Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 44134 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 44134 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 221(@200wpm)___ 177(@250wpm)___ 147(@300wpm)
“You really thought of everything,” I admit. “Doesn’t the music bother the horses?”
“We play music in here all the time. None of them have complained yet.”
“One last question. Any chance I could hire you to be my assistant at Wildflower?”
He chuckles. “I saw what I sold for at the auction. You can’t afford me.”
“That’s true,” I agree as I take in what he’s done. The lights are bright, and the guys are already milling about and shirtless. The scent of coconut is overpowering.
“Oh, and I upgraded us from the Crisco,” he says. “That part was actually my idea. Smells nicer too, doesn’t it?”
I frown, not sure what he means about coconut oil being his idea. But before I can ask, he goes to talk to Cord who’s fiddling with the speakers.
The next four hours pass quickly as I photograph all the cowboys. They’re good-natured and joke with each other easily. But the entire time I’m taking pictures, I’m aware of Bronco. He slipped into a dark corner of the barn just as I pulled out my camera. I haven’t let myself acknowledge his presence.
Finally, just as we’re breaking down, he approaches me. “Hey.”
“Hi,” I answer, not bothering to inject any fake cheerfulness into my voice. What does it matter anyway? It’s not like he cares.
I pretend to fiddle with my camera. That’s twice now that we’ve kissed and both times have been a mistake. It’s not his fault, but I also can’t keep hurting myself this way.
“About last night, well, the thing is…” He fumbles for the words, clearly not having thought this through. How can the man not have fixated on that one moment all night long like I did? How did he not lie awake for hours obsessing over the most perfect kiss in the history of the entire world?
“It’s fine. You were doing what you had to do. For the audience. Views went way up after that. Gold star for you, Marine.”
He opens his mouth, and I’m not sure what he’s going to say. I interrupt him before he can offer an explanation, “Everything is fine. Go. Have fun roping steers or whatever it is you do. I have to edit these photos and get them done. I’ll see you later.”
Chapter 8
Bronco
It was the kind of kiss that’s more than physical. It was two halves finding each other and becoming one whole. It’s the type of frantic energy you only experience in the middle of a hurricane. Powerful and raw, erotic and all-consuming.
But the moment I lifted my head from that kiss, I read the fear in her eyes. She looked like a little baby bunny about to run far, far away from me.
So like a desperate, selfish man, I grasped for the first excuse I could think of. Yeah, maybe it makes me a bastard. But if all Lauren will give me is scraps, I’ll take them happily. I’ll let them be enough. They have to be. There’s no one else. Never has been. Never will be.
Lauren manages to avoid me for the rest of the day. But she finally puts in an appearance when it’s time for dinner.
She joins me and the other guys around the campfire. She’s passing her phone around, showing them the photos she’s edited.
I don’t pay any attention to the photos. The only thing I’m looking at is the expression on her face. She looks so proud of herself but also a little bit sad. I’m not sure what that’s about.
She was afraid of the intensity between us after the kiss, yet she also seems upset that I gave her an easy out. I can’t make sense of this woman.
“You’re not supposed to make sense of them,” Ridge says. He claps me on the back, and I realize I must have said the words out loud.
“Women aren’t a mystery to be solved. They’re complex enigmas to be appreciated, meditated upon, and admired, but never fully understood.”
I stare at Lauren and flip another burger without even glancing at it. Enigma is definitely the word I would use for Lauren. I could spend the rest of my life trying to understand her, and I know I’ll never even come close to scratching the surface of who she is.
“Now that you have more photos up, what’s next on the agenda?” Flint asks her.
She wipes her face on a napkin. “Well, a lot of the people bidding on the cowboys are interested in seeing more videos of the farm and everyday farm life. One of the biggest requests I keep getting is for footage from a horse ride. But I’ve never ridden a horse before. So maybe, I could get a lesson from someone here?”
I don’t even have to look at the cowboys. They know better than to volunteer for a mission like that. It would not end well for them.