you think so. My mom had some input into what she called a woman's dream kitchen."
Riley turned around and leaned against the counter, folded her arms. "She was right. The island, the pots and pans hanging over it, the sink in the island, the sub-zero freezer. Everything you could want in a kitchen is in here."
He couldn't help but feel pride at the work he'd done on the place. "It's big enough for more than me and Zoey, and the yard is huge." He clicked on the back porch light. "Zoey wants a dog. I've waited until she's old enough to be responsible."
"Oh, the yard is huge. I love the playset. And yes, it's perfect for a dog or two. I love animals, always wished I could have some."
He looked at her. "I remember."
"I used to love playing with Jack, your lab."
"Yeah, he died a few years ago."
Her smile vanished. "I'm sorry. That must have been so hard on everyone."
"He was an old dog, and he lived a great life. We buried him in my parents' backyard by the big oak tree."
"Jack would have liked that. He loved sleeping under that tree."
He took her hand and showed her the living room with its oversized couches and chairs and the giant television.
"Definitely a man's room," she teased.
"Hey, Zoey likes to watch Disney in here."
She snorted.
He led her upstairs. "Only two of the bedrooms are in use. Oh, and there's a full bath and another bedroom or possible office downstairs. Haven't decided yet."
"So five bedrooms, three bathrooms?"
"Yeah."
She stopped in the hallway. "You planning on a couple more kids, maybe?"
"I don't want Zoey to be an only child, so yeah, I'd like to have more kids someday."
Something flickered in her eyes. "That would be nice. Zoey would be a great big sister."
"This is Zoey's room." He opened the door and turned on the light.
Riley laughed. "Somehow I knew it would be pink. Very, very pink. I love her bed. Did you build that yourself?"
"I did."
She put her arm around him. "It's beautiful, Ethan. Every little girl dreams of a canopy bed, with a pink tulle canopy and fairy sparkles on the ceiling."
"Zoey loves her room, and thanks."
She stepped in and took a look at the Noah's Ark of wooden carved animals on Zoey's dresser. "These are amazing. Where did you get these?"
"I made them."
She swiveled, her mouth agape. "You carved these?"
"Yeah. I started when she was a baby, before she was born. I made the Ark first, then started on the animal pairs. I add to them every birthday."
"Oh, Ethan. They're gorgeous. The intricate workmanship in each piece and the level of detail." She ran her finger over the elephant's trunk. "I hope Zoey treasures them. What a wonderful gift from father to daughter."
He felt his cheeks burn hot, but admittedly enjoyed the praise. "Thank you."
She lingered at the Ark exhibit for a while, then stepped out of the room.
He led her down the hall to his room. "It's kind of sparse. Just a giant bed and a dresser."
She turned to him and smiled. "How utterly perfect."
"Tired?" he asked as he helped her remove her coat.
"I didn't think I was. I think little girls who snuggle against you have some kind of sleeping dust attached to them."
"Yeah, she does it to me, too. It's the cuddle factor."
"Lethal. I was out before I knew what hit me." She held out her hand and he followed her to the bed.
"We didn't get much sleep last night," he reminded her.
Her lips quirked. "Guess what? We aren't going to get much tonight, either."
He pulled her against him, knowing he'd never tire of the feel of her curves pressed to his. "Who needs sleep?"
He took his time undressing her, the frenzy of last night somewhat satisfied. Plus, there was something about taking a woman's clothes off, piece by piece, like unwrapping a gift without tearing the paper.
He lifted her sweater over her head, had her sit on the bed and slipped her boots off, then her socks, before gently pushing her to the bed so he could pull off her pants. When he spied the golden silk and lace panties that matched the bra, he arched a brow.
"Prepared yourself tonight?"
"I wasn't ready for you last night. I am tonight."
"These look expensive," he said, tracing his fingers around the tiny bows at her hips, then snaking his finger up her belly to the matching bow between her breasts. "I'll try not to rip them."
He felt the pounding of her heart beneath his fingers.
"Oh, I don't mind. I have plenty of lingerie."
"Do you?"
"Yeah."
It made him wonder why. He wanted to ask, but it wasn't his business.
"Not that any man's seen my underwear for a very long time," she said in answer to his unspoken question. "I just have a thing for lingerie."
His lips lifted. "No woman's seen mine for a long time either. But the only lingerie I have a thing for is yours."
She sat up and reached for the button of his jeans. "How disappointing. And I was so hoping?"
"Does Calvin count?"
She waited while he kicked his boots off, then drew his zipper down, her gaze meeting his as she shoved his jeans to the floor. "Calvin definitely counts."
When she helped him divest himself of his Calvins, he pulled his shirt off and climbed onto the bed, way more interested in what she was wearing. He smoothed his hands over the hills and valleys of her bra, paying attention to her breathing, the way her eyes went all glassy when her nipples peaked and hardened. He swept his fingers over the cups, seeing the buds of her nipples arching against the silk.
