So Good: A Ribbon Ridge Novel (Love on the Vine Book 1) (36 page)
Read So Good: A Ribbon Ridge Novel (Love on the Vine Book 1) Online
Authors: Darcy Burke
“I wouldn’t have it any other way, would you?”
She turned her head and her eyes were full of love. “Nope.”
Rhonda sat down opposite them. “Hey, guys. Thanks again for inviting all of us up this weekend.”
“Where are Isla and Will?” Brooke glanced around for Rhonda’s two children, who Cam had met last night.
“Will’s asleep inside. Sara and Bex set up a day-care situation with a couple of teenage sitters. And Dave’s got Isla.” She nodded toward her husband seated at another table. He sat beside the four-year-old Isla, who was busy trying to help Alaina and Evan’s daughter eat.
Cam watched Brooke for her reaction to all of this kid discussion. She seemed fine. Of course she was fine. They’d talked at length about her feelings of loss and inadequacy, and she’d told him that his support and love had given her the missing piece she’d really needed to move on and embrace the life she had. No, it wasn’t what she’d planned, but she felt better equipped now, with him at her side, to face the future, whatever it held.
And while they hadn’t specifically discussed getting married, they seemed to have formed a tacit agreement that they were headed in that direction. He knew that was what he wanted. Last night, he’d talked to her parents about his intent—not asking their permission per se, but making sure they knew how much he loved and valued their daughter and how integral she’d become to his life.
All he had to do now was find the right moment to give her the ring he’d picked up yesterday.
“Cam?” Rhonda said his name loudly, as if she’d been trying to get his attention. Maybe she had.
“Sorry, just thinking. What did I miss?” He looked between her and Brooke.
Rhonda rolled her eyes and grinned at the same time. “You two are so in love, it’s disgusting. I’ll bet money your mind was completely hung up on my sister.”
Cam looked over at Brooke, who wore a faint blush. “No one would take that bet, because duh. My mind is irrevocably hung up on her.”
Brooke’s blush deepened, and she reached over and squeezed his thigh, which sent a jolt of lust straight through him. Now he really wished they’d followed Evan’s suggestion up in the vineyard. After lunch maybe…
Kelsey joined them, sitting on the other side of Brooke. She and Brooke had become good friends, and they spent a lot of time working on the Ribbon Ridge exhibit for the library, which they were hoping to open early next year.
Brooke introduced Kelsey to her sister, and they shook hands over the table.
“What’s this I hear about some sort of excavation around here?” Rhonda asked. “Brooke told me a little—and that you’re working on it together—but didn’t finish the story last night.”
Kelsey swallowed a bite of food and nodded. “Yeah, we’re looking for the site of the original building on this property. A clapboard farmhouse built in 1879.”
“Problem is, we’re not entirely sure where to look,” Brooke said. “Fortunately, we’re in the process of working with the county historical society to find out where it might’ve been. They’re going to try to find maps from that time period, provided they have them among their records.”
Rhonda leaned her elbow on the table, her fork dangling from her fingers. “That’s so fascinating. I can’t wait to hear what you find.”
“We just hope we find something!” Kelsey said, laughing. “We’ll all be so disappointed if we come up empty-handed.”
Cam knew she spoke the truth. She and Brooke, along with Alaina and Crystal, were completely committed to this research project. He loved how immersed Brooke had become in Ribbon Ridge. For a guy who never planned past tomorrow, Cam had been surprised to realize he had dreams for his future, and he was even more shocked to see them start to come true.
After a bit, Cam stood to get water for himself and Brooke. He was waylaid by his parents, who gushed over how much they liked Brooke’s folks. He knew his mother wanted to ask when they were going to get married, but he hadn’t told her he planned to propose. She was a mix of shock and glee when it came to their relationship. She’d never imagined that he would be the first of her boys to settle down. Cam couldn’t quite believe that either.
As he headed back toward the table with a couple of waters, his brothers and Hayden corralled him to the side.
“Hey, this is pretty crazy, right?” Jamie asked.
“What, you mean everyone here?” Hayden shook his head. “We have big, meddlesome families. Of course they’d want to come help.” He grinned. “They’re also pretty awesome.”
Luke looked at Hayden. “Did I hear your dad say he wanted to intern with you when you blend?”
Hayden chuckled. “Yeah, the master brewer has decided he’s interested in winemaking.”
Cam laughed along with him. He’d known Rob Archer almost his entire life, and he was a beer man through and through, as evidenced by his incredibly successful chain of brewpubs and now line of beers, which they’d started bottling last year.
“That’s pretty cool,” Cam said. He knew how much it had to mean to Hayden that his dad was so interested. Rob had been disappointed when none of his children had taken up the craft of brewing beer. He was, however, delighted that his daughter-in-law Bex was keeping it in the family.
