“Not that I’m not enjoying watching this, but do you want to sit down?” Scott’s voice rumbled with mirth.

I turned and looked up. Way up. I was crouched low on the grass, and I hadn’t heard him approach. Now, he loomed over me, grinning down at me.

I flushed and stood, abandoning my attempt to summon the nearest bunny. “Sorry. I didn’t mean to make you wait to eat. He’s just so fluffy. I want to pet him.”

He cocked his head at me, his eyes twinkling. “Have I told you how cute you are?”

My cheeks burned hotter. “A few times, yeah.”

“Do you want to try to pet the peacock, too?”

I shook my head. “No. Peacocks are assholes.”

His laugh boomed through the garden, his head tipping back. The sunlight filtering through the leafy trees played over his defined features, softening them.

“Well, they are assholes,” I defended myself. “They won’t let you near them. They just sit there, looking all majestic from a distance. That one would probably peck my eyes out if I got too close.” I gestured to the nearest white peacock.

Scott took my hand, tugging me closer to him. “Sounds dangerous. Don’t worry, I’ll protect you.”

A thrill raced through me, even though I knew he was teasing. I liked the idea of him protecting me, far more than was probably healthy.

“You promise?” I tried to sound lighthearted, but my words were heavier than I intended.

He caressed my cheek, his expression dropping to something more serious. “Always.”

My chest tightened. If only he really could promise that. He didn’t have to promise me forever. We hadn’t known each other long, and I didn’t know if I even believed in forever.

But the uncertainty of what would happen when this week was over made my stomach twist.

I chose to willfully ignore it, pushing my concerns away so I could enjoy this time with him.

“I love animals,” I babbled to cover my discomfiture. “I kind of grew up with a menagerie at my house.”

Scott pushed in my chair for me and took a seat beside me. He was still smiling, oblivious to my moment of pain and uncertainty.

“Your house was big enough to host a menagerie?” He clearly thought I was exaggerating.

“Well, my house itself wasn’t that big. But we had a good bit of land. It’s right on the outskirts of the city, but there are several acres of woodland and pastures. At one point, we had four dogs, five cats, three ponies, and a goat. Oh, and a beta fish.”

He leaned forward with genuine interest. “How’d your family end up with that much land near the city?”

“It was my great-grandparents’ old farm house. Pieces of the farm were sold over time, but the heart of the property was still left.”

“Was? Isn’t it in your family anymore?”

My heart sank. I hadn’t meant to talk about my childhood home. I didn’t want to think about how it was now a crumbling ruin, its soul ravaged and its contents robbed.

“My family still owns it,” I replied. I didn’t say anything else.

The waitress arrived to take our order. I ordered prosecco and lobster linguine, and he requested beer and a pizza. I tried to formulate what I was going to say next to keep the conversation flowing.

He spoke before I could come up with anything.

“My family still lives in the house I grew up in,” he said when the server left.

I blinked at him. “What?”

“In Colorado. My parents still live there.”

“Are you actually telling me about your life right now? I mean, I’m not trying to sound accusatory. I want to know more about you. I’m just surprised.”

He offered a small smile. “It’s going to be an awfully long week if we don’t talk. I think I can trust you enough to tell you some things. I want to share with you. There are just a lot of things I can’t talk about. But I’ll say what I can. You were right to be pissed at me the last time I saw you in York. I didn’t want to open up, so I walked away instead of communicating. That’s on me.”

My heart leapt into my throat. I’d longed to know more about him, and I could hardly believe he was going to share with me.

“I hate lying,” he said solemnly, “but it’s part of my job. I didn’t want to lie to you.” He held my hand on top of the table, stroking my palm with his thumb. “I’ve never been able to say the things I’ve told you. Not to anyone.”

“I’m glad you can share with me. I want to know you better. I’d never violate your trust.”

I leaned forward, propping one elbow on the table. “What can you tell me about Colorado? I’ve never been. What’s it like?”

“It’s beautiful. I grew up in a small town located on the edge of Rocky Mountain National Park, so there are wonderful views of the mountains. It’s a bit of a tourist destination, but I was part of the local community when I was growing up.” His gaze turned inward, his expression a touch wistful. “I have a lot of family there. Tons of cousins on my mother’s side.”

“It sounds like you miss them.”

He blinked and focused on me again. “I love my family, but it’s not the same anymore. I’m not the same.”

“I understand,” I said softly. “In my own way, I understand.” He’d probably seen things—and done things—that made it difficult to slip back into civilian life. His reasons for feeling alienated from his home were different from mine, but that didn't change the outcome: we both felt like we didn’t have roots anywhere in this world.

He nodded, acknowledging our shared pain. “I’m the only member of my family who doesn’t live there anymore. I go visit them sometimes. My parents, my brother, and my sister. They’re both married now. I have three nieces and two nephews.”

