Chapter Nineteen #2
“I . . . I . . .” I went to ask what the hell that meant, when some light bulb went off inside my head. I glanced down at my riding gear, and my hat in my hand. “No,” I whispered.
“Hallie Oakley,” Jasper said, holding my hand tightly in his. “Will you do me the honor of riding my horse?”
I was having an out-of-body experience, I was sure of it. No, I’d fallen asleep in the tub and was drowning, hallucinating as I did. They could be the only explanation for what was happening right now.
“This isn’t real,” I said, meeting Henry’s dark eyes over Jasper’s shoulder. He stood still and proud, like the king of horses he was.
Jasper chuckled at my reaction. Leon and Ben led Henry toward the mounting block, giving Jasper and me some privacy.
I met Jasper’s eyes that were already locked on mine. “I can’t ride Henry, Jasper. He’s yours.”
“Hallie,” he said, but I was still shaking my head.
I couldn’t ride Henry. I wasn’t good enough, hadn’t enough experience.
“Hallie,” Jasper repeated, with firmness this time.
When he had my full attention, he said, “There is no one else, and I mean no one, who I would trust with my boy more than you.”
Butterflies fluttered through every inch of me. “Why?” I whispered.
Jasper smiled but then stepped closer until our chests met. He cupped my cheeks, making sure our gazes were glued together, when he said, “Because I’m madly in love with you, Hallie. That’s why.”
His words hit me like raindrops, gently sinking into my soul. “Jasper,” I said, and I pressed my lips to his. “I love you too,” I returned against his mouth, kissing him until the smile spreading on my face made it impossible.
Jasper hesitated just a moment, and said, “The rumors about us have died down amongst the other riders.” He let those words dance around us, and I knew what he was saying.
If I rode Henry, they would come back tenfold.
“There would be no proof of our relationship, but it’s common knowledge that no one rides Henry but me.
” He ran his finger down my face. “And now you.”
“I know,” I said, and truly searched my heart and soul.
Would it upset me if the likes of Alexis Hobbs and Camille Dubois began giving me a hard time again?
They had really upset me before. But now, as Jasper held me, telling me he loved me, and Henry stood behind me waiting for my decision, there wasn’t a choice at all.
“I don’t care,” I said, and meant every word. “I want Henry.”
“Come on, then,” Jasper said, a hint of excitement in his voice, taking my hand and leading me to his treasured horse.
Jasper released me and ran his hand down his stallion’s face.
“Henry,” he said to his horse, “Hallie is going to ride you for a while, okay?” I listened to his words, but I couldn’t believe this was real, even pinching my own arm when no one was looking.
It hurt like a bitch, so I must have been awake.
“She’s very good at what she does, and you must be as good for her as you are for me.
Okay, boy?” Jasper winked at me. “She’s been doing well in a lot of Grand Prix, and we all know how much you love to do that.
But she wants a first place, and I know you’re the man to help her get that. Okay?”
“Hat on, Hallie,” Leon said, interrupting the moment, trainer mode in place. I did as he said.
Jasper pointed to the mounting block. “Up you get, Angel.” Jasper took hold of Henry’s reins from Ben, holding him still for me.
“I rode him earlier tonight and he’s in great form.
He’s settled, and he’s ready for his queen.
” That explained why Jasper had to leave with Leon earlier.
He was here. It was also why he was in riding gear.
They must have flown Henry out as soon as Huxley went down.
As I climbed the mounting block, I felt like I was floating.
Lord Henry was the most famous show jumping horse in the world.
His stud fees alone had brought in millions of dollars, and I, a girl from the Texas boonies, was about to get the chance to ride him on the most prestigious stage in global show jumping.
We wouldn’t be in the team competition tomorrow but could be registered for Saint-Tropez.
None of it seemed real.
Placing my foot into the stirrup, I swung onto Henry’s back and took my seat in the saddle. I smiled, and the dreamlike trance I had been wearing like a veil fell away from my body—leaves leaving their branches in fall.
“He’s huge,” I said as I looked down at the ground.
It seemed real far away. Henry was eighteen hands and built of pure muscle, easily the biggest horse I had ever ridden.
I reached forward and ran my hand through his platinum mane.
