Chapter 25
Four hours later, they’d successfully fixed the gate and fences, sorted through all the equestrian gear, reconfigured the loft space where the ranch hands slept if they had to stay overnight, and given each horse’s stall a quick lick of paint on the exterior.
There had only been one incident: Marco hitting his hand with a hammer. Savi had stepped in while Weston sat in the doorway making fun of them. He’d snapped multiple photos, and Marco had flipped him off in almost all of them.
‘Dude, you’re covered in paint. I’m shocked any even made it onto the wall.’ Weston inspected Marco’s t-shirt– an old one which he’d borrowed from Wes when he realised he didn’t have anything that could be ruined.
‘Like you could’ve done better.’ Marco rolled his eyes but the Cheshire Cat grin made it clear he was just messing with him.
The pair of them had been bickering back and forth all day, and Marco had even gone as far as wheeling him out of the stables and shutting the doors on him when Wes had insulted his driving skills during the first race where Savi had overtaken him.
‘You two joining us for dinner tonight?’ Weston asked.
‘Actually, no,’ Marco answered before Savi could. ‘I’ve got a surprise for your sister.’
Savi frowned. ‘A surprise?’
‘Be right back!’ He darted off towards the house, leaving her stood there dumbfounded while Weston narrowed his eyes at them both.
‘How are you doing?’ Wes asked.
‘I’m fine, and you?’
‘Not what I meant.’
Savi tidied the tools away, refusing to look her brother in the eye. ‘But I meant what I said.’
‘Are you really, truly fine? With everything that has gone on? Because I will get myself on a plane and go and deck that loser in the face if you need me to. Just say the word.’
‘Don’t get me wrong, Wes, I have my moments.
When I’m alone and my mind replays something he said or did in the past that I should have paid attention to.
All the signs were there, and I feel like the world’s biggest idiot, but I have too much going for me to let one person tear it all down.
Sapphire has it far worse than I do, it’s her I feel sorry for.
Not myself. I just feel angry for myself, at myself. ’
‘How is it that you’re so much younger than me and yet so much wiser? The way you look at life… I wish that was me. That I had your resilience.’
She walked over to squeeze his shoulder. ‘You do, Wes. You’re a hell of a lot stronger than you might think you are.’
‘Mmm. Well, for the record, ignoring the red flags from Jesse Montalvo isn’t what makes you the world’s biggest idiot. Ignoring the green ones from Marco is.’
‘Oh, I see them,’ she laughed. ‘I’m just not so sure he’s interested in me that way. We’re just friends. Besides, I think he’s still hung up on my best friend.’
‘He lov—’ And then Marco was back and Wes was backing out of the barn, jaw on the floor at the sight of what their guest was holding.
A wicker picnic basket, two wine glasses and a tatty old tartan blanket from the basement. Her surprise. She dropped the screwdriver she was still holding and wrapped her arms around him, standing on her tiptoes and squeezing him as tightly as she could.
‘What’s that for?’ he laughed. ‘For all you know, this is for the horses, not for you.’
Java whinnied behind them and she grinned. ‘He doesn’t like wine, better give his share to me. But seriously, Monaco. Thank you.’
‘I haven’t even got started yet. I’ve just this second walked in with the goods.’
She waited patiently as he climbed into the loft space, reaching down as she lifted the basket up to him. He laid the blanket out, sending the loose hay flying as he waved it in the air, and then set about emptying the basket. ‘Am I allowed to come and help?’
His head peered over the safety railing. ‘No, stay down there with the horses until I give you the green light. And no peeking. I hear a single step on that ladder and I will push you off.’
‘Violent,’ she tutted, but secretly, she was enjoying every second of this. She was all about the little things, so she wasn’t sure why she had spent so long wrapped up in someone who had no interest in gestures, big or small.
Marco started to make his way back down the ladder. ‘Okay, all done.’
‘So why are you coming back down?’
‘So I can make sure you get up there safely.’ He said it so matter of factly, like it was the most obvious answer in the world. ‘Head on up, I’ll watch from down here.’
‘I’m glad I’m not wearing a dress,’ Savi muttered, eyes nearly falling out of her skull when she saw his handiwork. Candles, cushions stolen from the bed up there, and an array of homemade food with two glasses of wine sitting at the side of the blanket, one with her name on it. ‘Oh, wow…’
‘Move over, I’m coming up.’ He appeared behind her, gesturing for her to make room.
It was a tight squeeze up there, but it was cosy and intimate.
It was starting to occur to her that might have been the vibe he was going for, and while she tried really hard to mind, she couldn’t help but gaze up at him with admiration.
‘What have we got here, then?’ She looked around them as they sat sprawled across the blanket, limbs tangled together like this meant nothing.
But it did mean something, and she wasn’t sure what yet, but she could no longer pretend the sparks weren’t threatening to spill over from their fake relationship to their real one.
‘All your favourites, made by your mum. I set her a mission while we were busy out here and she came through. So I can’t take much credit, here.’
‘You absolutely can. It was your idea, right?’
He nodded. ‘It was.’
‘Thank you.’
