Page 68 of Promised to the Cowboy

I don’t think she expected those words. Hell… I don’t think I expected them to come out like that. But once they’re free, there’s no taking them back.

And I don’t want to.

“I love you, Evie.”

The words settle between us like they’ve been waiting for this moment all along.

“I loved you before I knew whose daughter you were. I loved you before I knew you were carrying our little girl. I probably loved you somewhere between watching you climb onto that bull fence in Bigfork and realizing I’d never stop looking for you.”

She stares at me, her eyes wet and searching.

“You don’t have to say anything back. Not now. I just need you to know it before we walk out that door.” I take her hand and press it over my heart. “Whatever they say out there—I’ve got you. We face this together.”

Fresh tears spill down her cheeks. “They’ll hate me.”

I won’t lie to her. “They might need a minute”—I squeeze her hand—“but I don’t. I’m with you all the way.”

Silence falls. The only sounds are our breathing and the drip of the tap into the sink.

“You hear me?”

She nods. “I hear you.”

I wait until she looks at me again. “I love you.”

She searches my face for a long moment. Her mouth opens. Closes.

I see it in her eyes, how she feels about me. It’s enough for now.

I breathe for what feels like the first time in hours. Not because the world suddenly makes sense. It doesn’t. In a few minutes, we’re going to walk into the hardest conversation either of us has ever had.

Nothing about this is easy. Nothing about it is fair.

But one thing has become perfectly clear.

She isn’t facing it alone.

I stand and offer her my hand. She looks at it for a second before placing hers in mine. I lace our fingers together.

“Ready?”

She lets out a watery laugh. “Didn’t we already do this once?”

“Something like that.”

She shakes her head. “I’m even less ready this time.”

I smile. “Me too, darlin’. Me too.”

The conversation dies the moment we step back into the living room.

Every head turns.

Evie’s hand is still in mine. I don’t let go.

Shay is the first to her feet. “Honey? Are you okay?”

Luna’s already crossing the room. “Was it morning sickness?” she asks gently.