Page 136 of Promised to the Cowboy

“Gabriel.”

“An hour.”

Dad snorts from the other side of the kitchen.

I point at him. “Do not.”

He lifts both hands. “I didn’t say anything.”

“Your snort was judgmental.”

“I learned it from Maggie.”

Maggie smiles without looking up as she drops the traumatized dough into a bowl and covers it with a towel.

Evie takes the paper from my hand and sets it on the table. “Upstairs. You need to lie down.”

“We have guests.”

“We have family.”

“That’s worse.”

Her smile softens. “Come on.”

I get to my feet, and Evie rises with me. For a moment, we stand there facing each other, both of us carrying bodies that no longer let us pretend there are no limits.

She smiles. “We make quite a pair.”

I nod, brushing my thumb over her cheek, now fuller from pregnancy and Maggie’s cooking. “The best.”

Around us, the kitchen noise falls away as she looks at me the way Dad said Mom would have liked—like I’m the stars in her sky.

I lower my forehead to hers. “You scared?”

“Yes. Scared, excited, hopeful.” Her eyes hold mine, the same hazel that stopped me cold in the Honey Pot. “And loved. So very loved.”

“Me too, Lightning.”

She grins at the mention of her rodeo persona.

“You’re my bolt of lightning.” I tap the scar on my chest. “The device keeps my heart beating, but you’re the one who taught it how.”

Her eyes sparkle with tears. “Gabe?—”

I cut her off with a kiss, not caring who’s watching. I take my time, lingering over her sweet lips.

Tom makes a gagging noise from across the room, and Max giggles.

Evie laughs against my mouth, and the joy in it settles deep in my chest.

Three days from now, we’ll stand in front of our family and promise something we’re already doing.

Staying.

Choosing.

Not perfectly. Not without fear. But together.