DEACON HAD BEEN surprised to get a text from Loretta asking him to come to the farm on Saturday night.

It had been over a week since he’d last seen her. He wasn’t sure what the invitation meant, but since she hadn’t texted him telling him it was over, he had some hope.

Then again, she could be asking him over to break up with him. Loretta would do that in person.

That’s what she’d done the last time. He dragged in a deep breath and drove over there, determined to see this out, no matter what.

He showed up at the farm at seven and knocked at the door.

“Door’s open,” he heard her holler.

He rolled his eyes and walked in. “I could be a serial killer, you know.”

She laughed as she walked down the hall. “But you’re not.”

Her laughter was an encouraging sign.

“We had this discussion before about you locking the door, right?” Not a good way to start the conversation, he knew, but he couldn’t help but bring it up.

She walked up to him and wrapped her hand around the nape of his neck, brushing her lips across his. “Yes, and I keep forgetting. What would I do without you?”

She’d caught him off guard with the kiss, but he was fully on board when she pressed her body against his. He wrapped an arm around her and tugged her closer, deepening the kiss even more when she moaned.

But then she stepped back. “So, I’ve done a lot of thinking.”

“Obviously.”

She took his hand and led him to the living room, where she had a bottle of open wine and two glasses, along with a fruit and cheese tray. “Hazel’s at my parents’ house spending the night. I even forced Otis on them, much to their profound displeasure.”

His lips twitched. “I can’t imagine their horror.”

She laughed. “Right?”

She poured wine into the glasses and handed him one. “First, an apology for the past week. I was in my own head and got confused.”

“You don’t owe me an apology, Loretta. You had a lot on your mind.”

“But I took it out on you. Like I did before. I seem to always hurt you. Why do you keep forgiving me?”

He looked at her. “Because I love you.”

Her eyes filled with tears. “This would be a lot easier on me if you were mean or got mad.”

He laughed. “You want me to be mean?”

“Well, no. I love you because of who you are—because of who you’ve always been. But I keep making all these mistakes, and you’re so damn perfect all the time. It’s hard to live up to that.”

He set his glass on the table, and hers as well, then he took her hands in his. “Loretta. I am far from perfect. That might be your perception of me right now, but trust me, I’m not. I have so many flaws you’ll need to make a list of them. I can get grumpy as hell when things don’t go the way I want them to. I have a short fuse, and when my temper blows, it’s ugly. So when you’re ready to pick a real fight with me, we’ll fight. And then we’ll make up and it’ll be over, because I don’t hold a grudge.”

She inhaled deeply, then nodded. “Okay. I’ll hold you to that.”

“You do that.”

“I love you, Deacon. And I was afraid because I had this image of what my life as an independent woman was supposed to look like. And it wasn’t supposed to include falling in love again. But it happened, and then I got scared because I thought I was doing it all wrong. Instead, I did it all right. I’ve done it all right, and you’re the one who showed me that. I guess I was waiting for some sign from the universe or someone to tell me, hey, it’s okay to love someone, to lean on someone. And then I realized the only person who has to be all right with that is me.”

His lips curved. “You finally figured that out, huh?”

“Yes. I guess I spent so much of my life having people tell me what to do and how to feel that I was waiting for that again. And you never told me how to feel or what to do. Another reason I love you.”

“Maybe I am damn near perfect.”

She laughed. “Well, we’ll see. But I do love you. And Hazel loves you. And it’s high time we start planning a future together. If that’s what you want.”

He drew her against him and kissed her, his heart filled with so much emotion he wasn’t sure he knew what to do with all of it. When he pulled away, he stared into the depths of Loretta’s beautiful amber eyes, knowing that this time, things were going to work out for them.

“You were my beginning, Loretta. And if you’ll have me, you’ll be my end. We’ve had some rocky parts in the middle, but if it’s worth having, it’s worth those raging waters that we’ll have to ford. I’ve loved you almost half my life. Even when you were gone all those years, you were always in my heart. I tried my best to deny it, but you were there. You will always be in my heart, and that’s never going to change. I won’t promise you perfection, but I will promise you that I’ll be faithful and loyal, and I promise I will love you forever.”

Loretta’s tears burst forth. She leaned against Deacon and shook as she cried.

He held her. “I made you cry. That wasn’t what I was trying to do.”

She lifted her gaze to his. “These are the happiest tears I’ve ever shed. I love you so much, Deacon.”

He swiped the tears from her cheeks and kissed her, and the kisses turned into passion. He laid her flat on the sofa and covered her body with his, unable to keep his hands from roaming her body. She touched him, too, and her sweet hands were a balm to his tortured senses. He’d missed her so much this past week, and had worried he’d never be able to kiss or touch her again.

So he took his time now, shedding first his clothes, then hers, until they were both naked and entwined on the sofa. He grabbed a condom from her bedroom, and then he slid inside of her, feeling how perfect it was to be with this woman he loved.

They moved in unison, touching and kissing each other as he thrust slowly into her, his gaze locked with hers. It was intimate in a way he could have never imagined it would be with someone. But he’d never loved someone like he loved Loretta.

And when the intensity grew, she was right there with him, clutching him, panting, and crying out as she came. He went there, too, shuddering out his orgasm as her name fell from his lips.

After, they cuddled naked on the couch, neither of them in any hurry to move.

“Will you move in here with me?” she asked.

He kissed the top of her head. “I’d really love to do that. Will you be all right with that with Hazel being here?”

She tilted her head back to look at him. “Hazel wants us to get married and have babies. I think she’ll be fine with you moving in here.”

“Let’s do that, then.”

“Okay, when would you like to move in?”

“No, the other part. Let’s get married and have babies. Hazel needs a little brother or sister.”

She lifted her head to look at him. “Seriously?”

“It’s not the proposal I had in mind, but I’ve waited a lifetime to be with you, Loretta. I don’t want to wait any longer. Will you marry me?”

She rolled over on top of him. “As proposals go, Deacon, it’s perfect. And yes. How about tomorrow?”

He laughed. “Maybe not tomorrow, but next week, next month, whenever. I’m yours. First, though, we should probably tell Hazel.”

“She’ll be so excited.”

“And we’ll be a family.”

She swept her hand down his cheek. “We already are.”

He wasn’t sure when he’d been this happy. Probably never.

All he knew was he had the woman of his dreams and the daughter he never realized he could love so much.

Life was good. Damn near perfect. And was only going to get better from here.