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They knew it.
My best friend wasn’t there yet.
But I was going to help her get there.
six
Reese
I leaned forwardand wrapped my arms around Millie’s neck as we approached the stable. Finn had done a great job of getting this place ready, and I felt very lucky that my mare was the first one to move in. He’d hired Silas a while back to manage the property while he was on set, and Silas would take over caring for the horses once they filled the stalls. Silas was thrilled to have Millie here now. He was a local who had worked on many ranches in the area, and I could tell he was happy to be working for Finn.
Finn was striding toward the barn, and I waved. His baseball cap was turned backward on his head, and his smile was like sunshine on a cloudy day. He’d always had a way of grounding me and making me feel like everything was going to be okay. He wore a pair of faded jeans and a black hooded sweatshirt. You wouldn’t know that Finn Reynolds was going to be on the cover of the most popular entertainment magazine in the country in just a few weeks. He was just… Finn. The same as he'd always been. Fame hadn’t changed a thing about him. I knew it wouldn’t because this man had always had a strong sense of who he was. It was something that I’d always admired about him. While the rest of us were trying to figure out who we were and what we wanted to do with our lives, Finn just trusted his gut. He didn’t think twice when he started pursuing his acting career while we were still in college, cutting his course load back significantly. He no longer wanted to study business and he’d made that change suddenly after I’d gone into remission after months of chemotherapy and treatment. He’d just said he was done pursuing things he didn’t want to do and he was ready to go after what he wanted, and he’d completely changed course. He’d agreed to stay in school part time, as he knew his parents would want him to finish what he started, but he pursued acting from that point on. He never questioned his decisions, and there’d been many times in my life that I’d wished some of that could rub off on me.
We’d only been home for forty-eight hours, but I’d yet to venture out beyond going to get my horse and see family. But we were planning on going to Cottonwood Café for lunch, so I’d taken Millie out for a ride to calm my nerves.
I knew it was inevitable that I’d run into Carl. He’d been texting me ever since the news broke about me and Finn, and I’d only responded once. I had to play things right, not act too interested, and not show how hurt I was if I ran into them together.
Millie trotted into the stall, and I hiked my leg over and slid down until my feet hit the ground. The smell of hay and wood flooded my senses, along with the slight mix of pine that was present this time of year in Cottonwood Cove. The crisp air was just starting to get too cold to go without a sweater. I was thankful that I’d slipped on my black cashmere turtleneck before I went out because when Millie broke out in a full run, the wind did nothing to keep me warm.
“Hey, how’d she do?”
“I think she missed me,” I said as I gave her one last hug and ran my fingers across her gorgeous brown and amber mane.
“I think we all did,” he said, closing the stall as we made our way toward his house.
“Yeah? It feels good to be home. I still think it’s a bit much that all my stuff is in your bedroom and bathroom,” I said with a chuckle. Brinkley was always one step ahead of everyone else, so we’d decided to trust her suggestion to make it look like we were staying in the same room.
“It doesn’t really matter where your stuff is. Hell, you could sleep in my room if you wanted to.” He pulled the door open, and I stepped inside.
“No way. With you not having sex, you’ve got a chronic issue going on in the morning, and I can’t subject myself to that.”
He barked out a laugh as I grabbed my purse and glanced down at my cowboy boots, which I’d planned to change out of, but I was still chilly, so I decided to leave them on.
As we made our way out to the garage, I paused at the door. Finn caged me in with both arms. “You haven’t stopped talking about my morning wood since we left London. Does Carl never get an erection? Why do I feel like the only dick you’ve seen, aside from mine, was less than impressive?” He smirked.
“I told you that Carl has that issue with the medication he takes.” I cleared my throat. “So, I guess seeing how… excited your penis was, well, I suppose that was new for me.”
His gaze searched mine. Finn’s gray eyes were like none I’d ever seen before. They were this steely pewter with a ring of citrine gold around them.
“That’s a shame, Miney. The excited penis is not something anyone should go without. It’s my favorite quality about myself.” His knuckles rapped against the wall above me, and he stepped back and tugged the door open. I’d been living far away from my best friend for a year now, and something about him was different.
Or maybe it was me.
I’d always known that he was good-looking. There was no question there.
But he was… just more.
Sexier.
More confident.
Sexier.
Did I say that one already?
It could also be the fact that I hadn’t had sex in over a year. It would be normal to notice the opposite sex, even if it was Finn.
I felt the need to defend Carl because this tinge of guilt was sinking in that I was looking at my best friend and noticing things I hadn’t noticed before.
