Page 26 of In Full Bloom
His breath catches, and his eyes widen. He knows he’s been busted. He runs a hand through his hair. “It wasn’t like that,” he says.
I roll my eyes and step back, creating the distance I need to break the spell he has on me. “Whatever. I’m not your topic of conversation, alright? You want to know something, ask me. If I want you to know, then I’ll answer it. If I don’t want you to know, then, well,” I shrug. “You’ll have to suck it up and get over it, won’t you?”
“Apparently so,” he says dryly. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to cross a line …” He trails off and after a beat continues. “I feel like I’ve crossed a lot of lines that I shouldn’t have, and I’m sorry.”
He looks truly regretful and I wonder what other lines he means. Does he mean sleeping with me in the first place? He can’t have known who I was. His shock at seeing me on the farm the morning after was clear enough.
I dismiss the thoughts and wave off Dallas’s apology. “It’s fine, we can just move on and continue pretending like nothing happened.” I fix him with a look. “But, stay out of my business.”
He nods. “Alright.” He gestures towards the mare eyeing us through the yard railings. “You okay here?”
I appreciate his change of subject. “Yeah, of course. We’re just getting used to each other for a while.”
“Okay. Let me know if you need anything.”
I grin at him. “You’re going to help me with a horse?”
I could be imagining it, but I swear his cheeks turn pink. “Ah, probably not. Let me know if you need anything that doesn’t involve me going near that thing, okay?”
“Thatthingis called Aurora. And don’t worry. I’m sure I’ll have you two being besties in no time.”
Aurora is the perfect name for her. Flynn did a great job. The goddess of new beginnings. It’s exactly what she needs. She’s not the only one.
Dallas laughs, but it doesn’t sound like there’s much humour in it. “Yeah, sure. Whatever you say.” He pushes away from the railing where he’s been leaning. “You’d better get to it. Especially if you plan on heading out with Flynn later.”
“That’s not actually going to happen,” I say, one foot already on the railings, ready to climb over.
“Why not?”
“Because, as you saw earlier, me going into town isn’t exactly a stellar experience for anyone involved. I’m better off just going home to bed.”
His eyes flash and something low in my belly twists at the sight of it. God, this man. Why does he have to be so damn sexy and such a terrible idea, all rolled into one?
“You can’t live like that,” he says. “You can’t spend your life worried about Max’s opinion of you.”
“Who says I’m worried about Max’s opinion of me?”
He crosses his arms and looks down at me. He doesn’t need any words. I know exactly what he’s saying.
“Shut up,” I say. “It’s none of your business.”
“I didn’t say anything,” he says, then chuckles as I grumble curses at him and scale the fence.
“See ya later, Katie,” he calls softly as my boots hit the dirt inside the round yard.
I ignore Dallas, but look up and meet the deep brown eyes of my new friend Aurora. “Hey, pretty girl,” I say. “Who needs annoying men anyway?”
She blinks and huffs a breath, but doesn’t back away as I take a step towards her.
I let out a breath and push all of the drama that’s happened over the past few hours out of my mind, and focus on one thing and one thing only: this poor, broken horse.
14
DALLAS
I hearthe music before I even set foot on the porch. It’s so loud I’m sure the whole house is vibrating.
I kick off my boots and step into the front hallway. I don’t normally enter Violet’s house unannounced, but there’s no way anyone is going to hear me knocking.
