Page 29 of The Match
“Insane?” I suggested.
“Yep.” He snapped fingers as if he’d been searching for that word all along. “Perfect way to put it.”
I laughed. “Hmm. Let’s just leave it at that, okay?”
I returned my attention to Starlight’s mane, but there wasn’t much for me to do. I’d combed it perfectly. He currently had much better hair than I did.
“Sure. Whatever makes you comfortable. You look great in that raincoat, by the way.”
“Really? Because I have never felt less sexy—ever.”
A loud groan resounded throughout the stall. It took me a second to realize it came from Zachary.
“You’re fucking sexy no matter what you wear. Even when I took you out of that river, all I could think about was not ogling you like a damn Neanderthal.”
I sucked in a breath, repeating the same stroke on Starlight’s hair because I didn’t know what to do with my hands. His confession took me by complete surprise.
“Well, you fooled me,” I whispered. “You seemed very focused on getting me to calm down.”
“I can multitask,” he said without hesitation.
Right! Clearly there was no stopping whatever this was, so I decided to play by the same rules. I didn’t even know what they were, but I could improvise.
Looking him straight in the eye, I said, “You don’t look too shabby in your raincoat either.”
His eyes lit up. “I’m glad you noticed.”
“Hard not to.”
“Really? I’d say this makes it difficult enough.” He motioned to the coat.
“Yes, but I do have a good memory and an excellent imagination. Like you.”
He bent at the waist, tilting forward toward me. “I like this side of you, Grace.”
I swallowed hard. “I like it too. Wasn’t even sure I still had it.”
His smile fell. Straightening up, he frowned. “What do you mean?”
“I haven’t done this—teasing—in years. Forgive me if my skills are rusty.”
“I assure you they are not. I could tell you I have proof, but it’s best not to talk about this anymore.”
It was on the tip of my tongue to ask what he meant when it dawned on me.
Wait. Does he have a hard-on?
Jesus, Grace. Why did your mind jump right there? He could mean a million other things. Maybe his pulse is racing or something along those lines.
“You’ve been divorced for a year, right? Longer?” he asked.
My shoulders slumped as I lowered the brush. There was really no point in brushing anymore. Starlight’s mane couldn’t possibly look any better.
“Ah, can we talk about anything else?”
He nodded. “Of course. Sorry, none of my business.”
“I don’t have anything to hide, and it doesn’t make me uncomfortable, just sad,” I said as we walked out of the stall. “But yes, even though I’ve been divorced for longer than a year, I haven’t been out on a date. Honestly, I threw everything I had into my company. At the time, it was my only way to survive. It was very important to me that my business succeeded so I could regain my self-esteem,” I explained as we headed toward the door. We didn’t leave the barn, though. It was still pouring rain.
