Not My 1st Rodeo by Donna Alward Page A

experienced that sort of acceptance before. In return, he loved that she preferred these afternoon walks to other more sophisticated activities, where he felt out of place. He was learning that as a teacher she was big on organization, and he was more of a go-with-the-flow kind of guy. But Brett figured that just balanced them out a bit and kept things from being boring.
    â€œMel?”
    â€œYes?” She’d stuck her hands in his jacket pockets and was grinning up at him cheekily.
    â€œI love you.”
    The smile slid from her face, replaced by a look of surprise and what he hoped was wonderment. “Brett,” she whispered. “I…wow.” Her dark eyes were wide and luminous as she looked up at him. “You…when did this happen? How?”
    It wasn’t quite the response he was hoping for, but he pressed on anyway. “It snuck up on me, I guess. But last weekend, I knew. When we were together it was…different. Suddenly, it wasn’t just me and you anymore, but us.”
    He cradled her face in his hands. “I don’t know how to explain it, other than to say that when I was inside you, something clicked. Fell into place. Like turning on a light in a dark room, you know? It had been coming for a while, but that was the moment that I knew without a doubt that I was in love with you.”
    She swallowed and her eyes glistened with emotion. “I love you too.”
    He let out a breath. “Thank God.”
    Their soft laughter floated away on the air. “When did you know?” he asked.
    She stood on tiptoe and kissed his cheek. “So remember the Friday night I showed up and you had the bouquet of daisies that you’d picked? That was the clincher for me. No one has ever picked me flowers before. I remember thinking that this was the sort of man I should have been with all along. If I’d had any hesitation, it was gone after that moment.”
    â€œAnd you didn’t say anything?” He’d been tormenting himself all week and she’d already been there?
    â€œI didn’t want to be the one to say it first,” she admitted, blinking, her lips curving in a sweet smile. “Besides, I thought all you cowboys liked to take the initiative.”
    He tilted her chin, gazed into her eyes. “Not about everything, minx.”
    â€œHey, guess what?”
    â€œWhat?”
    â€œI love you.”
    He couldn’t stop smiling. Manda was near impossible these days, crowing about her success as a matchmaker, but he let her because he was happy. For the first time in as long as he could remember, he was perfectly content. He was working his own place, had a woman he loved, and the future was looking at lot brighter than it had a few short months ago.
    â€œI can’t wait for the house to be finished,” he said, sliding his hands down to her shoulders. “When it is, I’m going to carry you up to the bedroom and make love to you all weekend.”
    â€œMmm. Sounds lovely. Any ETA on that?”
    â€œContractor says three, maybe four weeks.”
    â€œThat’s a long time.”
    â€œTell me about it.”
    They started walking back towards the path, their boots making shushing sounds in the leaves.
    â€œMel?”
    â€œYes?”
    He took a breath and said the other thing that had been on his mind for a while now. “I wish you didn’t live so far away.”
    She laughed. “It’s only an hour.”
    â€œI know. I miss you during the week, that’s all. I know that you have work and then prep and marking and all.”
    This time she was the one to tug on his hand, halting their progress. “Well, I’ve been doing some thinking about that myself.”
    â€œYou have?”
    She nodded. Her cheeks were pink from the autumn air, and he was certain that even without any makeup she was the most beautiful woman he’d ever met. Lord, was he getting sappy or what?
    â€œI was