Leaning over her, he took a taste of her through her bra.
"Ethan," she said, her voice soft and buttery as she slid her fingers into his hair. He drew the cups down to taste her, teasing her with his tongue and his mouth until she arched her hips against him, letting him know she was ready for more.
Pleasuring her was so easy because she was so responsive with her body, and he loved touching her. He moved down her body and slid his hands over the silken softness of her panties, rewarded with a rush of unintelligible words from her lips. Ethan was pretty sure they were all good words as he slid his hand inside her panties and took her to the edge, watching her face as she came apart for him, shuddering out a cry that held his name.
She was undoing him with every minute he spent with her. When she took off her bra and panties and climbed on top
of him, taking control, he might have died a little.
And when she leaned over, her breasts sliding against his chest as she took his mouth and claimed him at the same time she took possession of him with her body, he knew for sure she was his, always had been and always would be. And neither time nor distance had ever changed that or ever would.
She held his hands and rocked against him, and he couldn't remember ever being with a woman who surprised him, challenged him, or made him question his priorities more.
And when they came together, both of them holding tight to each other in the darkness of night, he knew then that no matter what, he was never going to let her go.
Because for the first time in his life he wondered just what he'd be wiling to give up to have Riley in his life forever.
After, they held each other in the dark, both of them quiet for awhile.
"Ethan?" she finally whispered.
"Yeah."
"This time we've had together has been really amazing."
"Yeah, it has." His gut tightened. This might be an "It's been great, but" kind of speech.
"I wish it could last forever."
"Me too, Riley."
He waited, but she didn't say anything else, making him wonder if she hesitated because she didn't want to hurt him, or if she was waiting for him to make the next move.
Hell, he'd never been very good at figuring out what women thought, or what they wanted.
It took awhile before he realized she'd fallen asleep.
While she slept, he got up and wandered the house, wondering how he was going to approach this, how he'd ever ask her to stay with him.
Hour after hour he walked from room to room, realizing he'd be asking her to make all the sacrifices. He'd be giving up nothing, and she'd have to give up everything, or at least make a hell of a lot of adjustments in her life.
Great for him. Not so great for her.
Maybe this wasn't such a good idea after all. Maybe the best thing he could do for her was let her go, instead of presenting her with a no-win scenario, because it was his only option, which meant what he had to offer her was really nothing special.
Really, nothing at all.
Chapter Nine
Ethan woke Riley early the next morning. Like, before dawn kind of early. He said he had to get over to his parents to be there before Zoey woke so they could do the whole gifts and Santa thing. He wanted to take her with him, but Riley thought it would be best if he had Christmas morning alone with his daughter.
Plus, there was something she had to do, so she told him she was going to go back to the B and B, take a shower and change clothes, and then she'd drive over to his parents.
She'd read his hesitancy last night, and at first she was hurt. She'd been hoping for some kind of declaration from him. She thought she knew how he felt, knew for sure how she felt, and was determined not to be the first to say something.
But she realized she held the upper hand now, that the situation wasn't at all the same now as it had been ten years ago.
He wasn't going to ask her to stay. Not now, not when he knew she had so much at stake.
Silly men and their egos. Didn't he realize she was in love with him?
And love always trumped everything, especially money and career. At least it did with her. And when you were in love, the rest of it could be worked out.
Not that she had any intention of walking away from her career. She wasn't stupid.
But she had an idea, so when Ethan dropped her off, she ran upstairs and took a shower and dressed, then grabbed her guitar and got to work. It took a few hours, but she finally had everything figured out. She'd already been working on it for days, she realized.
She loaded the gifts she'd bought into the car and drove over to Ethan's parents' house. Brody opened the door and grabbed her, planting a short but deep kiss on her lips.
"Merry Christmas, Riley!" he said, clearly already deep into the rum punch.
She laughed. "Merry Christmas, Brody."
He carried the gifts into the house for her while she greeted everyone. Zoey ran up and hugged her, waved some kind of fancily dressed doll in front of her face, then dashed off to play with all her new "stuff" as she called it, but extracted a promise from Riley that she'd come see all her presents as soon as she got settled and said hello.
"Coffee, hot chocolate, or rum punch?" Ethan's mother asked.
"Actually, a cup of coffee sounds great, thanks."
"With or without brandy or whiskey in it?" Ethan's dad asked as he came up and hugged her.
"Oh, now you're tempting me. How about a little brandy?"
"There's a girl after my own heart."
"There's a girl who'll be face down on the floor before lunch," Ethan said. "Merry Christmas, Riley." He pulled her into his arms and planted what Riley considered to be one seriously hot kiss on her lips. In front of his parents, and his brothers.
"Daddy, you kissed Riley."
And his daughter.
He broke the kiss and grinned at his daughter. "I did. Is that okay?"
Zoey nodded. "Yup. Will you come take my game out of the package?"
