“Oh my God,” I said on a laugh. “Where did you get a cake at eight in the morning.”
She looked at me with a wink. “Just one of the many perks of working here; we have cake on a regular basis.”
Leaning forward, I placed a kiss on her cheek and whispered, “Thank you for this. I was so nervous.”
Once the whole thing with O’Brien had finally been put in my rear view—for real that last time—Lincoln had approached and shocked the hell out of me by offering me a job. He said after how I’d figured out who was skimming from the casino and then went above and beyond to help the cops get a man they’d been tracking for months—sacrificing my poor Gertrude—he wanted me on his team. He said I was the perfect fit, and bonus: I got to get out of the grift life without having to give up all the skills I’d acquired in my lifetime. Now I could actually use them for good.
“Nothing to be nervous about, babe. You’re going to rock this,” Sage assured me.
Roxanne came up just then. “And I’m just glad we have a bit more estrogen around here.”
Glancing over my shoulder, I found West standing back, his arms crossed over his chest, a tender smile on his face that made me all kinds of melty. I couldn’t believe that this was my life now, and it was all thanks to him.
“Just so you know,” Sage said, pulling me from my ogling. I wasn’t sure I’d ever grow tired of staring at my man. “After a few of the guys accidentally walked in on me and Xander . . . making up, Linc went ahead and put locks on all the doors.” She shot me a sassy wink. “You know, just in case you want to utilize the copy room during your break time. Nothing pulls you out of a mid-day lull like a little afternoon delight.”
My head fall back on a laugh, but in the back of my mind, I was stowing that information away for future use. Because you had a man like West Scott, you had to be prepared for anything.
He came up beside me a short while later as I was shoving a bite of cake into my mouth. “You happy, baby?”
I gazed into those sherry eyes of his and gave him the God’s honest truth. “I’m not sure I could ever be happier.”
The smile he gave me just then sent a delicious shiver through my body. “Challenge accepted.”
In just a matter of months, I’d gone from the unluckiest woman on the planet to waking up each day beside a man who had given me everything. He’d made every single one of my dreams come true, and I couldn’t wait to see what the future had in store, because I had a feeling it was going to be really freaking good.
The End.
Thank you so much for reading, and be on the look out for Hunter’s book, Never for Him, coming soon!
More from Hope Valley
After years of war, Lincoln Sheppard thought he’d left the violence and ugliness behind. He was content with the life he built for himself. Then the woman down the street came in and shook everything up.
All Eden Brenner ever wanted was to have a place to call home. She finally found that in Hope Valley. Then she went and fell in love with the man a few houses down the first time she laid eyes on him. There was just one problem. Women like her didn’t catch the attention of men like him. He was totally and completely out of her league. And to make matters worse, when her past comes knocking, the beautiful world she’s built for herself is at risk of crumbling to the ground.
When danger forces Eden into his arms, Lincoln begins to see her in a whole new light, and he suddenly finds himself wanting things he never expected. And he wants them all with the shy, clumsy woman from down the street. But when the truth comes out, that proves nearly impossible. Now he’s fighting the hardest battle of his life, and the stakes are higher than ever. Protect the woman he’s falling for while trying to win her heart at the same time.
Temperance Levine had her entire world ripped away from her at eighteen. What had once been a life full of light and happiness was torn to shreds in the blink of an eye. With nothing left but a broken heart and painful memories, she ran away from the only home she’d ever had and tried to start over somewhere else. But the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, and sometimes all you can do to heal old wounds is come back home again.
The day Temperance left him was the worst day of Hayes Walker’s life, and he’d spent every one since then merely existing. The future he’d imagined had gone up in smoke, and all he could do was take life one step at a time. But when tragedy brings Tempie back to Hope Valley, he knows this is the only shot he’ll have at getting his happiness back, and there’s no way he’ll let this chance go to waste.
After years apart, Tempie and Hayes are finally starting over and looking toward the future. But when their sleepy little town is rocked to its core, Hayes will be forced into a battle he never saw coming. Now he’s not only fighting for the future he always dreamed of, but also trying to protect the only woman he’s ever loved.
It wasn’t hard for Nona Fanning to fall for Trick. He was strong, kind-hearted, loyal, and unbelievably handsome. He was the man of her dreams, and all it took was one night to give her a taste of the beauty he had to offer. But while she’d been opening her heart to him, he’d kept his under lock and key.
After Patrick “Trick” Wanderly’s wife left him, ripping away their picture-perfect life, he convinced himself that she’d taken the best pieces of him with her. He wasn’t ready to move on and give his heart to someone else. Then his whole world flipped upside down after spending one night with Nona.
It took awhile for him to see what he had standing right in front of him, but now Trick’s eyes are open, and he’s determined to fix what he broke. But when danger threatens to tear Nona’s world apart, it’s up to Trick to help hold those pieces together while fighting to protect the woman and the new life he’s come to cherish.
Gypsy Bradbury was never destined for great things. Or at least that’s what she’d convinced herself of. Growing up on the wrong side of the tracks, she had learned that hoping for more was a waste of time. Then Marco forced his way into her life and gave her a glimpse of a future brighter than any she could have imagined. But if her past taught her anything, it was that if something seemed too good to be true... it probably was.
The promise of a quiet, simple life was what drew Marco Castillo to Hope Valley. After experiencing war and death first hand, he was looking for something easy. Then he met a woman with guarded eyes and the most beautiful smile he’d ever seen. The only problem was she came with more baggage than a 747.
There is nothing easy about Gypsy, but Marco knows without a doubt that the promise of her is well worth the effort. She’s the strongest, bravest woman he’s ever met, and when the life she’s fought to build for her and her family is threatened, Marco is determined to win that battle for her. Whether Gypsy wants his help or not.
Rory Hightower had a good life. She had a loving family, great friends, and a job she adored, running Hope Valley’s local watering hole, The Tap Room. But there was just one thing missing. Ever since she was a little girl she knew there was one special guy out there just for her. Her dream man. And when Cord walked into her bar, she knew instantly it was him. Which made losing him all the more painful.