Total pages in book: 119
Estimated words: 113330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 113330 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 567(@200wpm)___ 453(@250wpm)___ 378(@300wpm)
“Sorry to disappoint you, Darce,” I say breezily. “It wasn’t even a date. I happened to meet Roman that morning at the breakfast buffet at our hotel, and he recognized me from the viral video. He sweetly pulled me aside to tell me to keep my chin up and ignore the trolls, but when he had to run off for a golf game in the middle of our conversation, he offered to take me to a nice dinner that night to finish it.”
Darcy looks suspicious. “He asked you out to dinner at a fancy, hoity-toity restaurant for the sole purpose of finishing a conversation with you?”
I nod and plaster a smile on my face. “That’s what he said. And I guess he was being totally sincere about that, since he didn’t make a move on me, during or after our meal.”
“Not at all?”
I shake my head. “He didn’t even flirt with me. Apparently, it was a random act of kindness. Or maybe he was simply bored that day. Who knows? All I know is we talked, had dinner, and that was it.” Man, it’s scary how easily I can lie about this. Probably because my fairy tale with Roman in Hawaii doesn’t even feel real anymore. More like a lovely dream that never happened, except in my own mind.
“Well, damn,” Darcy grumbles. “What a bummer.”
Harper interjects, “Maybe Roman figured with Iris getting out of an engagement only a few days before, she wouldn’t be interested in jumping into bed with him.”
I tap my chin and pretend to contemplate Harper’s supposedly new theory, even though I’ve heard it before. I’ve given this same fictitious account of the viral dinner photograph several times since coming home to Orchard Blossom—enough that Harper now knows exactly when to chime in to help me deflect from the truth even more and make my chaste version of events seem all the more believable.
“I hadn’t thought of that,” I say to Harper, even though she offered the same theory during a similar conversation yesterday afternoon at her family’s horse ranch. “But it makes sense. Either way, I certainly like that theory far more than Roman simply not finding me attractive.”
“Who wouldn’t find you attractive?” Darcy says, waving a hand in the air. “You’re beautiful. Inside and out.”
“Thank you, Darcy. I’m not sure Roman Maguire would agree with you, though.”
Speaking of Roman, his voice on the TV screen above Darcy draws our attention again. “No, it wasn’t a hard decision for me. When someone offers you the chance to play for the best coach in the world again, you do it.” Roman looks straight into the camera. “I’ve recently had the unfortunate opportunity to realize regret is a truly horrible emotion. Worst of all is regretting something I didn’t do than something I did. That’s why, whether I’m considering taking a dream job or taking a chance on a special someone, whatever it is, I’m now determined to take a risk and do the thing, even if it doesn’t ultimately work out, so I never again have to lie awake at night in bed, wondering, ‘What if?’”
Chapter 27
Iris
Six Weeks Later
“Does that feel good, sweet boy? You’re such a big, beautiful baby. Yes, you are.”
I’m cooing these words to a quarter horse named Butterscotch, a calm gelding for beginners, while brushing him in his stall after a riding lesson. His stall is one of ten lining the north side of the largest stable on Harper’s family’s horse ranch. During my stay in Orchard Blossom, I’ve helped out around here, the same way I did in high school. What else am I going to do? My job search thus far has been woefully ineffective, so at least being here and helping out is something productive to do.
“Iris.”
I straighten up from brushing Butterscotch’s front leg and discover the source of the deep, sexy voice. Roman. He’s here. In Orchard Blossom, looking effortlessly cool and scrumptious in a tight-fitting T-shirt, jeans, and a baseball cap imprinted with a thunderbolt.
“Hey,” I gasp out. I blink rapidly, not believing my eyes. He’s standing on the other side of Butterscotch in a wide dirt walkway just outside the stall, but he might as well be licking my naked skin, based on the way my nervous system is reacting to the sight of him.
“Look at you, country girl,” Roman says, a crooked grin on his face. “You’re in your element.”
I feel dizzy. Disoriented. This feels like two worlds colliding—my fantasy world and real life. Should I come out from around Butterscotch to hug him in greeting? If so, I’m not sure my wobbly legs will safely make the journey. Why is he here? To see me, specifically? If so, did he come to pursue me romantically, or to ask me to sign an NDA about our fling in Kauai? During a recent FaceTime call with Kaylee and Tatiana, Kaylee said she was surprised Roman never asked me to sign an NDA, since it’s well-known that high-profile people often require them of the people in their orbits. Is that why Roman is here?