‘You don’t have to thank me, Savannah.’
‘God, Monaco, do you not see it?’ She shook her head in disbelief.
‘I would have been lost without you this season. We’re not even halfway through, and my entire world has been flipped upside down.
You are the only person on the entire team who knows my story.
All of it. And you haven’t shied away from it, or from me, or the storm I have created in your life. ’
‘I like storms,’ he whispered. ‘Besides, it’s what teammates are for…’
‘No, Mars,’ she smiled, her soft tone matching his own.
‘You’ve gone above and beyond. You’re so much more than just a teammate and you know it.
There is something here, something I’ve been pushing aside so I could do right by Jesse.
And now, I want to do right by you and not drag you further into my mess, but… ’
‘I’m already in it, Cowgirl,’ he murmured, reaching out to pluck a bit of hay from her curls.
His voice was low and velvety, the kind of sound that made Savi’s heart flutter.
His fingers lingered, gently brushing against her cheek, and she caught his wrist, holding it there for a moment longer than necessary.
‘I know this might not be the right time for a confession with everything you’re going through, but being here in Wyoming has made me certain that you’re special.
Whatever it is that I feel for you, it goes far beyond anything I’ve felt for anyone else.
And I’m sorry if that feels like too much, but I can’t keep my feelings in any longer… ’
The barn seemed to grow quieter, as if the world outside had paused. The horses stopped whinnying, tractor engines stopped running and the only sound was the hitch in Marco’s breath when Savi edged closer.
She kissed him slowly, the kind of kiss that starts soft but deepens and invites the abandonment of responsibility.
Maybe she shouldn’t be encouraging him like this when she wasn’t sure if her heart was entirely ready to let him in all the way, but how could she not?
Savi had spent too long chasing lows and this…
Marco was her high. Pulling her closer until she felt the solid strength of his body against hers.
The scent of him– sweet, with a hint of cinnamon– made her head spin.
Her hands found their way to his chest, gripping the fabric of his shirt to steady herself.
Marco guided her backwards, the material of the red and white plaid picnic blanket soft against her bare shoulders, the straps of her vest top slipping off her shoulders like she had been trying to tease him all day when in actual fact, he had been doing just that with his biceps each time he slammed the hammer into the wooden gate.
His lips left a trail down her neck, warm and unhurried, as if he had all the time in the world to memorise the taste of her skin. Savi’s hands slid up to his shoulders before winding their way through the curls at the nape of his neck, her breaths coming faster now.
‘Mars,’ she whispered, his name barely more than a sigh.
He pulled back just enough to look at her, his eyes dark with desire but searching hers, waiting for her permission to go further.
She nodded, her head fighting her heart with her hopeless romantic nature winning the battle.
She had to explore this, in whatever capacity felt right for them both.
‘Are you sure this is what you want?’ he asked, squeezing her hip. ‘Say the word and we’ll stop, Cowgirl. This is your decision. I won’t take offence if you–’
‘Monaco,’ she interrupted, reaching up to kiss him again, ‘I’m sure.’
They undressed each other slowly, the quiet punctuated by soft laughter when fingers fumbled with buttons or caught on stubborn fabric.
With her clothes tossed aside and her boots kicked off, Savi let Marco take a moment to soak her in while she did the same thing, admiring the physique he had worked so hard to maintain.
Instead of coming back to meet her at eye level, he placed tiny, delicate kisses from her breasts to her waist, then down to her thighs. ‘I’m gonna ask one more time, Savannah.’
‘Yes.’ She breathed out a laugh. ‘Please, just… yes.’
His tongue danced with her core, teasing her and bringing her closer to the edge while her hands gripped his hair, her body rocking underneath his touch.
Just as she was about to let herself feel that sweet, satisfying release, he stopped, pulling a condom from his wallet.
Thank goodness someone was prepared. A smirk adorned his features as he looked up at her from between her legs, that one stray curl falling over his eyes again. ‘Are you ready for me, Cowgirl?’
She pulled him up to her and with one swift movement, their bodies met in a way that felt as natural as breathing.
The world fell away, leaving only the two of them and the rhythm they created together.
His touch was firm but gentle, his kisses deep and lingering, as if he wanted to memorise every inch of her.
But Savi worried he may have to live with just a memory for a long while yet, because this was earth-shattering.
Everything she could have dreamed of, and as he moaned into her ear, his breath hot on her neck while they came together, the stars and planets aligned. It just wasn’t enough. Not yet.
They lay tangled in a nest of fabric and hay, their bodies glowing with the warmth of shared intimacy.
Savi traced patterns on Marco’s chest, her head resting in the crook of his shoulder.
He held her close, his fingers idly stroking her back as they listened to the distant sound of crickets and the occasional soft whinny of her beloved horses below.
‘I think,’ Savi said softly, her voice shaky, ‘that might have changed everything.’
Marco laughed, pressing a kiss to her temple. ‘Yeah, but I think that might be a conversation for another time, Savannah.’
He was right. For now, she needed to let herself enjoy it for what it was. Forget her fears and all the reasons this was a bad idea, and just pay attention to the way her heart felt like it had found its home.