The Stranger I Married

Chapter 7: Sunset

By the time the afternoon light began to soften, Eve looked at him.

"You've earned a shower. You're starting to smell like the horses."

He laughed. "I thought you might say that."

"Come on."

She led him into the main house and up a broad staircase. "The guest wing is upstairs, in the west wing."

Alex glanced down the long hallway. "And you?"

"I have my room in the main part of the house."

She led him toward the west wing, then stopped at a door near the end of the corridor and opened it. "You can use this room to freshen up. There's a bathroom through there."

Alex stepped inside. It was a comfortable room, simply but elegantly furnished, with a large window overlooking the fields.

Eve gestured toward the adjoining bathroom. "There are towels in the cupboard. Take your time. Dinner won't be for a while."

She started toward the door. Her hand was on the frame. She should leave. She should go downstairs and give him space.

You barely know him, she told herself. You met him yesterday. He's a stranger. You don't invite strangers to stay the night.

But he didn't feel like a stranger. That was the problem. He felt like someone she'd known for much longer than a day. Someone she wanted to know more.

She turned back.

"You can stay here tonight, if you want."

The words came out before she could stop them. She heard herself say them and almost laughed at her own boldness. She'd never done anything like this—never invited a man she'd known for a single day to spend the night. Her grandmother would have something to say about this. Her father would have a lot more than that.

But she didn't want him to leave.

Alex looked at her. The question hung in the air between them. She was giving him an out—a chance to leave, to go back to Bellhaven, to keep his distance.

He didn't want to keep his distance.

"I'd like that," he said. "I checked out of the guest house this morning. Wasn't sure if I'd be moving on or staying." He paused. "I'll get my bag from the car."

Her smile widened. "Good. I'll see you downstairs."

She walked away before she could say anything else—before she could take it back, or worse, invite him to stay in her room instead.

What are you doing? she asked herself as she descended the stairs.

She didn't have an answer.

Later, after they had both showered and changed, they met for dinner.

The meal was relaxed and unhurried. They talked more, laughed over the day's events, and teased each other about the horses and the ride across the property.

But underneath the laughter, there was something else. Awareness. The way their eyes met across the table. The way the conversation sometimes paused, and neither of them seemed to want to fill the silence.

Eve looked at him across the table. "You know, I didn't expect you to be so comfortable here."

Alex looked at her. "What did you expect?"

"I don't know." She shrugged. "City guy. Fancy car. Expensive watch. I thought you'd be—"

"Out of my depth?"

"Maybe." She smiled. "But you're not. You fit."

He absorbed that. "I haven't felt like I fit anywhere in a long time."

She held his gaze. "That's a shame."

"Why?"

"Because you're easy to be around." She paused. "I don't say that to people often."

He didn't know what to say to that. So he just smiled.

By the time dinner was finished, the last light of day was already beginning to fade.

They moved outside to the porch. The porch swing waited beneath the wide veranda.

Eve sat down. Alex joined her.

The sun was beginning to disappear beyond the fields. The sky stretched across the horizon in shades of gold and orange, while the last warmth of the day lingered in the air.

For a while, neither spoke. The ranch was quiet now. The distant sounds of the workers had faded. Only the occasional sound of cattle carried across the fields.

Alex rested his arm along the back of the swing. After a few minutes, he lowered it around Eve's shoulders.

She leaned into him. Her head rested against his shoulder.

They simply watched the sunset.

He could feel her warmth through his shirt, the gentle weight of her against him. She smelled like soap and something floral—something that reminded him of summer. Her hair brushed against his cheek.

Eve closed her eyes for a moment, letting herself feel the simple pleasure of being held. His arm was warm around her shoulders, solid and sure. She fit against him like she'd been made to be there.

This is what it's supposed to feel like, she thought. This is what I've been missing.

She thought about her father. About Daniel. About the life they'd planned for her—the marriage, the business alliance, the expectations. It had all seemed so reasonable. So sensible.

But nothing about it had ever felt like this.

She'd never felt safe in someone's arms before. She'd never felt like she could just stop—stop trying, stop performing, stop being what everyone expected her to be. With Alex, she didn't have to pretend.

He was a stranger. She'd met him yesterday.

And yet, sitting here in the quiet of the evening, she felt more at home than she had in years.

Alex looked out across the fields, but he wasn't seeing them. He was feeling the weight of her against him, the warmth of her breath, the way she fit so perfectly into the curve of his arm.

He thought about Friday night. The rehearsal dinner. Victoria's face as she told him she was in love with someone else.

He'd thought his world was ending.

Now, sitting here with this woman, he understood that it had only just begun.

Victoria's choice had shattered the life he'd been building—a life he'd never realised he was building for the wrong reasons. She'd taken the future he'd planned and handed it to someone else.

And in doing so, she'd set him free.

He looked down at Eve. The fading light caught her face, soft and golden. She was beautiful. But it was more than that. She was real. She was here. She made him feel things he'd forgotten he could feel.

She feels like she was born to be here, he thought. Born to fit into my arms.

He didn't know what that meant. He didn't care.

He just wanted to hold her and never let go.

Eve felt the change in him before he moved. The way his arm tightened around her, the way his breathing shifted.

She looked up.

His eyes were on her face. Dark and warm. Full of something she couldn't name.

"Alex."

