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“You’re the fastest cowgirl I’ve ever seen,” I say, resting my hands against the horn of the saddle. I’m pretty positive that they put me on the safest, slowest, and maybe even oldest horse they have, because the sorrel mare hasn’t even budged beneath me the whole time we’ve been sitting here.
I don’t blame them. They didn’t know my experience level.
“You’re so nice, Callie,” Ava says, giving me a sweet smile. “Daddy says Uncle Wade’s girlfriends before were just mean, know-it-all, high-maintenance barbies.”
“AVA LEWIS!” Emma reprimands her. “Be kind.”
“What? That’s what daddy said…” Ava bats her eyes, feigning innocence. “But I did see them on Google.”
“Oh,” I say, shifting in my saddle. “Did he ever bring them here?”
“Oh gosh, no,” Emma replies. “The only time anyone ever met one of his girlfriends was if they went to his concert or something. He never brought them here. Heck, I think his longest girlfriend lasted less than six months, anyway.”
“Wow,” I answer, not even bothering to hide my shock. Maybe Wade isn’t so great at relationships—even more of a reason to guard my heart. “He never told me that. He just always says I’m different.”
“Like night and day,” Emma says, her voice growing soft. “And I think that’s a huge compliment, so don’t ever let it make you feel anything other than amazing. Those women he dated before were no good. They might’ve been beautiful on the outside, but based on what I’ve heard, they were not on the inside.”
“And inside beauty is way more important than outside beauty,” Ava chimes in, her voice matter of fact. “God don’t care if you’re pretty on the outside—just that you’re real nice on the inside.”
“That sounds about right.” I laugh, loving her simplistic take on it.
“So, how long have the two of you been together?” Emma asks as we start to ride forward, following the trail. The morning is rather cool, but not nearly as cool as home, so my light long-sleeved shirt is working out just right.
“Uh,” I hesitate, glancing down at Bear, who’s trotting alongside my horse. “Things moved really fast between us,” I answer, racking my brain for some sort of timeline that makes any sense with the stuff I read about him on the internet. “We didn’t really keep track.”
“I figured it must’ve been fast, because the last Carson heard, which was I think a few months ago? Was that he was dating Jade Ryan—you know, that one actress in the new Tomahawk movie.”
“Yeah,” I say, my heart dropping in my chest as I envision the drop-dead gorgeous actress and model, “I know who she is.” The woman was praised all over the internet and social media for her perfect hour-glass figure—something that my pear-shaped figure couldn’t even remotely compare to.
“Well, I have to say, whatever his history, Carson says this is the happiest he’s ever seen Wade. You both just seem so perfect for each other. And the way he looks at you ... ugh. It’s amazing,” Emma says, her voice coming out dreamy.
I nod, thinking about the way I feel when I’m around Wade. I know the reason that the thought of his past girlfriends is bothering me is because I’m catching real feelings for him. Which is not good, considering this is supposed to be fake.
I really don’t want to get hurt again. And, based on his past, he doesn’t exactly scream husband material.
Now if I could just get my heart and brain on the same page…
Chapter Fifteen
Wade
I swear I could spot Callie from a mile away if I needed to, her auburn hair glinting under the mid-morning sun. There’s just something about her that’s really growing on me—maybe it’s the conversation I had with Mom.
Or maybe it’s just her.
Callie is laughing, her head thrown back and hair falling down her back. Ava and Emma seem to be laughing too, but for some reason, I can’t take my eyes off her.
“Well, well, well,” Emma greets me as I ride up to the group. “Look who it is. I can only guess that you’ve come to steal my new sister away.”
I glance at Callie, whose face falls a little, so I turn back to Emma. “I mean, I was going to take her away to show her something—but I guess if she wants to stay with y’all, that’s alright, too. I was just hoping to spend some time with my soon-to-be wife.”
“Well, when you put it like that, you make me feel bad.” Emma pouts, letting out a sigh. “I guess we’ll just have to let her go, won’t we, Ava?”
“Okay. But can we keep Bear for a while?” Ava huffs, giving Callie this sweet pitiful look. “I promise that I’ll keep a close eye on him.”
Callie laughs. “Just don’t let him wander off—sometimes he’ll go chase a squirrel or something.”
“C’mon, let’s head this way.” I smile at her. Callie rides up beside me, and we head out in the opposite direction. “Finally, some real alone time,” I tease.
