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His mouth curves, satisfied, and he eats another piece of sushi like he didn't just level the whole conversation between us.

I latch onto the first logistical worry that surfaces. "Can I ask you a real question? Not a flirty one."

His face turns serious. He sets his chopsticks down. "Always."

"How's this actually supposed to work? My clients are over three hours away. My business, reputation, everything I built over the last few years is rooted in a completely different part of the state. I can't just abandon that because things are good right now."

"You're not abandoning anything." He shifts to face me more. "There's more work here than you can handle, Lainey. Renegade and Two-Step aren't going anywhere. Half the ranches within thirty miles have performance horses that need exactly what you do. Roy's already fielding calls from three other outfits since word got around you're working out here."

"That's not the same as an established client base."

"No, but it's the start of a new one. And the money is bigger out here. Not that it really matters though." He reaches for my hand under the table, lacing our fingers together.

"Why wouldn't it matter?" I ask defensively.

He softens his tone. "I just meant that I have plenty of money. You don't have to worry about bills anymore. Charlie will get everything she needs and so will you."

I open my mouth slightly and furrow my eyebrows, not sure how to take that statement.

"What's wrong?" he asks.

"I-I don't plan on not working. I love what I do."

He squeezes my hand. "Didn't say you should stop. I just said you don't have to stress about things. And for what it's worth, you've got months until your contract with me runs out. We've got time to figure out the logistics. I just don't want the distance being the reason you talk yourself out of a good thing."

"You make it sound simple."

"It's not simple. But it's not impossible either. I've got faith in us figuring it out. Do you?"

I don't answer right away, mostly because I'm still catching up to the fact that he said "us" like it's already a fixed point instead of a question mark. My pulse fires faster.

His jaw hardens.

I quickly reply, "I want to have faith. It's just a lot of changes coming at me all at once."

"That's fair. It is nice being able to see Charlie during the day though," he says, almost absentmindedly.

I can't argue that. "Yeah." I turn my glass slowly on the table, watching the wine catch the low light, my mind racing. "I can keep seeing a handful of clients out there if I need to, at least until I figure out what my schedule actually looks like if I live out here full time."

"You'd drive three hours each way for that?"

"I guess. But I can stay at my parents. Not every week." I shrug, though it's not as casual as I want it to sound.

"What about when Charlie starts school? I mean, I'd have no problem taking care of her if you were gone, but I think that would be hard on you and her," he states.

It's too much for me to take in. He's talking about a real future, and I'm just getting a grasp on there being an us. So I mask my worries and declare, "It's my whole client history, Jagger. Years of relationships I built one horse at a time. I'm not ready to just let all of that go because things are good right now. Good things haven't always stayed good for me."

His expression shifts, understanding dawning slow and careful. "This isn't really about the horses, is it?"

"Not entirely, no."

He stays quiet, and I can't tell if he's upset or not.

I softly admit, "I'm just trying to wrap my head around this situation, okay?"

He releases a stressful breath. "Okay. I understand. And if it's that important to you, we'll figure out a schedule you're happy with. I'm not interested in asking you to burn down a business you built with your own two hands just because it'd be more convenient for me."

The unexpected patience in that answer dulls an edge I've been keeping sharp on purpose for longer than I want to admit. I smile. "Thank you." Then I lean closer and kiss him on the lips.