Page 34 of Aiden & Lily

He shook his head, unable to give her the full truth. “I just… I want to be the kind of man that’s worthy of you.”

Her expression softened, and she placed a hand to his cheek. “I might not know you as well as I plan to, but I know this much, you are plenty worthy.”

“How do you know?” His whisper was carried off in the summer breeze.

Lily pressed her fingers to his chest right above his heart. “Because I feel it here. You just need to believe it, too.”

Aiden closed his eyes and leaned his forehead against hers, relishing in the affections of this beautiful woman. She was everything he needed, now if only he could be the same for her.

10

LILY

“Do you like living in the country?” Lily asked the question without looking at Christopher.

They were out at the hot springs again today, but this time the sun shone down on her, warming her skin as it kissed her face.

“What kind of question is that?” Christopher’s low, rumbling voice was muffled due to his face being buried in his folded arms.

She peeked down at him then.

He was sprawled out on his stomach, dressed in only his swim shorts. He was fit, but not overly muscular—not like Emerson or some of the other men she’d dated. But that didn’t change the fact she thought he was beautiful. Strong lines and capable hands.

Her gaze slid to the one she could see. It wasn’t as calloused as she would have expected a rancher’s hand to be. He turned his head at that moment and smiled sleepily at her.

“You gonna answer my question?”

Christopher chuckled. “I like living out here. It’s nice. Quiet. What about you?”

She pulled her mouth to the side. “I don’t know. Never had the chance to live anywhere else. I suppose I’m curious what it would be like if I decided to move away and do something else.”

“Like what?”

Lily settled until she was lying on her back beside him. She placed one arm over her eyes to block out the brightness. “I’ve told you all my sisters are named after flowers, right?”

He chuckled, warm and low. “You’ve mentioned a few of them by name, but I never made the connection.”

“Well, there’s Rose. She’s the oldest. Then Jasmine and me. Then there’s Iris, Violet, and Zinnia.” She turned her head, finding him watching her. “My mother named us after flowers because she wanted to be a botanist. She loved studying plants. My dad was going to continue the family business as a farmer, but his dad wanted him to go to school for agriculture. That’s how they met. They had a college class together.”

She couldn’t help but smile as she recalled the stories her mother told them.

“Rose went to college. Same as our dad, so she can run the farm one day. But I never did.”

“Why not?”

She sighed. “Times were tough when my turn came around. I didn’t want to be a burden financially on my family. And I didn’t have any idea what I could do with my life other than helping with the farm. But I can’t help wondering what might have happened if I had. Would I have followed in my mom’s footsteps and gone into botany? Or maybe something to do with the medical field?”

Christopher lifted his head. “You’re interested in medicine?”

Lily wrinkled her nose. “Not like being a doctor or anything. I think I would want to go into the research side of things andstudy medicinal plants. Holistic healing, but for animals. That sort of thing.”

His eyes took on a far-off look. “That’s… it’s…” He lifted his gaze to hers. “There aren’t many people who are interested in medicine for the sake of helping others these days. At least, not always. A lot of people get pulled toward the money or the prestige.”

“Yeah, that’s not for me. I like the idea of finding something out in nature that can help not only people, but the animals they love. Something readily available to grow.”

They stared at each other for long moments.

Then she laughed. “Sounds kinda crazy, right? Especially since I haven’t even gone to school for it?”