“I’m just amazed at how well this is all doing,” Jamie said. “Really, when I first brought this up that day at The Arch and Vine, I never foresaw this.”
Cam remembered that day vividly. He now realized it was the moment in which he’d decided his disconnected, ambivalent existence wasn’t good enough. It was the moment he’d turned a corner and started on his way to finding Brooke. To finding happiness. “I did. At least, I hoped it would be this.”
Hayden clapped his shoulder. “Me too, bro.”
“Well, I didn’t doubt it,” Luke said. “I mean look at us. We’re total studs.” They all laughed. “And right now, this stud needs to get back out to the vineyard.”
“Yeah, we all do,” Hayden said, and they all took off.
Cam went back to the table and said he was heading back up the hill. Brooke immediately stood to join him. Hand in hand, they hiked back up to where they’d been picking.
Once they were back between their rows of grapes, Cam pulled her into his arms and kissed her. She tasted of the wine they’d had at lunch and something chocolate. “Did you have dessert?” he asked against her delicious mouth.
“Emily Archer brought brownies, and I couldn’t resist.”
Cam knew from twenty-five plus years of experience that Hayden’s mom made the best brownies around. “Somehow they taste even better on your lips.”
She giggled, and he kissed her again, taking her joy into himself and basking in its glow. After a minute or maybe two, she pulled back with a sigh. “We should really get back to work.”
“Yep.” But he didn’t take his hands from her waist.
“You’re going to have to let go.”
“Never.” Without thinking, he dropped to his knee in front of her.
Her eyes widened, and she brought her hand to her kiss-swollen mouth. “Cam. What are you doing?”
He couldn’t contain his grin even as a thread of nervousness snaked through him. “Like you don’t know.” He pulled the ring from his pocket and unwrapped the tissue he’d placed it in. Taking her hand, he looked up into her eyes. “Brooke, you know how much I love you. I try to tell you multiple times every day.” He smiled. “And I’m sure this isn’t a surprise, but I’m ready to make it official, and I hope you are too. There’s no one else I’d rather spend my life with. Will you marry me?”
“I never imagined I’d find someone who’d love me so completely and so unconditionally.” Her smile faded. “You’re sure? I know we’ve talked about it so much—”
He knew she meant her infertility, and they had talked about it a lot. “My love, no doubts, no second-guessing. I’m more sure of this than I’ve been of anything in my life. And I’m more than ready to start our journey together.”
Her smile came back, lifting her lips and deepening her dimples. “Given that I rarely stay at my loft anymore, I think we already have.” She tugged at his hand. “Stand up and kiss me, Cam. Yes, my answer is yes.”
Joy burst through him, lighting every corner of his soul. “First things first. He slipped the diamond on her finger, happy that it fit perfectly.
She looked down at her hand and exhaled sharply. “It’s gorgeous.”
He rose to his feet. “It pales next to you.”
She wrapped her hands around his neck and pulled him down for another kiss. When they came up for air, she held her hand up and looked at the ring again. “My sisters are going to be jealous. Oh man, everyone’s going to be ecstatic. I think they’ll likely throw an impromptu party.”
He kissed her neck. “So long as I get you to myself at some point, it’s all good. Actually, we’re alone right now…”
She laughed low and seductive in her throat. “We are, but it’s hot and bright and not that private. I can hear your mother laughing two rows over.”
He reluctantly stopped licking the salty-sweet flesh beneath her ear. “Well, damn.”
“Later,” she promised.
He lovingly stroked her cheek. “I can’t wait.”
The end
Check out the next book in the Love on the Vine series:
So Right
!
Thank You!
Thank you so much for reading
So Good
! I hope you enjoyed your stay in Ribbon Ridge and that you’ll come back for
So Right
, the next book in the Love on the Vine series. In the meantime, you can catch up with the Archer family in the Ribbon Ridge series, available now from Avon Impulse.
The next book in Love on the Vine is
So Right
and features Luke Westcott and Kelsey McDade.
Ribbon Ridge is a fictional town based on several cities and towns dotting the Willamette Valley between Portland and the Oregon Coast. It’s pinot noir wine country, very beautiful and picturesque, and a short drive from where I live. My brother actually dwells right in the heart of it in a tiny town with no stoplights. There is, however, an amazing antique mall in an historic schoolhouse (and apparently seven Pokestops).
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If you like historical romance, check out my Regency-set series:
The Untouchables
,
Secrets and Scandals
, and
League of Rogues
.
I appreciate my readers so much. Thank you, thank you,
thank you
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Books by Darcy Burke
Contemporary Romance
Ribbon Ridge
Where the Heart Is
(a prequel novella)
Ribbon Ridge: Love on the Vine