by Ava Miles
Chapter 40
The sun was setting in brilliant hues of copper, gold, and turquoise when Matt parked the SUV. For once, he and Jane had driven together to the park, and it was the way he planned for it to be from now on.
“Are you sure you have time for this?” Jane asked, unbuckling her seatbelt. “I know the tide seems to be turning in the primary race now that I’ve won the poker tournament and showed my genius, but still.”
He’d been teasing her about her victory for days now, and she’d finally started owning it.
“I’m not concerned about that right now,” he said. “In fact, let’s leave the dogs in here for a little while and just walk. You and me.”
“Henry might not like that,” Jane mused, arching her brow. “What are you up to?”
If only she knew.
“Henry, sit,” Matt commanded, turning in his seat. “Now, stay. We’ll be right back.”
When the dog lay right down without complaint, Matt puffed out his chest. “I seem to have regained the full strength of my Inner Alpha.”
Jane laughed, petting her dogs and telling them to stay before exiting the car. “I never doubted your Inner Alpha.”
“Bull,” he said, coming around and taking her hand.
She was wearing a red fleece cap and a white North face jacket with black fleece pants and boots. Jane was finding a new style all her own in the week since she’d won the poker tournament. It was elegant with a little edge. And he liked it a lot.
“What are you up to?” she asked. “You know that I’m a master at reading faces, right?”
Oh, she was blossoming. “I love seeing this newfound confidence in you.”
“Well, there’s still a lot to work out. We’re two weeks away from the primary, and though things are looking better for you, we still don’t know what will happen.”
“Honestly, that’s the last thing on my mind right now.”
“I came to a decision today,” she told him. “I don’t want to play on the circuit all the time, but I do like the idea of playing at The Grand Mountain Hotel and in major tournaments every once in a while. You know I’m really a homebody at heart. I mostly want to sit by the fire with you and the dogs at the end of the day. It was nice of Rhett to give me Annie as a present for winning the tournament. I imagine he’s right. He can attract enough buzz on his own. But unlike him, I don’t need to be center stage.”
“Neither do I.” That had never been his reason for wanting to become mayor.
The snow was sparkling like one of her sequined gowns as they walked to the edge of the park. Dare Valley stretched out below them, the town of his birth. The town he was so glad he’d returned to.
Otherwise he would never have met Jane, and he couldn’t imagine his life without her.
“You know, this is my favorite place in the park, right?” she asked. “I’d come here and gaze out at the sunset and whisper all of my dreams. In my imagination, the wind took them off into some magical place to be crafted and packaged up for me. You topped the list.”
He cupped her cheek. “I’m glad to hear it. That’s why I wanted to be alone with you here for a little while.”
“You’re not dropping out of the primary, are you?”
It was a fear she’d voiced more than once.
“No,” he said firmly.
She was concerned about how her desire to be a professional poker player might affect him if he wanted to keep running for office. He’d assured her that he wasn’t worried, and today he planned to prove it to her.
“We’ll see how the cards fall, right? Being mayor means nothing without you.” He released her hand and dug into his pocket for the ring he’d bought for her in Denver. He’d gone there the previous day to shop for one with his sisters. They’d gone bonkers with excitement, and after fielding their ring ideas, he thought he’d found the perfect one.
He knelt in the snow and had the delight of seeing her face transform, her mouth dropping open and then tipping into a radiant smile. “Jane Wilcox, when I came home to Dare Valley, I hoped I would make a life here. Find the right woman to be my partner and wife. Then I found you, and every dream I’d ever had about that paled in comparison to how things really are between us. You inspire me. You encourage me. You make me want to be a better man. I want to live every day with you by my side. Will you marry me?”
Falling to her knees in front of him, she said, “Oh, Matt.”
He took off his gloves and opened the tiny box, drawing out the ring. “I didn’t think you’d want something traditional, so I hope you like this.”
The sapphire winked at them in the waning afternoon light. There were two smaller diamonds set around the large square stone. “I thought a woman like Artemis might like this ring. Plus it reminded me how the sky looks after sunset when we leave the park together.”
