Page 28 of Announcing Love
Jathan couldn’t look away from him. The dude was hot as fuck. “I’m Jathan.”
Gray eyes that were nearly silver turned his way. “Quince.”
Jathan nodded. “I’d shake your hand, but I’m covered in paint.”
Quince shrugged. “I’ve been brushing down horses all day.” He held out his hand.
Jathan wiped his hand on his apron to try to get it as clean as possible before accepting. They didn’t let go immediately. Quince’s hand was rough, exactly like a working man’s.
“Artem is my best friend. We do this together every other weekend. Usually, we stick to inside, though. Hopefully, we’re not in your way.”
“I know who you are. I mean, I’ve seen you here.” Quince finally dropped his hand.
Jathan nodded. He couldn’t say the same. If he had known Quince was there, Artem might’ve had a hard time getting rid of him. “What do you do around here?”
“I’m the ranch foreman. You know, I keep all the workers in line and make sure everything gets done. That sort of thing. It’s kind of a jack-of-all-trades kind of job.” He looked around, as if suddenly uncomfortable. “Speaking of which, I should probably get back to it.”
Jathan tried to hide his disappointment. “Okay. It was nice meeting you.”
Quince’s gaze moved over his face. “You too.” He took a step back and then finally turned away. He turned back so fast, Jathan almost got busted checking out the most delicious of cowboy asses. “By the way, you couldn’t be mediocre if you tried.” He walked away before Jathan recovered enough to think straight. A smile exploded across his face. They would definitely speak again.
Tip led Artem into the barn where he had left Artem’s gift. Ginger kept stepping into their path, refusing to be ignored. She was incredibly spoiled but she deserved it. Tip knew she only soaked up the love life had stolen from her before Artem came to her rescue. No one understood that like Tip. He was the same. Tip resented every second of the time they weren’t together. Artem’s attention and love were his. He wanted his focus.
“Just squeeze in here.” He maneuvered Artem between Ginger and the wall of the stall to where he had left Artem’s new saddle.
Artem gasped at the sight of it. “Oh, wow. It’s beautiful.” He traced the letters branded on the side: Hermes. A loud bark of laughter burst from Artem. “Are you even capable of going under board?”
“Under board? Is that a thing?” He wrapped his arms around Artem from behind and opened the ring box he held. “And no, I’m not.”
He felt Artem stop breathing. His entire body froze. “Oh, my fucking God, Tip. That’s beautiful.”
It really was. He had hired a master jeweler out of California to design the ring, especially for Artem. “Is it enough to convince you to marry me?”
Artem turned in his arms. “Are you kidding me? You could propose with a piece of twine, and I’d still say yes.”
Logically, Tip had known he would. They had talked about it in passing several times, but there would always be a tiny part of Tip that expected to be rejected by everyone he loved. He didn’t think he was that lovable.
Tip put the ring on Artem’s finger. It looked exactly how he pictured. “Perfect.” His lips touched Artem’s.
Their kiss turned heated and still Artem tried to talk through it. His hands ran up the inside of Tip’s shirt. “I have a gift for you too.”
A wicked-sounding chuckle vibrated through their kiss. Tip heard it and couldn’t believe it was his. “You have a guest, but I’m down.”
Artem pinched him. “No. It’s a real gift.” He paused. His eyes glazed over as if picturing exactly what Tip offered. He shook his head. “I can do that later too, but I meant an actual gift.”
“You know you never have to get—”
“Knock. Knock.”
They looked toward the barn’s door. An older lady with blond hair in a messy bun, who looked entirely too much like his mother, strolled into the barn like he hadn’t told her they were done.
Tip’s face hardened. He felt it happen. All the softness Artem brought to his life drained from him at the sight of her.
When her gaze landed on them, she held her hands up in surrender. “I come in peace. Promise.”
That didn’t help.
Her gaze moved between them. A kind smile he hadn’t seen in a long time touched her lips. “Hi. I’m Christine, Tip’s mom.”
