Page 77 of Trip Me Up

I froze. Why the hell had I told him all that? Sure, I tended to overshare when I was nervous. But I wasn’t nervous. Maybe it was that forest magic that’d lulled me into it. Was there some spell I could use to rewind time and take it all back?

“What’s his name?” Niall’s voice was growly like Jackson’s had been that night.

Where was that rewind button? He’d reacted just like my family had. “Don’t worry. Jackson and my other brother, Andrew, took care of him.” I kept my voice light like it was no big deal they’d broken Stephen’s nose and made it so he couldn’t find work from Sonoma to Los Angeles. He’d had to move to Arizona, I’d heard. People were always taking care of stuff for me. And the worst part was that I let them.

“Hey.” He didn’t touch my face this time, but he waited until I met his gaze. “You’re fierce. Strong. Successful. You can make your own decisions.”

I looked up. No one had ever said that to me. Did he really believe it? Because I wasn’t sure I did.

He squeezed my hand. “You’ve been amazing on this tour. You’re going to win the Tower Prize.”

All the happy bubbles popped, and my stomach filled with concrete. “Let’s not ruin today by talking about that.”

“Okay.” He brought my hand to his mouth and kissed it. “What do you want to talk about?”

No more sharing. He was going to tempt me to share too much. To break the NDA. To wreck this perfect moment, this perfect place he loved. No.

I forced a teasing smile onto my face. “I was promised cute farm animals.”

He snorted. “I don’t know about cute. But they are farm animals.” He cast a glance at the sun. “We’ll go see them before supper.” He packed everything back into the tote bag while I folded up the blanket.

He slid from the boulder and held out his arms. I’d dismounted alone earlier, but when I dropped into his arms and landed against his hard chest, the concrete was gone, replaced by butterflies. I breathed him in, remembering the taste of his skin, the caress of his lips, and my core clenched. I lifted onto my toes to kiss him again.

Fiery sparks erupted where our lips met. They burned a trail down my spine and ignited a fire between my legs. My hands wandered from his chest and bumped down his abs to the waistband of his jeans.

“Whoa.” He pulled away. “Hold that thought. Until we’re somewhere warmer.”

When I tugged him closer to me, the hard length of him pressed into my stomach. “I’m plenty warm,” I murmured.

He rolled his eyes to the sky. “God, I—Sam.” He blew out a breath. “Farm animals. Dinner. Chores. And then I’ll warm you back up again.”

“So traditional,” I grumbled.

He kissed my forehead. “It’ll be worth the wait, I promise.”

He whistled for the dogs and, hand-in-hand, we retraced our steps out of the woods. When we’d cleared the trees, we veered right toward the barn and Thorin took off, easily outstripping Bilbo Baggins with his long, loping stride. Niall and I walked slowly, swinging our joined hands between us, breathing in the earthy scents of the farm, watching the sun sink toward the far tree line.

Compared to the bright sun outside, the barn was dark, and it took a moment for my eyes to adjust. While I waited for my vision to resolve, I let the smells wash over me. Sweet hay, earthy manure, and a musky animal scent.

Niall led me to some enclosures along the right side. “Goat pens. Though they’re still outside. We’ll bring in all the animals after supper.” He turned the corner. “Alpaca stalls.”

“Where are the chickens?”

“Chicken coop.” He gestured beyond the other wall, toward the house.

“And where’s the infamous hayloft?” I raised my eyebrows.

He walked back toward the goat pens to a solid-looking ladder I’d overlooked on our first pass. “Straight up.”

I followed his pointing finger to a lofted area above, open to the interior of the barn.

I set my hands on the smooth wood of the ladder. Then I set a foot on the bottom rung.

Niall smirked. “I’ll warn you, there’s probably more spiders and less romance than you expect.”

I tossed him a saucy grin over my shoulder as I ascended. “Spiders don’t scare me. And I can bring my own romance.”

He opened his mouth, but no words came out. I focused on the ladder and continued my ascent.

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