Page 3 of Entwined Hearts
My mouth popped open, stunned into momentary silence. “That just might be the cheesiest thing I’ve ever heard.”
He shrugged, unashamed and still smiling. “But you’re thinking about it.” His eyes lowered to my mouth, his voice softer, huskier as he said, “Aren’t you, Sav?”
Sav. Nobody had ever called me that before. I was always Savannah or Savvy. I liked it. I likedhim. And I realized that I wanted him to kiss me, too.
I swallowed roughly and let out a shaky breath, forcing all the doubts away. “You can kiss me.”
His brows raised a fraction. “I can?”
I nodded and leaned in towards him. He smelled like whiskey and his too-strong cologne. And when his lips brushed against mine, the noise in my head went completely silent for the first time in my life.
The only thing that existed was me, Weston, and this moment. A moment I’d remember for the rest of my life.
1
Weston
Present day…
I lived for this. For the roar of the crowd, the slam of feet against bleachers, the rush that came as the chute flew open. Moments like this, I didn’t have to think. I didn’t have to remember. I didn’t have to feel. I just had to hold on and ride.
And God, if I didn’t love to ride.
It was the only thing I’d ever been good at, the only thing I loved. Well, the only thing besides her. I shook my head, forcing her out of my mind as I hopped into the chute. I couldn’t afford to be distracted right now. Being distracted was just asking for a death wish, and at the height of my career, I definitely didn’t have one of those.
The bull beneath me, Bodacious, shifted, bringing me back to the here and now. He was a nasty fucker, but with a name like Bodacious, I couldn’t help but laugh. His copper brown coat was rough beneath my hand, and the pissy thing jerked from my touch. “Easy there, big guy,” I said with a grin, sliding on my gloves. “Save it for out there.”
He let out a huff as if he understood me and was telling me to get the hell off him.No can do, buddy.
The announcer’s voice blared through the speakers, my name sparking another roar from the crowd. I clenched the bull rope handle tighter, checking the leather. My heart pounded in sync with the rapid sound of boots hitting the bleachers. All those people were here for me, and I was ready to give them a show.
Sweat rolled down my back, my body tight with tension that I had to force away, just like the thought of her. A tense, locked body was a dead body on the back of a bull. You had to roll with their movements like a surfer riding a wave: in control, but not stiff.
Bodacious slammed his hoof into the chute, his tail flicking. His patience was wearing thin, and so was mine. I was ready to throw myself into the chaos these eight seconds would bring. Craved it like an addict itching for his next fix.
There was nothing like it. The adrenaline, the high stakes, the satisfying feeling of mastering something so few could. It made me feel invincible, like I was king of the world. And there was only one other thing that made me feel that unstoppable. But she was nothing more than a distant memory now, a memory I’d been too chickenshit to face this past month she’s been back in Wild Creek.
The chute hand reached for the lever to release the door. “You ready, Tate?”
I tapped my left bicep—a little pre-ride ritual. I inhaled deep through my nose, letting it out slow and controlled through my mouth. Then, I raked a hand through my hair, slapped my hat on tight, and gave him a nod. “Open ‘er up.”
In that same second, something in my gut had me glancing at the crowd. There was a flash of blonde. Wait. I had to check again, just to be sure. My breath caught, and the arena went silent. Jesus fucking Christ, itwasher.
Savannah Hayes.
The love of my life. The girl who ripped my heart out at nineteen and took it with her to Stanford to chase her dreams. The girl who refused to see me or speak to me in the eleven years since then.
She was here, staring at me with those dark brown eyes. They looked the same yet different, just like the rest of her. Her hair was shorter and brighter. Less honey and more sandy. She was in a light pink pearl snap and dark wash jeans. She looked uncomfortable, and I didn’t know if it was because of me or the clothes.
It wasn’t my Sav who was looking at me now, but a woman who wore invisible armor. Armor specifically meant to keep everyone, especially my sorry ass, out.
But I didn’t give a shit, it felt like pure magic to look at her again, how I imagined looking at something like the Northern Lights or ancient ruins felt. It was a mix of awe and bewilderment over how something so perfect could exist, how something so breathtaking could walk amongst us mere mortals. An angel, if I’d ever seen one.
I took half a second to look at her, and that was all it took for everything to come crumbling down.
Her eyes flew wide, and my body jolted as Bodacious busted out into the arena while I wasn’t paying attention. His back bowed like a string, hind legs in the air. My body snapped the wrong way. My grip on the bull rope handle slipped.
“Fuck!” I gritted my teeth, scrambling for purchase, but got none.
