She let out a sigh and lifted the left corner of her mouth. She quickly gave me a kiss and said against my lips, “That was Nick swoon-worthy.”

She turned and began putting on a pair of my sweatpants and one of my T-shirts. She grabbed her hair, twisted it somehow, and piled it on top of her head. “Come, Lulu, let’s go say good morning to Mimi.”

“Wait…that was Nick swoon-worthy?” I called after her, confused.

She stopped right outside the door and smiled. “Oh yeah, Mr. Moore.” She winked and bolted down the stairs.

I stood there, more confused than ever.

I sat down on the bed and said, “So, the horseback riding in the moonlight was not swoon-worthy, but telling her we fit together was Nick swoon-worthy?” I rubbed the back of my neck and shook my head. “Fuck, I need to read more. Clearly, I’m missing something.”

I sat at the kitchen island, smiling, as Mimi told me all about this book she’d discovered and how she hadn’t been able to put it down all night.

“I’m telling you, it was amazing, Courtney. You should really read it.”

I nodded my head and took a sip of tea. All I could really think about was how Reed had just made the most amazing love to me. It had been so slow and romantic. It was like he hadn’t wanted it to end any more than I had.

“What’s the name of the book?” I asked.

“Oh, darn…I can’t remember. What is the name of that book? Oh, it was so funny. Crap.”

I started thinking about last night and this morning—Reed falling in the field, Reed naked, Reed and me in the pool, Reed and me in the shower, Reed and me horseback riding, Reed telling me we were made for each other. I touched my lips gently and felt the ache growing between my legs.

“Courtney? Courtney, are you even listening to me?” Mimi asked.

I snapped my head up and looked at her. “What? Of course I’m listening to you.”

She leaned back in her chair and folded her arms. “Really? What did I just say then?”

“Um…you were trying to remember the name of this really good book you read,” I said with a small smile.

“Wrong answer. I was telling you that you looked lost in thought, and then I asked what in the world you were thinking about because the blush on your cheeks was a beautiful red.”

I instantly put my hands on my face. “What?”

Just then, Reed walked in, and the room felt like it was filled with electricity. I even found myself catching my breath.

He sauntered up, leaned down, and kissed Mimi on the cheek. “Good morning, Miss Mimi. You look as beautiful as ever.”

Mimi let out a little giggle. “Oh, Reed, you always were such a sweetheart.”

Reed gave her that smile of his that had been driving me insane for months. He turned and looked at me. He placed his finger on my chin, leaned down, and gently kissed me. “I missed you,” he said on my lips.

“I’ve only been gone for a few minutes,” I barely got out, totally forgetting that Mimi was sitting right there.

“Doesn’t matter. I still missed you.”

The moment he moved away, I felt the longing for his touch grow ten times worse.

“There goes that beautiful red blush again,” Mimi said.

I couldn’t pull my eyes away from Reed. Has Reed always been such a gentleman like this? I tried desperately to remember him with Mimi in the past, and then it hit me. He has always been this way. I just chose not to see it.

When Reed laughed, I was pulled out of my trance. I looked between him and Mimi. Is this really happening? Are we finally together?

I felt a hundred times better after telling Reed about Noah. And how Reed had made me feel last night after I told him was amazing. He was amazing. He’s better than any book boyfriend could ever be. I decided to keep that little bit of information to myself.

“Court, I’m going to go make sure Ryan and Johnny have everything ready for the feeding. I won’t be gone too long,” Reed said.

I chewed on my lower lip and nodded my head. We were in public now, and I had a feeling as soon as Reed stepped out the back door, I was shark food for Mimi.

As he began walking away, I called out, “Be careful. I love…um…” I turned to Mimi and then back to Reed, who was standing there with his cowboy hat in his hand, smiling. I couldn’t help but smile back. “I love you, Reed. Be careful.”

His smile grew about ten times bigger. “I love you, too, Courtney, and I will.”

After he left, I waited a good five to ten seconds before I turned and looked at Mimi.

She was grinning from ear to ear. “Well, land sakes alive, it’s about damn time.”

“What’s about time?” I asked, knowing she was talking about the exchange I just had with Reed.

“Oh, don’t play coy with me, young lady. You and Reed, huh?” She wiggled her eyebrows up and down.

My mouth dropped open. “Mimi! You didn’t just—”

Right then, we heard a gunshot.

“What in the hell? Was that a gunshot?” I jumped up and looked out the window. I let out a small scream when I saw Reed lying down on the ground with Ryan standing next to him, holding a shotgun. “Oh my God! Reed!” I yelled as I ran out the back door.

I started calling out Reed’s name, and it should have registered in my head that he was okay when he jumped up and turned around, but my heart was beating so fast.

I skidded to a stop and looked him up and down. “Are you…have you been shot? Are you hurt? Oh my God.” I didn’t see any blood anywhere on his body. I quickly looked back and forth between Reed and Ryan.

Ryan looked confused as hell.

“Who did you shoot? Why did you shoot?” I asked Ryan. I looked all over Reed’s body again. Nope. Still no blood.

Reed grabbed on to my shoulders. “Court, baby, look in my eyes. I’m not hurt. Ryan was trying to shoot a rattlesnake, and I was looking to see if it had gone under the car.”

I shook my head and tried to calm my beating heart. “What? A snake?” I asked.

Mimi was laughing behind me.

I took a deep breath in and let it out. “Wait, what if it had struck you?” Tears were burning my eyes, and I wasn’t sure where this pussy-ass girl had come from. The thought of losing the man I’d waited so long for overtook my body, and I lost it. “Reed, I don’t ever want to lose you—ever. God, I was so scared when I saw you on the ground, and I thought…I thought…”