He reached out slowly, brushing his thumb across my cheek. “You had something right here…”
The touch was soft, almost hesitant, but it lingered longer than necessary. My breath caught, and I didn’t step back. I didn’t want to.
His eyes searched mine, asking without words.
I didn’t stop him.
He leaned in.
And kissed me.
Slowly. Sweetly.
We finally stopped pretending.
I felt his hands settle at my waist. My own slid up from his chest, curling around the back of his neck. His warmth and the quiet barn around us blurred into one perfect, impossible moment.
Until a door slammed, out back.
The spell snapped. I pulled back, breath shaky.
Colton blinked, still close. “I’m sorry. Did you not want me to kiss you?”
He looked flustered, unsure if he’d just crossed a line.
We just landed somewhere in the middle of a very complicated map.
“I’ve wanted to kiss you since the gala,” he added, rubbing the back of his neck. “But that was your night, and I didn’t want to mess it up.”
He shifted, searching my face. “Um… Riley? Help me out here. Tell me what you’re thinking.”
I touched his cheek, palm warm against his skin. My thumb brushed lightly along his jaw. “It was perfect,” I whispered. "The kiss was perfect."
His eyes searched mine like he wanted to believe it.
And I meant it. Every word.
But even as the warmth of his lips lingered, doubt threaded through the cracks.
My pulse was racing, panic creeping in.
That kiss meant I believed in him. But what if I’m wrong? What if I bet on the version of Colton I want him to be—and not the one he actually is?
“I have to go,” I whispered.
Chapter ten
Colton Trouble & Confessions
The sun hadn’t been up long. The air carried that sharp bite of early morning—cool and damp, with just enough breeze to ruffle the back of my neck as I stood outside the rescue barn.
I was keyed up, thinking about the kiss that replayed in my head like a highlight reel. I didn’t know what today would bring.
I spotted her instantly.
Riley moved like she was on a mission, her arms full of towels, head down like she could outrun gravity. She didn’t look up when I called her name the first time.
Or the second.
