“Come on,” Ryder said, and before he swung into the saddle, he pulled her close again. His lips pressed to hers—soft, tender, lingering just long enough to steal her breath. When he drew back, his smile broke wide between them, boyish and proud. “I love you, fiancée.”

Her smile mirrored his, radiant as the stars above. “I love you too, fiancée.” She whispered it like the words themselves were a treasure she’d never tire of saying.

When she slid behind him, her arms wrapped ...