“I hope it will be your home,” he murmured. They were surrounded by his family and friends, another wedding coming to an end. But he was only at the start of his own love story. He, Flint Manning, was ready to tackle love and romance. He had tools to work with his emotions, he had support, and he and Mandy danced in time through it all.
Mrs. G winked at him as she twirled with her stepson, Hank, and Flint winked back. Leave it to Mrs. G to break his rules with such spectacular results.
Mandy brought him back to her with a brush of her fingers on his collarbone. “I did leave that heart stone there on your porch.”
Someday, they’d bring that heart, and more, inside, making the old bunkhouse their home. Was she saying she might be ready to consider that? “Are you saying you might consider taking our relationship somewhere new?”
“Yes. I admire your patience,” she said, partly serious, and partly teasing. They both knew he wasn’t very patient, but he’d wait for her as long as she needed. He just wanted to do any waiting with her, and with a commitment. Change really had swooped in and taken him for a ride.
He smiled then kissed her forehead. “Can I get that on tape? My brothers wouldn’t believe it.”
She grinned up at him. “Let’s leave it between us. I want some things about you to myself.” Edging closer in his embrace, her softness pressing into him, she was about to find out how much of him she could have, if she wanted.
She tickled the back of his neck with a light caress and his limbs jolted. “Keep that up and we may leave here altogether.”
Her eyes went playfully wide. “Why, Mr. Manning.”
He loved it when she played the flirt. He loved her. “Why don’t we get a private room?”
“If it’s like the one we had at the B & B, I accept.”
“That can be arranged. I am part-owner here, you know.”
He dipped her and brought her back up as the song ended. She kissed him, right in front of everyone, the first time she’d done so in the two weeks they’d been together. The kind of claiming sensation it branded into him sent both a crack of fear and excitement through him. He acknowledged the former and focused on the latter.
Though it made him want to proclaim everything he felt right here and now, Mandy wouldn’t want that, so he kissed her in turn and held her close as they walked off the dance floor. They began the round of goodbyes, as impatience to get Mandy alone prodded him, and the night wound down for them all anyway. Each of his brothers and their wives had approved of Mandy, not that he needed that, but it was good to know she was welcome and valued in his family and life. Autumn had admitted, with a sly grin, that she’d asked Mrs. G to set him up. Being different now, he let it go with a laugh, because the result was everything, and it’d been done with love.
They hugged everyone, including Mrs. G and Mrs. Davis, who held each other side-to-side, beaming.
“You got us all matched,” he said to them.
“We did,” they said together, smiles wide as the bright summer sky.
“Jinx,” Mandy said then laughed. “In this case, Flint and I will buy sodas all around.”
The two older women hugged Mandy and they arranged to meet tomorrow at the café. He loved that Mandy now knew almost everyone in town, and some outside town, and she was part of this community he called his own. He squired her out of the room and down the hall to his office, which wasn’t the most romantic place, but had a comfortable sofa, a fireplace, and a large flatscreen TV.
They settled into the sofa and he took a box off the small table in front of them before going to his knees.
“Mandy, I love you, your beauty, your kindness, your joy. Will you marry me, someday?”
Her soft smile made his chest expand. The low fire crackled, but he didn’t need the warmth when Mandy’s closeness gave a heat that couldn’t be matched.
“Yes, I will. I love you, too, Flint. Flustered and confident, flirty and flummoxed. With you, I’m home.”
He sat next to her again and slid the ring on her finger. His own smile joined hers, and his center glowed with knowing he helped her find what she most wanted: a sense of home. And with her, he’d found what he didn’t even know he wanted: love and romance.
“I’m glad,” he said, taking her in his arms. “Now, how about a movie?”
“Only if it comes with a heap of kisses. Flint Manning kisses too.” She waggled her brows.
“Happy to oblige.” And he did.
Acknowledgements
Thanks for reading! If you enjoyed this book, please help by leaving a review and recommending it to others. You are appreciated!
Special thanks to: Marilyn, Marik, and Jessica for Montana tips; Lori Raines for the fantastic name suggestions; the R&R group for their reads and reviews; and to you, for finishing this book!
Reina M. Williams writes cozy, heartwarming fiction. When she's not writing, editing, or spending time with her sons, you're most likely to find her watching a movie or mystery, walking in a park or library, baking, or reading with a cup of tea nearby. A California native, she lives in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Read the whole Montana Matchmakers series!
Other sweet contemporary romance:
North Beach Bakery series
Escape in Love series
Petals, Pride, and Persuasion: A Jane Austen in California Collection
California Fairy Tales series
Sweet Historical Romance:
A Gentleman’s Daughter trilogy
Love at Pemberley (four novellas of Pride and Prejudice)
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Also by Reina M. Williams
A Gentleman's Daughter
A Gentleman's Daughter: Her Choice
A Gentleman's Daughter: Her Folly
A Gentleman's Daughter: Her Love
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Italian Honeymoon
Jane Austen in California
Petals, Pride, and Persuasion: A Jane Austen in California Collection
Love at Pemberley
Most Truly: A Pride and Prejudice Novella
Miss Darcy Decides: A Pride and Prejudice Novella
Miss Bennet Blooms: A Pride and Prejudice Novella
Misunderstood: A Pride and Prejudice Novella
Love at Pemberley
Montana Matchmakers
Sweet Christmas
Sweet Valentine
Sweet Spring
Sweet Summer
Hello Dolly
Sweet Fall
One Moment
Sweet Winter
Sweet Easter
Sweet May
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Valentine Kisses
Spring Kisses
Chocolate Kisses
Autumn Kisses
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Christmas Kisses (Coming Soon)
Sweet May Page 5