"Sure, honey." He shifted his gaze to Riley. "Sorry, Dad duty calls. Back in a sec."
Apparently, Zoey was utterly unfazed about the kiss between her and Ethan. One hurdle down. And as she surveyed his parents and his brother, Wyatt just shrugged, Ethan's mother beamed a smile, and his father grinned from ear to ear as he poured what Riley considered a face-down-on-the-floor-before-lunch dose of brandy into her coffee.
"You trying to get me drunk, Mr. Kent?"
He laughed and smacked her on the back. "Nah. Figured you're a tough girl and you can take it. Drink up, it'll put hair on your chest."
"Now there's an unattractive visual," Wyatt grumbled, taking the bottle of whiskey and pouring it straight into the glass with a couple ice cubes.
"Too early for that, Wyatt," his mother warned.
Wyatt kissed Mrs. Kent on the cheek. "I'm here. Isn't that enough?"
"I suppose, but that's all the whiskey you get today. Switch off to coffee after that."
Wyatt nodded, but Riley caught the roll of his eyes as he walked away.
"He's had it rough the past couple years," she explained to Riley after he walked out. "But I sure wish he'd get over Cassandra, stop with the bitterness and move on with his life."
"With some people it takes awhile."
"You talking about yourself?"
Riley laughed. "I guess so. I carried a grudge for a long time."
"But now you're over it."
"I did it all wrong, Mrs. Kent. Stacy. I wish I had known then what I know now. I would have done things differently."
Ethan's mother held up her hands. "No way to change the past or predict the future."
"I made a mistake in running. I should have stood my ground and fought for Ethan."
She smiled. "I'm glad to hear you say that. Did you tell him that?"
"Not exactly."
Mrs. Kent rolled her eyes. "Hell's bells. What is it with you kids not telling each other how you feel? You're talking to the wrong person. Go. Go tell my son you love him."
Riley smiled. "I will. Sometime today. I promise."
She gave Ethan's mother a quick hug, then wandered out to find Ethan. He was on the floor with Zoey, who was playing a handheld game while Ethan frowned over instructions.
"It says to reach Level two--"
"I'm already on Level four, Daddy," Zoey said, not looking up from her game.
"Oh." Ethan tossed the instructions in the pile of trash.
Riley laughed. "Technology is for children, you know." She sat down on the floor on the other side of Zoey.
"So I'm beginning to understand."
Riley watched Zoey play the game for a while, then Zoey handed it over to Riley to play.
She figured it out after a few rather embarrassing tries and Zoey showing her how it was done. Then she realized she wanted one o
f these handheld game devices, especially when Ethan showed her the catalog of software that went with it.
"It has cooking recipes. It tells you step-by-step instructions while you're cooking. And here I thought it was a kid's device."
"It's multifunctional for all ages," Zoey said.
Riley looked at Ethan, then at Zoey. "How old are you again, kid?"
"Seven."
"Are you sure? You're awfully smart for seven."
Zoey giggled. "That's what my daddy says, too."
Riley excused herself to help Mrs. Kent set the table for lunch. They ate an abundance of turkey and dressing with more side dishes than Riley could count. It was the best holiday home-cooked meal she'd had in ages. After they cleared the table and loaded the dishwasher, it was time to sit in the living room and Riley handed out the gifts she'd bought for everyone.
She'd bought Wyatt and Brody new coats, thick down ones that would be great for the job site. She gave Mr. and Mrs. Kent a new television because they'd been complaining their old one was about to give up the ghost. She gave Zoey a guitar and the little girl's eyes widened. Then she squealed.
"Really?"
"You're old enough, but you'll have to take lessons."
"I'll practice every day. I want to play like you do."
"You have a beautiful voice, Zoey. But you only have to play guitar if that's what you want to do. Otherwise it can just sit in your room and you can look at it and think of me."
She grinned. "Cool."
"Now I have a gift for you," Ethan said, interrupting her. "It's not as nice as the gifts you gave my family, but I've been working on it for the past ten years."
She tilted her head to the side. "You have?"
"Yeah. You seeing Zoey's room last night reminded me, so I finished it today."
He handed her a box. She opened it and inside was a carving much like the ones of Zoey's Noah's Ark animals. Only it was a woman sitting on a stool with a guitar.
"It looks just like you, Riley, when you're singing and playing your guitar," Zoey said.
Riley's eyes filled with tears. She lifted her gaze to Ethan. "It does. Thank you. Thank you so much. It's the best gift ever."
Ethan leaned over and brushed his lips over hers. "I love you, Riley. I always have. I always will. I don't have much to offer, but what I have is yours. A home. A family. My family. My love. Forever. I want you with me. I want you to be a part of my life."
Her heart swelled and soared. The words she needed to hear made joy spring from every pore, from every fiber of her body.
She sniffed, fighting back the tears. "I have a gift for you as well, Ethan."