She pressed her hand to her chest, her chocolate eyes on fire. “I love it. Yes, I’ll marry you. I started to dream about this day after we first made love. I fell in love with you so fast, Matt, and I never want to be without you either.”
He finally released the pocket of air that had felt locked under his ribs. “Thank God. I thought you’d say yes, but I had nightmares about you arguing that you wouldn’t be good for my career in political office.” Tugging her gloves off, he slid the ring on the correct finger. It fit perfectly.
“Actually,” Jane said, “one thing I realized after winning the tournament was that we’re unstoppable together. I had to dig deep inside myself because of my love for you, and I can’t ever imagine that being a bad thing. What we have together makes us both better, Matt.”
He was glad she’d finally realized that. “You’re right. And if I don’t win the primary or whatever comes after that, it won’t change who I am or what I want to do. I want to be with you and our family and help this community. Nothing matters besides that.”
“That’s what I want too,” Jane told him, the sunset making her face glow. “That’s why I don’t want to make poker my whole life. I want this more. You and me and the dogs walking in the park after work.”
“And someday, we’ll bring our kids here,” Matt said, imagining it.
They would play with the dogs while he and Jane strolled along the mountain’s edge.
“I’m going to teach them how to wish on the sunset,” she said, “and to believe with all their hearts that their dreams can come true.”
As he pulled her into his arms, he realized all his dreams had come true too. “You know what? If I’m elected mayor—”
“When you’re elected mayor,” she corrected.
“Right,” he said. “I think I’m going to name this park. It doesn’t have one. I looked it up on the local map. It just lists it as a recreation area.”
“I like that. I think we should call it The Park of Sunset Dreams.”
He pulled her up with him and cupped her cold face. “That’s a pretty romantic name for a park.”
“People need a little more romance in their life. Plus, it will be a nice legacy for our kids someday.”
“Then I’ll make it happen, even if it raises a few eyebrows on the town council.” He’d met the current town council, and he’d wager romance wasn’t something they’d experienced much of lately.
“If we can deal with Florence Henkelmeyer, we can deal with that.”
“She seems to be running out of steam at the moment. You and Rob were right. When you came out as Raven and won the tournament, it took the wind out of her sails. More people are standing up for us around town. They’re even taking those ugly signs down.”
“Good,” Jane said. “I’ve grown fond of this place and don’t like seeing it polluted by small minds. Now, let’s go tell the dogs we’re engaged.”
He laughed at that. “You think they’re going to understand?”
The look she gave him clearly told him her thoughts.
“Fine. Then we can drive over to my mom’s house and start spreading the word. There’s
going to be another family celebration tonight. My sisters drove down earlier today as a surprise. They helped me pick out the ring.”
“Can Elizabeth and Rhett and Abbie come over too?” she asked.
“Of course, and Mac and Peggy,” he added. “Mom already counted them when she bought all the food for tonight. They’re part of the family now.”
“I like that word. Family.”
Yeah. She hadn’t had much of that, but she would from now on.
“Well, there’s another aspect of family you’ll have to get used to with my wild crew.” As they headed toward his SUV, Matt led her to the rear. “Natalie added her sick humor to my ride yesterday when I wasn’t looking.”
There were two bumper stickers, one yellow, the other in blue. I’m a Sensitive Guy, one said. I Sleep With My Dog, claimed the other.
Jane started laughing uncontrollably.
The dogs peered out the back at them, nosing the glass.
“Of course, there won’t be any dogs in our bed,” she finally said when her hilarity stopped. “I want you all to myself.”
He gave her a long and lingering kiss in the parking lot. “Fancy that. I feel the exact same way.”
“Let’s walk the dogs and then head to Don’t Soy with Me before going to your mom’s house.”
“Jill’s going to be at the party,” he told her as they opened the back door of the SUV and leashed the dogs.
“That’s not why I want to go. I saw the perfect bumper sticker for Natalie’s Audi.”
“I like where you’re going with this. You’re already thinking like a Hale.”
She beamed. “It says I Kiss Bald Men. No Exceptions.”
If that didn’t sound like Jill’s sense of humor, what did?
He grabbed her free hand. “We’ll swipe it on her car right before she leaves so she won’t see it until morning. Under the cover of darkness and everything.”