“That’s a big family,” I remarked. “What’s the age difference between you and your siblings? I have two sisters, and we’re really close in age. It made for a lot of fighting growing up—you know, lots of teenage hormones under one roof. But we’re all close friends now.” Despite my turmoil when it came to my childhood, I did love my sisters dearly.

“That’s great. I’m not close with my brother and sister like I used to be, but we still keep in touch.” He smiled, but a shadow passed over his eyes. “Gregory’s two years older than I am. He had a bit of a big brother complex. It always had to be acknowledged that he was the oldest.

“Kelly was born when I was twelve. That came as a shock to my parents. Mom had to go back to work at the hotel to help support us. My dad was in construction. He worked hard, but we didn’t have much growing up.”

I thought of my own cosseted childhood, when I’d been provided with anything I could have wanted. But material things and privileges came with an emotional price, and I would have traded them all for unconditional love.

I decided not to talk about that. I didn’t want to interrupt him now that he was finally sharing. And I didn’t really want to examine my feelings about my childhood too closely. I definitely preferred to ignore how those experiences had shaped me in adulthood.

“How did that affect you? Your mom going back to work, I mean.” I was pressing Scott for deeper emotional information, but I didn’t think this would reveal anything that would jeopardize the secrecy of his job.

“It was okay,” he replied. I believed him; he truly didn’t seem bothered by my question. “I think it was hardest on Kelly, since she was so young. I ended up spending a lot of time taking care of her while my parents were at work. I didn’t mind stepping up, though. I loved taking care of my baby sister.”

There it was again: Scott was a natural caretaker. It was in his nature to protect those around him.

“And there was lots to do around the town in my free time,” he continued. “There’s great skiing in the area, and when it’s warmer, it’s always nice to go horseback riding.”

“You rode horses?” I asked, excited at our commonality.

He smiled. “Yeah, but not like you. I rode Western, and I didn’t compete or anything like that. I saved my competitive side for the football field.”

“You, competitive?” I asked, sardonic. “I can’t imagine that.”

He squeezed my hand. “Are you getting sassy with me?”

I laughed. “Maybe a little. What are you going to do about it?”

“For now, I’ll indulge you. Later… We’ll see. Depends on how sassy you get.”

“I’ll make sure to bring my A game, then,” I said with a saucy grin. I wanted to goad him. Wondering how he’d respond once we were back in the privacy of our apartment sent a little thrill racing through me.

His brows rose, but our food arrived before he could issue a retort. We spent the next hour enjoying our meals and chatting. Well, mostly I chatted. I talked about my competitive horse showing days and my general lack of coordination when it came to contact sports. We both laughed at a few particularly ridiculous stories about my physical awkwardness. Scott found it especially amusing that I’d chosen to be scorekeeper at volleyball games so I could get out of a semester of P.E.

“But I’m sure you were a total jock.” I waved at his body, indicating his incredible physique. “I doubt we would have gotten along in high school.”

“I think we would have.”

I scoffed. “Right. The star quarterback would have noticed the socially awkward nerd.”

He captured me in his sparkling gaze. “I would have noticed you.”

I wasn’t sure how to respond to his intense declaration, and I was rescued from the intimate moment when the waitress brought the bill. I tried to split it, but Scott insisted on treating me.

“You can’t keep buying me things,” I told him. “I don’t expect you to pay for everything.”

“I know you don’t expect it. But I want to take my lady out for dinner and drinks. And dancing,” he added, spearing me with a significant stare.

I shifted uncomfortably. “I don’t really dance.”

“Yeah, I remember you told me that in Nashville.”

“Well, you should understand why now. I just spent the last hour telling you about my maladroit exploits.”

“Maladroit exploits? Look at you, pulling out the fancy author words. That won’t distract me, though. We’re going to dance tonight.”

“You know how uncoordinated I am,” I countered.

“Lucky for you, I’m very coordinated. That’s the trick: you just have to let me lead. And I know from experience that you like when I take the lead.”

“Scott,” I hissed his name in warning, glancing around to make sure no one was close enough to hear his innuendo.

He chuckled. “You’re so cute when you’re scandalized. No one heard me. And even if they did, they wouldn’t know what I meant.” He leaned in and lowered his voice. “They wouldn’t know I’m talking about how you love it when I spank your pretty ass and fuck you hard while I make you beg me for pleasure.”

Something between a groan and a whimper slipped through my lips.

He kissed the tip of my nose. “You see?” he said with satisfaction. “Adorable.”

He pulled back and stood, holding out his hand in offering. I took it immediately, more captivated by him than ever. When I’d first met him, he’d been brooding and anguished. The man who stood before me now was years younger, the careworn lines easing from his face. His eyes were no longer haunted; they glittered with satisfaction.

I went up on my tiptoes and pressed a quick kiss against his lips.

“What was that for?” he asked.

“I’m glad you’re here with me.” I didn’t say all the heavy things that were on my mind. I wanted him to continue smiling and laughing. “Come on.” I looped my arm through his. “Let’s go find somewhere we can dance.”