CHAPTER FOURTEEN

 

Austin didn’t know why he had a bad case of the jitters. He’d been in combat zones with fewer butterflies than he had right now. But then again, this wasn’t an ordinary day. He’d picked Savannah and Blue up, and they were headed to the ranch. He had a whole day of fun planned, but there were also some serious things to discuss too. He was taking the plunge and taking the advice his father had given him to seize the moment and be happy. And that meant inviting Savannah into his life.

Life had gotten back to normal in Harper’s Grove. Angela’s event had been a wild success and by the time she opened the restaurant again she’d regained much of her the revenue she’d lost. Alex and Peyton had the perfect wedding at the ranch in the clearing that Peyton loved. He was damn proud to stand up for his friends as they made their pledges to love each other forever. He’d even had more fun than he’d thought he would taking care of Noah and Chloe for the weeks they were on their honeymoon. He’d gotten a crash course in what it meant to have a domestic life with kids, Savannah, and Blue and he liked it. It got him to thinking about when the time would come when he’d be taking the same vows to love and cherish Savannah for eternity.

He took her hand and headed for the steps as soon as Savannah walked through the front door. “Let’s go upstairs so I can give you the surprise.”

“I can’t wait.”

He opened the door to his bathroom suite. “Surprise! I hope I got everything right. I wrote down the names of the products in your bathroom.”

Savannah walked over to the dual sink vanity and dug into the bag. She pulled out a bottle and read the label. “It’s my shampoo all right. And my favorite bath scrub. How sweet, you bought one of those effervescent bath bombs. You want to take a bath together?”

“Always. But that’s not the real surprise. Keep digging.”

He watched her expression as she pulled out more practical things like deodorant, an electric toothbrush, manicure set, and her favorite scented candles.

“You are the most thoughtful man I’ve ever met.” She kissed him. “This will save me some major time when I stay over. I won’t feel like you woke up next to a monster.”

He could see she still didn’t get the point. “There’s more.” He led her into the bedroom. He opened the doors to his walk-in closet. I made some space on the rack for your clothes and I even emptied a drawer for you.”

“Oh.” She smiled, then her eyes widened. “Oh. Does this mean what I think it means?”

“Yes. I'm ready to take the next step in our relationship.” He dug into his pocket and retrieved the box. “And this.”

She took the box from him and opened it. “Keys?”

“I think it’s silly you waiting outside the house for me. Now you won’t have wait for me if you want to come by early.

“Well.” She cleared her throat. “That’s mighty considerate of you. I look forward to letting myself in at will. I mean, because what sensible woman wants to sit in a car waiting for her boyfriend to arrive?”

He nodded. “The gold one is to the house. The silver one is to my office in the stables. And there are a few random facilities keys on there too. Just in case you need something when I’m not here.”

“I love it. Everything.” She hugged him.

“So it’s not too soon? I was a little worried you’d give me the timetable speech again.”

“No, I thought about it. There are no steadfast rules to romance. I was using it as a buffer in case you changed your mind about us. I want this to be real so bad sometimes I’m scared it’s going to disappear one day out of the blue.”

“Speaking of Blue.” He grinned. “I’m having a new back door installed so he can come and go as he likes when he visits. We can go shopping for a new doggie bed for him too.”

“Blue’s going to love that.”

“I have one more surprise, but it requires you putting on a blindfold.”

“Is this some kind of sexy game?” She waggled her eyebrows.

“We can play a sexy game later. Right now I need to take you to another part of the ranch.”

“OK.”

“I’ll just give Blue a treat to feast on while we’re gone. I’m afraid he can’t take the trip.”

“You don’t say?” She tapped her chin with her finger, like she was trying to deduce the surprise he had in store.

Austin gave Blue a huge bone then blindfolded her then carefully led her outside and into the truck. It was just a short ride to their destination. He could see the anticipation building in her as she spouted off clues about where he was taking her. A few minutes later they’d arrived. He cut the engine and helped her out of the truck.

“Are you ready for your surprise?”

“Yes.”

He removed the blindfold. There was a beautiful, multi-colored hot air balloon waiting for them.

“It’s wonderful.” She clapped. “I’ve always wanted to take a ride in one of these.”

“You mean you’ve never done this with anyone else?”

“No. I’m a virgin.” She grinned.

“Me too. This sounds like a milestone for our relationship.”

“Well, I’ve never loved anyone like I love you.”

“You took the words right out of my mouth.” He kissed her hard. “Will you fly away with me? We have fancy cheese, fruit and champagne. We can stay up there as long as you like.”

“I may never want to come down.” She caressed his cheek. “Except to feed Blue of course.”

He helped her into the basket and within minutes the operator was ready for takeoff. It was surreal to see the ranch and the town from up there. He handed her a flute of champagne, and they toasted.

“To true love.”

“To true love.” She sipped her champagne.

“I have another surprise for you.”

“I don’t think there’s anything else for you to do.”

He pulled a long velvet box out of the food basket. “This is for you.”

It was a platinum, heart-shaped pendant with amethyst stones encrusted around it.

“It’s beautiful.” She kissed him. “I love it.”

“No, you are.” Austin put his arms around her. She felt so good against him. It was a feeling like nothing he’d ever truly felt before. It was comfort, passion, and an uplifting of his soul.

“I love you, Savannah, with all my heart. I promise I will spend the rest of my life making sure you know that I love and cherish you. I’ve been waiting for you my whole my life. You have brought serenity to my restless heart.”

“I love you too. Forever and always.”

As they hovered over the town they loved, Austin felt like he could float up in the sky with Savannah forever. She was the remedy he needed to help let go of past pains and worries that a relationship wouldn’t work. It was worth taking that chance for Savannah. She was all he’d ever need.