3. Chapter 3 A Prince at the Paddock #3
But right now? My ovaries are threatening to file for independence if I don't do something. With this man.
"How did you come to be working here?" Gabriel asks the one question that could shut those bad girls up.
"My mother brought me in for equine therapy when I was fourteen." It saved my life.
Not that mom or dad ever knew things had gotten that bad. When they refused to homeschool me after the bullying got bad in middle school, I didn't bother to tell them how much worse it was in high school.
After I showed up post treatment with bruises on my face my mom couldn't try to hide with concealer, some kids started teasing me about being a "battered child". As if that is anything to mock someone over.
My parents weren't hurting me though. They were trying to help me. Trying to make me normal.
I'd been having suicidal ideations for two months when mom brought me to Solace Ridge. Other than the horse I groomed as part of my therapy, I never told anyone about them. Not even my sister, Tessa.
"So you have a reason to believe in the program," Gabriel says, bringing me back from the hard memories.
"I do. Once I started training the horses, I really saw how important this place is. It is a place of healing. Most parents have no idea how much difference the horses make in their children's lives, even those who only come for riding lessons."
"And very few see the difference you make in the horses' lives." Gabriel reaches out and brushes a piece of hay from my shoulder. "You are a very special woman, juwayhira."
I have to stop myself swaying toward him. "I don't know that word," I whisper.
"It means little jewel and is very fitting for you, I think."
I do sway now. I can't help it. I feel like I'm going to pass out. "My dad used to call me that, before he decided I was too fat to be called little anything."
I can't believe I'm telling Gabriel this. I never talk about my childhood. To anyone. Not even Tessa and we shared it.
Anger flashes in Gabriel's gaze, but his voice is calm when he says, "Compared to me, you are definitely little."
I can't argue that. Some would call me fluffy. My sister says I'm curvy. But what I'm not? Is a size two. What I am? Is way shorter than Prince Gabriel of Zahriya. And smaller.
His bulk is all muscle, but he dwarfs me with us standing so close together.
And all my shameless ovaries want is to get closer.
"Thank you for showing me around." Gabriel steps away. "I am glad to have met you, juwayhira."
"Sure." I tuck a loose strand of hair behind my ear and immediately wish I hadn’t, because it draws attention to my face. To the mark I can never forget, no matter how invisible everyone says it is. "Anytime."
Gabriel's expression doesn't change though. Does he not notice it? Or doesn't he care? He might call me little jewel and talk like I'm something special, but a guy like this isn't going to be interested in a woman like me.
He's so far out of my league, he might as well be playing for a team in another country.
Which he is, isn't he?
Zahriya.
"What time are you finished here?" he asks.
I blink. Blink again. Open my mouth. Close it. Look around, like maybe he's talking to someone else.
"I…uh…I finish at four-thirty today."
"Good. Will you spend the evening with me?" His gaze lingers on me for one heartbeat, two. "Juliana?"
I nod, fast. "Yes. I'd…" I have to clear my throat. "I'd like that."
He pulls his phone from the interior pocket of his suit jacket and does something on the screen for a few seconds.
"Get your phone out." He waits with the clear expectation of being obeyed.
I do, pulling my phone from the pocket in my leggings on my outside thigh.
"Is your Bluetooth on?"
"Uh, yeah." Why would it be off?
He holds his phone out. "Tap the end with yours."
I do and after a couple of seconds both our screens start to glow. My phone asks if I want to share my data.
I tap on the accept button. He does the same and I get a notification that I have a new contact.
"Turn off your Bluetooth."
"What? No. I use it to listen to music and audiobooks."
"Enable it only when you are doing so."
"Why?" I ask, feeling weird about the practical stranger bossing me around.
And especially because I'm not telling him where to stick it.
"Security. You now have the personal contact information for a prince on your phone. You cannot make yourself vulnerable to data mining."
"Our phones are unhackable." I noticed we have the same model.
Mine was a gift from my father for my recent birthday. Gabriel probably gets the new model as soon as it releases, being a prince and all.
"I will have to insist on you following this safety protocol. It would be better if you used a different device to listen to books and music, but that is a concern for another day."
Is this man for real? Am I? Because once again, I'm not deleting his contact info and telling him the date is off.
Is it a date?
Do men like him date women like me?
We're getting together outside of any kind of work-related activity. I'm calling it a date, even if all he wants to do is pick my brain more about the rescue ranch.