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She was very surprised when she pulled up to her place and saw the Rover parked out front. She drove up beside him and rolled down her window. “Hey what are you doing here?”
“I came to get you, let’s go.” He got down from the truck and waited for her to park in the driveway then lifted her into the passenger seat of the Rover that he’d left running.
She was nervous as he drove off without another word. They’d never revisited the fact that he knew she was attracted to him; in fact, their conversations were all very innocent, tame, getting to know you type stuff that she’d been comfortable with, but this felt like something entirely different.
“Relax detective, I’m not going to do anything to you that you don’t like.” He gave her this boyish grin that she knew was going to be trouble. She wasn’t accustomed to this playful side of him, not even over the phone.
So far she’d only witnessed the no nonsense tough as nails billionaire who seemed to have forgotten how to smile since the whole murder ordeal. Funny enough after they became friends, she’d given up all hope of anything more ever materializing between them.
She’d convinced herself that just being a part of his life no matter how small was enough. But now it seems he was about to change the mechanics of their relationship once again. She did try to take his advice though and relaxed back in her seat as she looked out the window at the passing scenery.
When they got to the turn off to the farm she was surprised when he kept going. She looked over at him but didn’t bother to ask where they were going; she trusted him she realized, something she’s never been very good at.
She saw the lone man standing in the middle of the field holding the reins of two horses. Riley stopped the Rover and walked around to help her down before opening the back and grabbing the riding helmet that she hadn’t noticed before.
He pulled the helmet on over her head before taking her hand securely in his, and walked her over to the waiting man. ‘Thanks Roberto I’ll take it from here.”
He passed his keys to the other man who tipped his had with a ma’am before walking to the Rover and got in before driving away without another word. “Have you ever ridden before?”
“Once when I was a kid; it was summer camp I think and I was about ten.’
“Did you like it?”
“As a matter of fact, I was terrified, that’s why I never did it again.” She was nervous now and he could see that plainly. But he loved horseback riding and since he was leaning towards wanting to spend more time with her, he’d decided to let her deeper into his world.
He’d made a lot of mistakes with Valerie, some of them due to the fact that they’d got together when they were little more than children. He didn’t think after the number she’d done on him that he’d be this ready this soon, to open himself up to someone else.
But the more he got to know Celia, the easier it became to want to spend more time with her. He couldn’t imagine going to bed at night without having one of their now nightly conversations.
But today is when it all became clear to him, when he finally realized that what he’d been viewing as a kind of healing therapy for him had become so much more. It happened when she came into his mind while he was doing something that didn’t concern her in the least.
He’d been on his way to the stables when out of nowhere he imagined her riding beside him. It’s not that he hadn’t had moments in the last few weeks, but nothing like this. It literally stopped him in his tracks. So much so that instead of going for the ride he was dying to, he’d sat in the office in the stables for the better part of the morning thinking.
He still had a lot to deal with; he was still raw from the betrayal of his wife, still angry as well. His life had changed a lot in the last few weeks and there was a feeling of responsibility hanging over his head that he had yet to shake.
He still hasn’t come to terms with all of it, but the thing that bothered him the most was the new strain between him and Nail Davis, a man he’d thought of as a friend for the past six years. Though Niall swore he didn’t hold him responsible, he couldn’t quite shake the guilt.
So this morning he’d thought about all of that and realized what his problem was. It was simple really; he didn’t think he deserved to be happy. The realization was earth shattering for the man who’d never seen himself as a defeatist.
