He quickly stepped forward to block her. “I won’t let you quit and I don’t want you leaving.”
“You can’t stop me,” she said, settling back in the chair.
“Dammit, Heather, Hickory Hills is your and Mandy’s home.” He pulled another armchair over to sit in front of her. “You belong here.”
“Not anymore, I don’t.” She glared at him. It was much easier to let her anger build than to give into the misery of a broken heart. “You’re going back to your life in L.A. and I’m staying here. But do you honestly think I want to be here when you bring a woman with you for your next visit? Or wait for you to return so that I can be a diversion while you’re here?”
He shook his head. “That’s not going to happen.”
She watched him close his eyes as if garnering his patience. When he opened them, there was a determined spark in the cobalt depths.
“If you’d stuck around long enough you’d have seen me decline Cameron’s invitation to go barhopping with him and a few others I know from L.A.”
“Didn’t you want to reconnect with your friends?” she asked.
“Those people wouldn’t know how to be a friend if their lives depended on it. They’re too self-centered, too shallow.” He sat back in his chair. “You probably won’t believe this, and I wouldn’t blame you if you didn’t, considering my track record. But I’ve been tired of the party crowd for quite some time. I just didn’t realize it.”
“That is pretty hard to believe,” she said, tamping down a tiny bubble of hope.
Sitting forward, he reached out to take her hands in his. “Honey, I’m not going to pretend that I’ve been a saint since you and I were together in Los Angeles. But I can tell you that after you left, I realized that something was different about me. I suddenly felt like I wanted more out of life than being part of that scene.”
“So you’re telling me that I caused you to have some grand revelation about yourself?” she snorted.
He laughed. “I’m a little more thickheaded than that.” His expression turned serious as he stared down at their entwined hands, then looked up to capture her gaze with his. “It’s not an easy thing for me to admit, but all of my adult life I’ve been afraid to risk my heart, afraid to love. Deep down I was afraid I’d turn out to disappoint a woman the way my father had my mother. So I ran from it. I went out to clubs and dated more than my share of women to keep from becoming too involved.”
Was he telling her he was incapable of loving?
Without warning, he reached over to lift her onto his lap. “But then I met you and all that changed.”
“In what way?” It felt so wonderful to be in his arms, but she couldn’t let herself believe that everything was going to work out between them. When she tried to get to her feet, to escape the temptation he posed, he tightened his arms around her.
“I couldn’t forget your laughter, your smile. I couldn’t forget you.” He nuzzled her hair with his cheek. “I found myself lying in bed at night regretting that I hadn’t learned your last name, where you were from and how I could keep in touch with you. And that’s something that had never happened to me before.”
“Never?” She had a hard time believing that he’d been able to forget every other woman he’d ever gone out with, but her.
“It’s the truth, honey.” He kissed her cheek. “I never thought I’d ever say this to a woman, but I think I’ve loved you ever since I spotted you standing there at that horse auction.”
Tears welled up in her eyes as the hope within her burst free and spread throughout her being. “You love me?”
“With all of my heart, Heather.” He cupped her cheek with his palm. “And I’m tired of running, honey. If you can find it in your heart to forgive me for being so thick-headed, I want it all. You, marriage, brothers and sisters for Mandy. I even want the minivan filled with car seats and clumps of dog hair.”
“Are you sure?” she asked cautiously.
“I’ve never been more certain of anything in my entire life.” His smile caused her heart to skip a beat. “I love you, Heather McGwire. Will you marry me?”
“Oh, Jake, I love you, too.” The tears spilled down her cheeks. “But—”
“That’s all I need to hear,” he said, capturing her mouth with his.
Tracing her lips with his tongue, he deepened the kiss and she knew she had to take the chance. She loved being held by him, kissed by him. And knowing that he wanted to spend a lifetime showing her how much he cared for her caused her heart to swell with more love than she’d ever thought possible.
When he finally broke the kiss, he leaned back to gaze at her and the love she saw in his eyes stole her breath. “There’s something else we need to talk about,” he said, smiling.
“What would that be?”
“Where we’re going to live.”
She worried her lower lip for a moment. She’d never imagined herself living anywhere but in the heart of Kentucky’s horse-racing country. But as long as she, Mandy and Jake were together, she could live anywhere.
“I’ve never lived in a huge city.” She took a deep breath. “But they have horses in California, too.”
Giving her a smile that made her feel warm all over, he shook his head. “Don’t get me wrong, I love California. It’s one of the most beautiful places on earth. But I think I’d like to live right here.”
“Really? Why?” She couldn’t have been more surprised. “You told Hunter you were looking for a house in Malibu.”
“That will be our vacation home. I want you to be able to continue making a name for yourself in the racing industry,” he said. “You have a real knack for choosing bloodlines and producing champions. I want you to have the opportunity to build your reputation as the best in the business.”
“I could do that in California.”
He nodded. “That’s true. But you’ve already made Hickory Hills a force to reckon with. Why not continue to build it into a racing empire?”
Loving him more with each passing second, she laid her head on his shoulder. “What about your law office? It’s in Los Angeles and quite successful. Are you sure you want to give all of that up?”
“Honey, I can practice law anywhere.” He shrugged. “But to tell you the truth, I’m tired of helping people end their marriages.” He paused a moment. “I think I’d like to give being a gentleman farmer a try and help my wife raise her champion thoroughbreds.” He laughed. “Besides, having me around all of the time is going to save you and Clara a lot of grief.”