Page 41 of Hard Hearted Cowboy

"I said yes, obviously." She laughed, wiping her eyes with a soapy hand. "Told him he'd better treat you right or I'd make his life a living hell. He said he was counting on it."

Through the kitchen window, I could see Hunter crouched on the porch, Daisy beside him, both of them examining whatever was in his palm. He said something that made her laugh, and she threw her arms around his neck with the total abandon of a child who had never learned to guard her heart.

Once, I'd thought love like this wasn't for people like me. That my past had disqualified me from happiness, that the mistakes I'd made would follow me forever.

But here I was. Training at the bakery I'd dreamed about since childhood. Watching my daughter adore a man who'd shown up when it mattered. Standing in my mother's kitchen, knowing I was loved exactly as I was — history and all.

Hunter looked up and caught my gaze through the window. He winked.

I didn't know when he'd ask. Didn't know how or where or what ring he'd chosen. But I knew what my answer would be.

The same word I'd said that first night in my Honda Civic, when a drunk cowboy offered me five thousand dollars to be his fake wedding date.

Yes.

Some risks were worth taking. Because sometimes, like May said, love finds you in the most unexpected places.