"That's my brand."
She runs her thumb along my jaw. Traces the dimple that appears when I smile. "I love you, Hayes Donovan. And I'm going to marry you and have your baby and probably drive you insane for the rest of your life."
"I'm counting on it."
I kiss her again. Slower this time. The kind of kiss that says we have time. All the time in the world. No ticking clocks, no three-day deadlines, no packed suitcases. Just a mountain, a cabin, a ring on her finger, and a future I never planned for that turned out to be the best strategy I ever stumbled into.
The youngest operator at Guardian Peak.
Engaged to the most powerful woman he's ever met.
About to become a father.
Challenge accepted, sweetheart.
Every single day.