Crazy in Love (Blue Lake #3)(69)

“Oh, yeah, now she’s changed her tune. Now that you’re making so much money that you don’t really need her anymore.”

“She’s a pain in the neck, but she’s got killer business sense.” He kicked his feet up on the coffee table as their new German Shepherd puppy, Jagger, trotted into the room and curled on the rug beneath his legs. “She says I was inspired here. Whatever I did before, I should do again and again.” He waggled his eyebrows at her. “Not that I needed permission from Rita, but I like the way she thinks. There are more than a few things that I’d like to repeat with you.”

Her cheeks warmed as he nuzzled into her neck and planted a soft, wet kiss under her jaw.

“Will you play me something?” she asked, as the fire crackled beside them.

“Of course.”

It was her favorite time of night. After the guests had retired to their rooms and she and Cole were left alone in front of the fire. Rain battered on the front windows and Jagger let out an angry-sounding yap. Rachael tugged a fuzzy flannel-colored blanket over her lap and drew her legs beneath her.

“Shh,” Cole said, stroking the dog’s coat. “It’s all right. It’s just the storm.”

Picking up his guitar from beside the couch, Cole rested it in his lap and teased a few strings. His fingers moved over the strings effortlessly, and Rachael couldn’t help but be in awe of him. He played her a quiet love song—the one he’d been working on the last week—and entranced her by the sultry rhythm of the music and the sexy husk of his voice.

“That one’s going to be your next hit,” she said when he’d finished. “What’s it called?”

“That one is just for you. I call it Rachael’s Serenade.”

Swooning, she kissed him and stroked her hands over his chest. As her gaze trailed to the windowsill, she caught sight of a tiny white butterfly fluttering its wings against the wet glass. Odd…she’d never seen a butterfly in the rain before. She recalled seeing a tiny white butterfly, resembling the one on the window now, before she and Cole made love on the floor in the inn addition. It was a bizarre thing, but the sight comforted her. Reassured her that the love they shared wouldn’t disappear.

“What do you want to hear next?” he asked.

“Something soft.”

He leaned over and whispered into her ear, “I love you.”

She went weak, her stomach tingling with delight. “I love you, too,” she said, and had never meant the words more.


Moving the guitar so that it rested on the opposite side of him, Cole placed a gentle hand on the back of Rachael’s head and guided her so she lay on her chest. The quiet thump-thump of his heartbeat and the warmth radiating from his body spoke to every part of her. She’d never felt more complete.

“I know it’s sudden…” He brushed his hands over her hair, a loving caress that caused her eyelids to flutter closed. “…but I’m going to marry you. Sooner rather than later, if I have my way.”

“Sweetheart,” she said, her heart beaming with love and promise, “that’s music to my ears.”





THE END