Page 46 of Promised to the Cowboy

“Pregnant,” she agrees. “That part surprised us.” She smiles. “Finding out there’d been a woman behind all that distracted brooding? That explained a lot.”

I look down into my glass. “You really think...”

“I know what Gabriel looks like when he feels responsible for someone.” She tips her head. “I’ve seen it with his brothers. With Maggie. With the horses. This isn’t that.”

I swallow. “How can you tell?”

Jenna laughs quietly. “Because he watches you when you aren’t looking. He checks where you are every time he walks into a room. He remembers whether you’ve eaten. And did you notice how he leaves whatever he’s doing the second you call his name?”

I frown. Have I noticed?

Maybe.

“I thought that was just Gabriel. Quiet. Steady. The kind of man who notices everyone.”

“He does,” Jenna says. “But not like he does with you. That’s not obligation, Evie.” Jenna’s voice is gentle now. “That’s a man who’s already chosen you.”

I don’t answer. I don’t know how. But I suddenly know I want that to be true so badly that it scares me.

She bumps my shoulder with hers. “Can I give you a piece of advice?”

I chuckle. “Pretty sure you’re going to anyway.”

“Gabriel will never pressure you, Evie. He’ll wait as long as it takes because he’d rather wait forever than make you feel cornered.”

She lets that settle before adding quietly, “So if you want him, be brave. Go get him.”

Jenna is right. I’m the one who closes the distance. At the Honey Pot, I closed it, climbed off my barstool, and walked into the path of a man with mismatched eyes because for once in my life, I wanted a thing that didn’t come with strings attached. I set rules that night—my rules, my terms—because it was new and it terrified me and rules felt safer than feelings.

They didn’t work then either.

I thought I wanted one night. Turns out I wanted the whole thing.

After dinner, the ranch settles into its evening rhythm.

I know where everyone will be.

Maggie in the kitchen. Daniel finishing one last job. Ethan pretending he's finished work when he isn't.

And Gabriel...

Gabriel will be upstairs, washing the dust of the day off.

I climb the stairs before I lose my nerve.

I knock.

For a moment, I think he hasn’t heard me.

Then footsteps.

The door opens.

Gabriel fills the doorway in a faded T-shirt and jeans.

His eyebrows lift. “Evie?”

For one ridiculous second, I forget every word I rehearsed. “Hi.”