Page 95 of Sold to Her Enemy

“No.” I tense against his touch.

“Mckenna, what is it?”

We pass farms and fields, and the car turns down a long, paved driveway.

“What happens if you get mad at me? Like, if we live together and we have a fight?”

He places his hand on my shoulder. My stomach rumbles, and suddenly, I feel like I’m sixteen. I remember trying to help Ava with her math homework, sitting at their huge marble kitchen island, and Adrian striding into the kitchen.

He’s grown more handsome over the years.

“We won’t fight, hellion,” he takes my hand to his lips and kisses it.

“Adrian, I’m being serious.”

“So am I. We’re here. Wait for me.” Before his driver reaches Adrian’s door, Adrian is out of the car and at my door, holding it open for me.

“Thank you.”

I step out of the car and the smell of fresh cut grass and hay and manure hit my nostrils.

“Where are we?”

Adrian runs a hand through his hair. It’s an utterly boyish gesture and I can’t help smiling hugely.

“We are at a friend of mine’s stables. We have the place mostly to ourselves. I thought you’d like to go for a ride?”

He slips his hands into his pockets and studies my face with an intensity that makes me want to kneel at his feet.

It’s like he’s worried I’m not going to like this gesture.

“Yes!” I haven’t ridden in a year. My body has a visceral reaction, remembering the feel of Penelope striding under me. “Are we spending all day here?”

“The plan was to go for a ride, then have lunch, and then go back to my house for dinner. Is that okay with you?”

It’s the first time he’s asked my permission about plans. Maybe, my heart whispers, maybe it can work.

“It sounds great.”

“Good.” Adrian places his hand on the small of my back.

“Good afternoon. Mr. McIntyre? I’ve been expecting you.” A short man with short gray hair holds out his hand to Adrian.

“You must be Kurt. Thanks for making time for us today.”

“No problem. Connor said to make you feel welcome. Come this way.”

Adrian drapes an arm around my shoulders. I’m blinking back tears as we follow Kurt down a path to the stables. The fields stretch out to my left, and I think those are Arabians in the paddock, but I’m slightly too far away to confirm.

Kurt holds the door to the stable for us, and we walk through. All the familiar smells are threatening to split my heart in two.

Being away from Penelope and the horses I loved, not teaching or running my hand through a mane, was a grief I endured for months. I choke back a sob.

“I have to ask, have you ever ridden a horse before?” Kurt tilts his head.

“I have. I wasn’t expecting to ride today,” I gesture at my dress.

“It’s my fault. I wanted to surprise Mckenna, but she’s an experienced rider. Mckenna won the USEF Junior Jumper National Championships. She made us all proud.”

---