You and me, Grace, we're gonna last forever.

Grace let out a shuddering breath and looked up at Lucas' dark eyes.

"We will?", she asked silently, only to have her breath swallowed away by yet another searing kiss.

She mewled in pleasure as she breathed him in, his lips stoking sparkles inside her into a roaring fire.

Lucas slowly pulled his lips from hers, only for an inch. He watched her as she gasped for breath, her eyes half closed, her body pressed into his.

She was intoxicating. Beautiful. Sweet. Endearing. Breathtaking. So open in her love for him.

"Oui, mon coeur ("Yes, my heart"). We will", he whispered, his lips brushing against hers "Never doubt how much I love you", his hands caressed her waist and he gently rubbed his nose against hers.

Grace put her palms on his chest only to wrap them around his neck and smiled.

"I love you too", she said, mesmerized by the sparkles in his eyes and what his words implied. Her heart was racing inside her chest at the mere thought of forever by his side.

She placed one palm on his right cheek and the other one on the nape of his neck, kissing him gently, then snuggling her face into a place between his neck and shoulder.

Grace tried not to get her hopes up, but everything he said ever since they were reunited brought visions of their future together inside her head.

I never want to let you go.

I wouldn't let you fall, ever. I'll always catch you.

I don't want to move.

I never wanna be away from you for so long again. Never.

I want you by my side.

I need you by my side.

Oh, ma cherié. Your love and laugh are my salvation. You healed me, mon coeur.

I love you, my angel.

Grace closed her eyes, letting his love to lift her up and make her float above the rest of the world.

Don't get your hopes up, Grace.

And that was when she heard his voice, warm and velvety, caressing her senses.

"I missed having you in my arms like this. To just hold you and kiss you. To have you by my side", he inhaled deeply, his fingers gently and slowly caressing her hair "You are my home, sweetheart."

Grace let out a shaky breath and tightened her hold on him, burying her face in his warm neck.

"My Lucas", she whispered, closing her eyes "You are my everything."

She felt his chest rumble before a sigh escaped him.

It was always like this when she showed him how much she loved him. He reveled in it, drank thirstily from the fountain of her love for him. And knowing that he never had that before made Grace determined to never shy away from expressing her love for him.

She felt him gently kiss her hair and heard his voice.

"As much as I hate to pull away from you now, I have a feeling that Florence may organize a search party for us", he chuckled "Not because she's worried that something might have happened to us, but to see what are we up to".

Grace giggled in his arms, nodding.

Lucas smiled, kissing her gently one more time and taking her hand, they left the office.

As they rounded the corner Grace saw the doors of ladies' room opening behind Lucas' and Elizabeth showed up in a door frame.

Luckily, Lucas was unaware of her presence.

Grace noticed how she froze at the sight of two of them, then her face darkened.

Grace felt a wave of protectiveness washing over her and she sent Elizabeth a warning glare before pulling Lucas away from the corridor and back to the restaurant area.

She squeezed his palm gently and looked up at him. As his eyes met hers and he softly smiled, Grace whispered:

"I love you."

Lucas' eyes softened and he brought her hand to his mouth, gently kissing her knuckles and whispered against her soft skin:

"I love you too."

—--

Florence gently squeezed Grace's palms as they said their goodbyes in front of the saloon.

"We had such a lovely time, dear", Florence genuinely smiled as Grace pulled her in for a hug.

"Thank you for your hospitality and friendship, Florence", said Grace warmly "I know that it means a lot to Lucas."

Florence glanced over where her husband talked with Lucas then looked back at Grace

"I am so glad that he found you. He is back to his old self with you, Grace", Florence said silently "You never tried to change him."

Grace slightly creased her eyebrows.

"Why would I want to change him? He is the best of men", she shook her head "Only a fool would want to change him."

Florence slightly snorted.

"You can say that again", she mumbled.

Grace gave Florence a warm look and smiled, knowing exactly what the feisty Mrs. Yost meant by that.

Molly hugged her and kissed her on the cheek.

"You were God sent, Grace", whispered Molly "Never change that good heart of yours."

Grace's eyes misted with tears. She was moved beyond words to have Lucas' friends be so welcoming of her.

Ned wished her good night with a small smile and warmly saying that he was glad to see her so happy.

And last, but not least was Bill Avery.

He pulled Grace to the side and she noticed how serious his face was. Without even knowing why, she got worried.

"Bill?", she whispered.

His eyes softened at the obvious concern on Grace's face.

"Grace, just…please, be careful. I don't know what's got into Elizabeth, but I saw her shooting dark glares your way the entire evening. She seemed to have fought with Nathan because he just got up and left, yet she stayed", Bill shook his head "I don't know why is she behaving like that considering the fact that she was the one who broke up with him."

Grace could feel her determination reaching the highest point and she nodded at Bill.

"I know. I saw her", she shook her head "Don't worry. She will come near Lucas only over my dead body", Grace all but spat the words "I've dealt with men who attacked Lucas. I think that I can manage Mrs. Thornton just fine."

Bill watched her, amazement and respect etched on his face.

He nodded slightly.

"Well, if you need my help, let me know", he gave her a soft smile "Bouchard is one lucky man to have you by his side."

Grace slightly blushed and softly smiled as Bill waved her goodbye and left with the others.

She watched them leave and when she was about to turn around and look for Lucas, she felt his arms hugging her from behind and he laid his head on her shoulder, stifling a yawn.

Her heart reached out to him.

"Lucas, you should go to bed. You were traveling almost the whole day and night. You must be exhausted", she sneaked her fingers inside his coat sleeves and gently caressed his forearms, making him sigh.

Grace could feel him relaxing against her and she gently smiled as he kissed her hair.

She slowly turned in his embrace and gave his lips a soft, sweet kiss. Her fingertips gently massaged his temples until the creases on his forehead were gone and Lucas stifled another yawn, feeling lighter and more relaxed than ever.

She took his hand and whispered.

"Come on, my love. You need to rest", she took him to the back entrance of the saloon and they slowly climbed upstairs in comfortable silence, their fingers intertwined.

She stopped in front of her room and whispered:

"Sweet dreams, my love", she smiled as she gently kissed his lips "Good night."

Lucas smiled sleepily before returning a kiss and whispering:

"Oh, they will be thanks to image you put in my head this evening", his lips curled up only a bit as he saw she realized what was he talking about "Bonne nuit, ma cherié" ("Good night, my dear.")

He gave her a smoldering look and almost smug smile before he turned around to leave.

Grace's cheeks flushed with warmth and she smiled as she watched him go away.

And now, she couldn't get an image of his fingers on her bare skin out of her mind!

Grace closed the doors to her room and gently kicked them with her head.

Blasted nightgown!