They retraced their steps down the path to the edge of the mountain, the dogs walking with them now. The fiery orb was nearly halfway gone, the sky a maze of red and violet.
“This is my favorite time of day now,” he said.
“Me too.”
And with her hand in his, they walked down the path in the park he vowed one day would be called The Park of Sunset Dreams.
To learn more about the next Dare Valley book, THE PERFECT INGREDIENT, Elizabeth & Terrance’s story, sign up for Ava’s newsletter here.
Dear Reader,
Gosh, I was really sad to see Jane and Matt’s story end, but in many ways, it’s only the beginning. Don’t you just love happily ever afters? And weren’t their dogs the cutest things ever?
If you enjoyed this book, I would really appreciate it if you would post a review. Your thoughts on this book help more readers decide to check out my story. You can write one here or on Goodreads. If you do post a review, let me know at [email protected] so I can personally thank you. This book is also lending-enabled, so feel free to share it with a friend or family member. Please also consider recommending it to your book clubs and discussions boards. Thanks!
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Elizabeth and Terrance’s story is really pulling at me. Who doesn’t like second chances at love? I can already feel the sizzling chemistry between them, and since you know I’m a former chef, you can bet food will be a big part of the novel. I can’t wait to dive into the story and then share it with you.
Thanks again for reading. You’re making my dreams come true.
Much light and love,
Ava
Watch for the next Dare Valley story, THE PERFECT INGREDIENT (Elizabeth & Terrance) coming Fall 2014! Sign up for Ava’s newsletter so you don’t miss any news.
And the next Dare River book, THE CHOCOLATE GARDEN, will be out Summer 2014.
The following books by Ava Miles are also available now.
The Dare Valley series:
NORA ROBERTS LAND (Meredith & Tanner)
FRENCH ROAST (Jill & Brian)
THE GRAND OPENING (Peggy & Mac)
THE HOLIDAY SERENADE (Abbie & Rhett)
THE TOWN SQUARE (Arthur & Harriet)
THE PARK OF SUNSET DREAMS (Jane & Matt)
The Dare River series (connected to Dare Valley):
COUNTRY HEAVEN (Tory & Rye)
COUNTRY HEAVEN SONG BOOK
COUNTRY HEAVEN COOKBOOK
About the Author
USA Today Bestselling Author Ava Miles burst onto the contemporary romance scene after receiving Nora Roberts’ blessing for her use of Ms. Roberts’ name in her debut novel, the #1 National Bestseller NORA ROBERTS LAND, which kicked off her small town series, Dare Valley, and brought praise from reviewers and readers alike. Ava has also released a connected series called Dare River, set outside the country music capital of Nashville.
Far from the first in her family to embrace writing, Ava comes from a long line of journalists. Ever since her great-great-grandfather won ownership of a newspaper in a poker game in 1892, her family has had something to do with telling stories, whether to share news or, in her case, fiction. Her clan is still reporting on local events more than one hundred years later at their family newspaper, much like the Hale family in her Dare Valley series.
Ava is fast becoming a favorite author in light contemporary romance (Tome Tender) and is known for funny, emotional stories about family and empowerment. Ava’s background is as diverse as her characters. She’s a former chef, worked as a long-time conflict expert rebuilding warzones, and now writes full-time from her own small-town community.
If you’d like to connect with Ava or hear more about her upcoming books, check out the links below:
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© Copyright May 2014, Ava Miles. All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form by any means—graphic, electronic or mechanical—without permission in writing from the author, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages in a review.
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either the products of the author’s imagination or are used fictionally.
www.avamiles.com
Ava Miles
Table of Contents
Title Page
Acknowledgements
Prologue
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Chapter 11
Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Chapter 14
Chapter 15
Chapter 16
Chapter 17
Chapter 18
Chapter 19
Chapter 20
Chapter 21
Chapter 22
Chapter 23
Chapter 24
Chapter 25
Chapter 26
Chapter 27
Chapter 28
Chapter 29
Chapter 30
Chapter 31
Chapter 32
Chapter 33
Chapter 34
Chapter 35
Chapter 36
Chapter 37
Chapter 38
Chapter 39
Chapter 40
About the Author
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