It felt like silk. I wrapped my arms around Henry’s thick neck and said, “You’re perfect, baby. More than I could have dreamed.”
“He suits you,” Jasper said, his voice husky. When I looked to him, Jasper’s gaze was shiny. He’d just told me he loved me. And he’d given me his heart horse to ride in the Sandings Global Champions Tour. It was clearly emotional for him.
This man . . .
Seeing Jasper all those years ago at my aunt’s equestrian center, riding a young Henry, had inspired me to ride English.
To show jump. Now I was madly in love with that very same man, and he was with me.
Fate or some other higher power had guided us to this point, right here.
I could feel it in the static around us.
Jasper, Leon, and Ben stepped back, and Jasper said, “Go on, then. Give him a go.” My heart took off into a sprint, and I had to breathe slowly to calm myself down. I didn’t want Henry to mistake my excitement for nerves.
I clucked to the stallion and Henry began to walk. He was bouncier than Huxley, and I could feel his incredible strength through the reins. I moved to the arena’s outside track, smiling when Henry looked at the fences and sped up in anticipation of jumping them.
“Not just yet, boy,” I said. “I have to get used to everything else first.” His ears moved back and forward, listening as I spoke.
I walked him around once, and knowing he was already warmed up, moved him to a trot.
I couldn’t stop the happiness radiating from me as I passed a mirrored wall and glanced at me riding Henry.
It was a dream—all of it. Henry, the tour, and Jasper Knighton telling me he loved me. What was my life?
I passed Jasper, who was leaning against the wall with a look of pure pride and joy on his face. “Get him in a canter, Angel. Let him show you what he can do.” Henry was soft on the bit, allowing me to navigate around the arena with the gentlest of nudges.
When I made it to the next corner, I clicked my tongue, and Henry effortlessly transitioned to canter. He was smooth, and I felt like a child on a carousel, imagining I was on the real thing. But I was on the real thing. The best real thing. And I knew I’d never ride another horse like Henry.
“You’re beautiful,” I said to Henry. “What a gentleman.”
Henry looked to a fence again, and giving him what he wanted, I turned and headed for the Pantheon-themed vertical, with two columns as the wings.
Henry didn’t even bat an eye at the fence’s design.
He sped up for the jump, head high and determined, and sailed us over.
Time felt suspended as he went airborne.
I smiled as we cleared the fence, landing as soft as a feather.
Jasper clapped and his responding smile was blinding.
“Perfect, Hallie,” he said. But I couldn’t speak.
The lump in my throat stole any words I could muster.
When I turned Henry to the next fence, the wind of our jump dried the falling tears off my cheeks.
And the tears didn’t stop until we’d cleared the course and I’d brought Henry to a halt near the men.
Jasper was at my side in seconds. Seeing me smiling through my grateful tears, Jasper’s eyes shone too. “You approve?” he asked, gravel in his voice.
“I approve,” I said, laughing. I felt high with happiness.
“We need to have several sessions with you on him before Saint-Tropez,” Leon said, his no-nonsense attitude slicing through the sentiment of this moment.
I nodded. He was right.
We had work to do.
And I had a dream horse to get to know.
Will and Debbie rode with us in the elevator, and when we left them at their posts for the night, Jasper and I beelined straight for my room.
Only this time when the door shut behind us, there was no urgency.
Even though we hadn’t seen each other for a week, the raw need to rip one another’s clothes off in seconds wasn’t there.
Instead, the air was thick between us, like it had its own life force, its own heartbeat.
I held Jasper’s hand tightly and we stopped in the middle of the room.
Our gazes caught, and my breathing was stuttered.
I wanted to say a million things to this man, this incredibly sweet and broken man, but no words would do it justice.
The gift he had given me tonight . . . and I wasn’t even just talking about Henry.
I was talking about him. Jasper, over the past few months, had slowly let me in.
But tonight, telling me he loved me . . .
He had finally given me what I wanted most—his heart, his soul . . . all of him.
“I love you,” Jasper said again, his raspy voice like a lullaby to my ears. I soaked those words in, letting them fill whatever cracks still lay in my heart.
Jasper reached for the quarter zip on my shirt and then lifted it over my head. Leaning down, Jasper kissed my lips, but before I could push for more, he withdrew. Reaching behind me, he unclasped my bra and dropped it to the floor.