I walk upstairs, still trying to wrangle my feelings. I close the door behind me. The knowledge that he can’t touch me made it easier for me to come to Montana. I need to know there’s a physical force between us, making sure I don’t cross the line. Even if I’ve already blurred it. If there’s a way to touch or be touched by him, I don’t want to know. I’m not sure I’d be able to control myself.
Akira knocks on my door half an hour later.
“What are you doing up here?” She finds me looking out the window.
“Resting, like you.”
“Iris, I left so you guys could have a minute alone.”
“I know, we did… It’s just… I don’t know what I’m doing.”
“It’s Aaron, isn’t it?”
“I can’t do this to him.”
She grabs my hand. “You haven’t done anything you can’t walk away from.”
“Yes, I have. I have… fallen for…”
She nods in understanding.
“Do you guys want to go out for lunch or…?” Hoyt asks casually, glancing away from the golf tournament on TV.
“I was hoping we could see the horses,” I respond.
“I could eat first,” Akira says, taking a seat next to Hoyt. I feel instantly jealous, not because she’s sitting there, but because she can, if she wants, touch him. I felt it too when she gave him a hug hello at the airport.
“We could order something,” I say, taking the chair on the right side.
“Nothing will arrive in less than an hour. We’re kind of in the middle of nowhere,” Hoyt replies.
“Right, I forgot.” I pull out my phone.How far from town exactly are we?
“I can make you sandwiches,” he says, standing up.
“You can?” I joke.
“Damn good ones,” he says, heading to the kitchen.
“I can help,” I offer.
One look at the kitchen, and I want to move in. The appliances look brand new against the hardwood floor. It’s the same throughout the house—wooden planks that seem a hundred years old. I’m not sure why, but seeing the kitchen finally makes me realize Hoyt is beyond rich. Sure, I knew about the land, but now I’m seeing his...lifestyle.
“Who else lives here?” I blurt out.
“Just me.”
“Just you?” Akira says, grabbing a tomato.
“It was just me, my brother, Dad, and… but now it’s just me.”
“You’re telling me you take care of this place by yourself?” I ask, astonished.
“I have employees, but they have their own homes.”
I watch as he pulls out ingredients I never would’ve thought to put on a sandwich.
“What is this?” I ask, turning the strange vegetable around.