"Hmm?"

She didn't know what she was going to say. She just wanted to say his name.

He leaned in. She met him halfway.

The kiss was soft at first—tentative, questioning. Then it deepened. Her hand came up to rest against his chest, and she felt the steady beat of his heart beneath her palm.

She felt the kiss in her chest, in her stomach, in the tips of her fingers. It was warm and slow and full of promise.

When they pulled apart, neither of them moved far.

Eve's eyes were still closed. When she opened them, she was smiling.

"That was unexpected," she said softly.

"Very."

She looked back toward the sunset. Her hand remained on his chest.

After a moment, Alex smiled. "Maybe you're right."

"About what?"

"The country life."

Eve laughed softly. "Maybe it is working."

He pulled her closer. She leaned back against him, her head resting in the hollow of his shoulder.

They sat in silence, watching the last light fade from the sky. Neither of them spoke. Neither of them needed to.

Something had shifted between them. They both felt it—the quiet certainty that this was right. That this was where they were supposed to be.

Eve didn't understand it. She didn't try to. She just let herself feel it.

Alex didn't understand it either. But he knew he didn't want to lose it.

The night deepened around them. The sky darkened from amber to deep blue to black, and the stars emerged one by one, scattered across the vast ranch sky like diamonds on velvet.

Neither of them moved.

They sat on the porch swing, Alex's arm around Eve's shoulders, her head resting against his chest. The conversation had faded into comfortable silence—the kind that didn't need to be filled with words.

Alex could feel her breathing, slow and even. He could feel the warmth of her through his shirt. He could smell her hair, something soft and floral that he couldn't name but knew he'd remember forever.

He didn't want this moment to end.

Eve felt the same. She could feel his heartbeat beneath her cheek, steady and strong. His arm was warm around her, and she fit against him so perfectly that she couldn't imagine being anywhere else.

This is dangerous, she thought. This is too much, too fast.

But she didn't move.

She thought about what it would be like to stay here forever. To fall asleep in his arms. To wake up beside him.

The thought sent a shiver through her.

Alex felt her shiver. "Cold?"

"No." She paused. "Just thinking."

"About what?"

She was quiet for a moment. "About how I don't want this to end."

He tightened his arm around her. "Me neither."

She turned her face slightly toward him. His eyes were on her, dark and warm in the moonlight.

"Alex."

"Hmm?"

"I should probably go to bed."

He nodded slowly. "I know."

Neither of them moved.

"We should," she said.

"We should."

Still, neither moved.

Finally, Eve pulled back. The loss of her warmth was immediate.

Alex stood with her. They walked toward the door together, their footsteps slow on the wooden porch.

Inside, the house was quiet. The hallway was dim, lit only by a single lamp near the staircase.

They stopped at the foot of the stairs.

Eve looked up at him. "Thank you. For today."

He smiled. "Thank you for letting me stay."

She held his gaze. "I'm glad you did."

"So am I."

They stood there for a moment, neither willing to be the first to walk away.

Alex wanted to kiss her again. He wanted to pull her close and never let her go. He wanted to follow her up the stairs, to her room, to—

He stopped the thought before it could finish.

She's not ready. You're not ready. This is too fast.

But his body didn't care about logic. His body wanted her.

Eve felt the same pull. She could see it in his eyes—the same desire that was burning through her. She wanted him. She wanted to forget about everything else and just be with him.

What are you doing? she asked herself. You barely know him. He's a stranger. You can't just—

She couldn't finish the thought.

"Goodnight, Alex," she said softly.

"Goodnight, Eve."

She turned and walked up the stairs. She could feel his eyes on her the whole way. When she reached the top, she looked back.

He was still standing there, watching her.

She smiled. He smiled back.

Then she walked to her room and closed the door behind her.

Alex stood in the hallway for a long moment after she disappeared. His heart was pounding. His hands were shaking.

What is happening to me?

He walked slowly back to the guest wing, each step feeling heavier than the last. When he reached his room, he closed the door and leaned against it, his eyes closed.

He could still feel her. The warmth of her. The softness of her lips. The way she'd looked at him before she walked away.

He wanted to go to her. He wanted to knock on her door and tell her that he didn't care about logic or timing or any of it.

But he didn't.

He pushed off from the door and walked to the window. The moon was rising over the fields, casting silver light across the pastures.

He thought about today. The ride across the property. The story of her grandmother. The way her eyes lit up when she talked about the ranch. The way she'd leaned into him on the porch. The way she'd kissed him.

The way she'd walked away.

He thought about Victoria.

Her face appeared—and then faded.

She'd been part of his life for years. He'd built a future around her, made plans, made compromises. And now she was nothing. Just a ghost that didn't haunt him anymore.

He looked out at the ranch, and he realised: he didn't want to go back to Westbridge. He didn't want to go back to his manor, his meetings, his life.

He wanted to stay here. With her.

But he also knew that she deserved more than a man who rushed into things. She deserved patience. She deserved trust.

He'd give her that. Even if it killed him.

He climbed into bed and fell asleep faster than he had in months.

Eve lay in her bed, staring at the ceiling. She could still feel his arm around her. Could still taste his kiss.

She wanted to go to him. She wanted to forget about everything else and just be with him.

But she didn't.

She closed her eyes and tried to sleep. It took a long time.