Her Forever Hero (Unexpected Heroes #3)(49)

Maybe their story had ended ten years earlier. But that didn’t mean that they couldn’t begin a new story together. They would never know if they didn’t give it a try. Sure, she wasn’t ready to hear that yet, but Cam was a determined man, and he would get what he wanted out of this even if he had to beg or just steal her time.

“You have the rest of the night. It won’t take long.” When he didn’t back down, he saw the surrender in her eyes.

“I need my coat,” she told him.

After she bundled up, Cam led her outside to his truck, then drove down to the barn. He was happy with the progress. They’d been building for a month, but the walls were finished and painted, the roof done, and the enormous front doors opened.

“They still have a lot of work to do on the inside—the stalls need to be finished, for example. The arena is going to be a thing of beauty. My brothers are now thinking of copying me,” Cam said as he led her inside.

“It’s quiet. They aren’t working now?” she asked as she looked around at the large space.

“They’re done for the evening. No one can work 24/7, Grace.”

“There are times I work half that—seven days a week, twelve hours a day. It just depends on how difficult my client at the time is.”

“Yes, I’ve had cases like that when sleep is considered a luxury item.”

“Well, this is beautiful, Cam. I remember how you talked about breeding horses when you were young. I figured that was over, now that you’re a studly attorney.”

“The best dreams are those we discover when we’re young. People give up on those only if they give up on themselves.”

“Sometimes we’re foolish to try to recapture our youth,” she countered.

“There’s a difference between reliving our youth and ensuring that we keep alive the dreams we’ve always had,” he said as they entered the waiting area of the arena, the only part that was finished.

Beautiful teak hardwood floors led up to a large river-rock fireplace centered on the back wall. A bar was set up in the corner, and two couches and a recliner surrounded the fireplace.

“Are you planning on living in here?” she asked with a laugh.

Cam hit a button and the fire leapt to life, instantly heating the area and drawing Grace into it.

“Every stable needs a comfortable lounge for customers to relax in,” he said.

When he looked at her profile, the flames from the fire casting a glow on her lovely face, he felt his heart warm, too. “You are so beautiful, Grace, that it takes my breath away,” he whispered, making her turn and look at him.

The moment stretched on for several seconds, both of them lost in a river of emotions. He took a step toward her, needing to feel her in his arms.

“Not now, Cam,” she said, and her panic was evident.

He knew she was pulling back because it was too much. Sex she could almost handle. It was emotional intimacy that she couldn’t deal with.

He stopped only inches from her. “You’ve protected yourself for so long that you won’t allow good things to happen. If you would just quit fighting me, you’d see that we’re supposed to be together.”

“I don’t want this,” she whispered as he reached for her and pulled her to him.

“I can’t stop it.”

Talking hadn’t been getting them anywhere. Although his words couldn’t make her believe the love he had for her, she wouldn’t be able to deny it in his touch, his kiss.

The smallest contact with her lips had him floating; his body always responded instantly to her touch, smell, taste. It didn’t matter how much lost time there was between them. It didn’t matter if either of them fought it. What they had together was too powerful to deny.

She held back for only a moment and then wrapped her arms around him and clung for dear life, clearly needing him as much as he needed her. She might not be telling him what she wanted in words, but she was telling him with her body. Cam knew she couldn’t lie to him while in his arms.

When they were young, they’d fumbled with their youthful passions, each learning how to please one another. They weren’t kids anymore, and the way they kissed right now showed that.

But it wasn’t just passion that Cam felt—his heart was also melting just a little bit more. Each time he was with Grace, at each intimate moment they shared, he gave a little bit more of his heart to her.

If she ever allowed him to—when she allowed him to—he would give it all. There had never been anyone else but Grace. Yes, he’d had other girlfriends. But Grace was the only girl who’d ever truly had him.

His thoughts spooked him just a bit, and he pulled back, unable to breathe. He cupped her cheek and decided he wouldn’t allow this to scare him. And he also wouldn’t allow her to turn away. He was shaken, but she looked absolutely terrified.

“Do you really understand what you do to me, Grace?”

Her face lost all color as she gazed wide-eyed at him. “I’m not trying to do anything,” she murmured.

“That’s the thing, though, Gracie. You don’t have to try,” he said, almost choking up with emotion. “Just being with you sends my world spinning.”

“Cam, we’ve been over a long time—too long to renew this.”

“But we didn’t get to finish—we didn’t get our closure. Maybe this will all fade, but right now I don’t want to let you go.”