“The other day, you told Zoey and Kaleb that you weren’t ready to settle down. Care to elaborate on that?”
Cheyenne swallowed hard. It was truth time.
“What’s your definition of ‘settle down’?” she questioned. If they were going to have this conversation, Cheyenne wanted to make sure they were on the same page.
“I don’t know,” he said with a shrug. “Get married, start a family.”
“Then no, I’m not ready,” she answered honestly, watching his reaction.
Was that disappointment she saw on his ruggedly handsome face? Was that what he wanted? Now?
“But hear me out,” she tacked on.
“What’s there to explain?” Brendon questioned abruptly. “If you’re not ready, you’re not ready. It’s pretty simple from where I sit.”
She could hear the frustration in his tone and she had the overwhelming urge to soothe him, to calm him down. Twisting slightly in her seat so she could see him better, Cheyenne cleared her throat before she spoke. “Do I want to get married? Absolutely. Do I want to have kids? You betcha. Do I want all those things today? No. But unless that’s what you’re askin’ me, I don’t think you can get mad, Bren.”
“I’m not mad,” he retorted harshly.
“No? Sure sounds like it to me.”
Brendon sighed. “No, I’m not askin’ you to marry me, Cheyenne.”
She couldn’t deny the disappointment that flooded her, although she didn’t understand it. She’d told him she wasn’t ready.
He took his eyes off the road and momentarily looked at her. “Yet.”
Her heart picked up a crazy beat in her chest. “Yet?”
“Yeah,” he said directly, his attention once again on the road in front of them.
“Cheyenne, I’ve never told another woman that I loved her.”
“Never?” she asked, although she sensed he was telling the truth. She’d known about his unconventional relationships, she remembered how freaked out he’d been when Braydon did fall in love. So yeah, she believed he’d never told another woman.
“Never. Because I’ve never been in love with a woman. Not until you.”
Cheyenne didn’t know what to say to that, so she didn’t respond to the statement, instead choosing to ask a question of her own. “What about you? Are you ready to settle down?”
“Yeah.”
His answer came so easily, Cheyenne was actually shocked. “Really?”
“Really. With you, Cheyenne.”
He surprised her when he took her hand in his, linking their fingers together. “I’m thirty-one years old, Chey. I’m not gettin’ any younger.”
The smile that tipped his lips lit up his entire face and Cheyenne couldn’t help but laugh. “Now that I think about it, you are kinda old, camo boy.”
“Exactly,” he agreed.
“I was kiddin’,” she said sternly.
“I know, but I’m not.”
The silence lingered once again and Cheyenne wondered if he expected her to say something, but then he spoke up.
“Chey, now that the stalker fiasco is behind us, I want to take the next step. Whatever that is. I’ll do whatever it takes. If you aren’t ready to settle down, then I’ll …”
Cheyenne wanted to know what he was going to say, but he didn’t finish his sentence, leaving her hanging by a thread. “You’ll what?”
“I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you. I think I’ve known since the day I met you that you were it for me. I didn’t deal with it well, but I think I’ve known it. Does that mean it’ll be easy? Probably not. Since we have two very different lives, I’m sure it could get rather difficult. But I’m willin’ to stick it out if you are.”
Cheyenne squeezed his fingers and swallowed hard.
“I want that, too,” she told him. “I want to be with you. Truthfully, it scares me to think of goin’ back on the road and leavin’ you. I want both, and I know that’s selfish.”
“It’s not selfish, Chey.”
“It is,” she stated adamantly. “I could never ask you to spend so much time away from your family. It’s not fair.”
“But we can work it out. We’ll find a way that works for both of us.”
She wanted to assure him that it would all work out, but she really didn’t know if that was true. As much as she wanted it to be, they really were two different people.
That didn’t mean she wasn’t ready to give it a go.
Truth was, she loved him. And she’d never thought it possible, but that meant more to her than anything else. Including her career.