She bit her lip, and then wrapped her arms around his neck. “Yes, Ty. I’ll stay here with you. I’ll marry you, even if you’re too good for me.”
“Ah, baby. I’m not too good for you.” He lifted her in his arms and carried her inside the tent-cabin. “I’m just good.”
Laughing, she tumbled with him onto the bed and showed him just how good they could be. Together.
Epilogue
Cassie worked the tangles out of a harness and set the webbed straps down on the counter. The day was winding down and she was tired in a good way. The coming weekend was going to be a pain, though.
In the two month’s since she’d accepted Ty’s proposal, Harmony and Claire had taken to poring over wedding magazines and going on and on about flowers and cakes and dresses. Harmony knew the language of flowers, of course. And their Latin names. Claire was the baker in the family so she had very particular opinions on tastes and colors for the cake. As for herself? She couldn’t care less about any of it. The wedding was set for September and that meant a lot more planning was in her future.
Things were still weird with her father, but she and her brothers had made some contact with their half-brother Ben. He was going to come down for a visit sometime in the summer and she insisted he think about coming down for the wedding. He was working at Chapman in Boston, of all places. She couldn’t imagine Bill forging a relationship with him, since they’d learned Ben had as much actual contact with the man growing up as they’d had.
As for the sensational stories about her and Ty? It turned out they were just the flavor of the week and she could almost kiss a certain bad-boy pop star for doing something stupid five days later that filled the tabloids and newsfeeds everywhere. Hank still tried to use it to hold over Ty’s head but her guy was so resilient, so steady, that he never let Hank see him sweat.
“Hey there.”
She looked up to see Ty standing in the doorway. “Hey, Ty.”
He came close and gave her the sweetest kiss. It was hot and promised what she knew they’d share out at the tent-cabin tonight.
“Do we have Riley tomorrow?” she asked.
Ty grinned, his dimples showing. “Yep. Hank was trying to be a prick but apparently he wants to go to the rodeo. Linda insists on going with him, so he’s stuck.”
“Hmm. I think I’m starting to like Linda.”
“She’s a good woman. Just beaten down a little around the edges.”
Cassie nodded. “What about you?”
“What about me?”
“Are you beaten down around the edges, nature boy?”
He wrapped those strong arms of his around her. “I’m ready and raring to go.”
She just bet he was. “Yeah?”
“Yeah. How about we hit that wall?”
Rolling her eyes, she groaned. “If I have to.”
“I’m thinking you do.”
He’d managed to get her to move her butt more than she ever had over the past few weeks. The climbing walls continued to challenge her and she even went running with him. He could wear her out in the best ways so she figured she needed to keep up her stamina.
Jake popped his head in just then. “You guys go climb. I’ll lock up.”
“Thanks, Jake,” she said.
She walked past her brother, who hip-checked her as she passed him. In return she punched him in the arm and earned a bark of a laugh.
As she climbed up the wall, slowly and carefully, she could see Ty down on the sandy ground holding her rope with his belay device. She didn’t need to look to know he was there, though. He would always be there. He proved that time again. He’d keep her safe. He loved her. And she loved him more than she ever thought she could.
Since coming to Cypress Corners she’d learned to love herself, too. She was finally home.
About the Author
JoMarie DeGioia has been making up stories for as long as she can remember, and has spent years giving voice to the characters in her head. She’s known Mickey Mouse from the “inside,” has been a copyeditor for her town’s newspaper, and a bookseller. She writes Historical and Contemporary Romances, along with Young and New Adult Fantasy stories. She divides her time between Central Florida and New England.
Discover other books by JoMarie DeGioia
The Bridgewater Brides series, including
The Heir’s Treasure
The Gentlemen Undercover series, including
A Hero and a Gentleman
The Shopgirls of Bond Street series, including
That Determined Mister Latham
The Dashing Nobles series, including
More Than Passion
Pride and Fire
Just Perfect
More Than Charming
The Gentlemen Undercover series, including
A Hero and a Gentleman
The Cypress Corners series, including
Finding Harmony
Taming Jake
Loving Cassie
Winning Ben
Showing Jessie
Seeing Shannon (Barefoot Bay Kindle Worlds Novella)
Dreaming Eli
Giving Chase (Barefoot Bay Kindle Worlds Novella)
Kissing Bree
The Gifted YA Fantasy/Adventure Trilogy, including
Gifted
Braunachs of the Dell series, including
Luke’s Gold
Patrick’s Promise
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Website: www.jomariedegioia.com
Cypress Corners Boxed Set (Books 1-3) Page 53