Chapter 6
Posy
Dinner is awkward as hell and nobody talks about the huge elephant in the room.
Namely, my fake engagement.
Unless his mom proposed and I missed it!
Giggling under my breath, I glance over at the big man from under my lashes. My breath catches when his deep green eyes meet mine. I can’t look away. Heat flames in my belly and the curl of desire in my belly matches the flare in his emerald eyes.
“Well, now that was delicious but why don’t you take Posy out to the barn to meet Honeypot, Stone. I’m sure she’d love to get to know you and your…horse.”
My head whips around, my brows scrunching. For some reason, his mom wanted to throw us together and she wasn’t subtle about it at all. I don’t know what to think about all of this.
But Stone gets to his feet and holds out his strong, tanned hand and I automatically slip my own into it like I’ve done it a million times before.
I’ve never actually had a boyfriend before. Never scratched that itch. I’ve been too busy moving from place to place.
He holds my coat out and I slip it on, sucking in a sharp breath when his big hands settle on my shoulders, warm and solid.
Closing my eyes, I fight the urge to lean back into him.
He’s so big and solid and he feels like he could keep everything at bay.
All the fears and disappointments that make up my daily life.
That keep me moving on over and over again, looking for something that I’m not sure I’ll ever find.
We slip out the door and he grabs my hand, nodding at me when my head whips around at him. It’s kinda dark out here. I don’t want anything to happen to you.”
His warm hand holds mine and my fingers tingle with the most delicious feeling. Almost like the curl of desire in my belly.
I follow along beside him, the night air so damn cold that my chest hurts with each deep breath. Each puff of breath frosts the air and I smile.
He glances over at me, brow lifted.
“Nothing. It’s just nice out here.”
“It’s lonely. Dark. Not exactly nice.”
Cocking my head, I study his lean cheeks, the way his thick, dark lashes curl on his high cheekbones. “Are you? Lonely I mean?”
His head comes up and all I can see is a shimmer in the darkness. A brief flash of a glance. “No. I’m not.” His deep voice is short, tense and I push down anymore questions.
“Well, it’s nice.”
He nods and then we hit a big barn and he pulls the door open, his muscles straining under his coat and I bite my lip, my clit pulsing in my tight jeans.
He turns around and catches me looking at him and he grins, his brow lifting, a wicked curl on his full lips. “See something you like, Sugar?”
Stomping past him I ignore the rude question but stop short when a gorgeous horse pokes her head out of a stall and whickers softly at us.
Stone strolls past me and grins at the chestnut horse with the soft blonde mane and tail.
She tosses her head and he laughs, “Hey, Honeypot. How’s it going, sweetheart? ”
I nod at the horse and shift closer, itching to touch the beautiful animal. “That’s her name? Honeypot?”
She leans her head into his shoulder and huffs loudly, making me laugh. “Yeah. She’s my favorite ride. My best mare. I’ve had her since she was a little filly. She was born on this ranch.”
“How old is she now?”
“She’s ten. It’s a good age for a horse. She’s the best.”
I reach out tentatively, my hands shaking. “You can touch her,” he says.
Stretching out, I gently trace the soft crown of her head and she huffs into his shoulder again but she doesn’t move away. Her liquid-dark eyes stare at me and I swear it’s like she can see right through me.
“She looks like she knows all about me,” I sigh and run my fingers down to her nose, stunned at how soft and silky her coat is. There’s a thick white line that runs down to her nose and her pink nostrils flutter as she sniffs my fingers. Holding my breath, I watch her, enthralled.
“She’s beautiful,” I breathe.
He leans closer to me and I can see the shifting green and blue in his eyes. The damn man’s lashes are better than mine! He grins softly at me.
“She is.”
Like I can’t help myself, I ask, “Why does your mother seem to think we’re engaged? And why is she bandying it all around town? I couldn’t move all day without people asking me about my fiancé.”
Cursing under his breath, he groans and runs his huge palm down his face. “Ugh. The woman is nuts. She wants grandbabies. I have been afraid lately that she’d slip a woman into my bed. I suppose I should be happy that all she’s done is tell all the gossips that you’re my fiancé.”
“All?” I jerk back, stunned. “I had other women glaring at me all day. I’m assuming those were your other conquests and they were royally pissed that you got engaged without telling them.
And the ones that weren’t glaring at me were laughing and telling me that they’d gladly help me plan the wedding! ”
He groans and then his mouth quirks. “You know. We should just let it ride for awhile. Let everyone realize that we’re not right for each other. Then we can just quietly drift apart.”
My heart bumps against my rib cage and sadness overwhelms me. But of course he doesn’t want to marry me.
Like he hears me, he sighs. “Don’t get me wrong. It’s nothing to do with you, Sugar. I don’t want to marry any woman.”
“Oh. Oh.” I step back from him and smile. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know. You should just tell your mom that you’re not interested in any woman that way. She seems nice. I’m sure she’ll understand.”
He jerks back, his eyes wide and huffs angrily.
“I’m not fucking into guys! I just don’t want a woman.
” He pauses. Then his hand pushes at his dark hair and he growls.
“I had a girlfriend. My first one. She seemed so sweet. She was a visitor but she said that she intended to make Heart’s Bend her home.
Started looking for a job and everything.
But then she ran across the job that she’d always been looking for and it wasn’t here.
It was in Colorado. So the night that I intended to ask her to marry me, she just disappeared, leaving a note on my damn door that said she had no intention of tying herself down to a man in Nowhere, Texas who maybe couldn’t give her the life she wanted. ”
“Oof.” Wincing, I pat his hand. “I’m so sorry. That’s mean. Why didn’t she do it in person and a helluva lot nicer than that?’
“Who knows?” He shrugs casually but I can still see the hurt in his deep green eyes.
Now I understand why he’s not interested.
We have something in common I guess.