7
C-A-R-P-E-D-I-E-M
Fiancé? Engaged? Ryder, you’ve hit an all-time low. It was all about image, and something told her he’d started telling people they were engaged to get a leg up on some gig.
Claire pulled her coat tighter around her. Not that she was cold. Actually, her body temperature must have risen a solid five degrees after the near-kiss with Grady. But angry chills ran down her spine, thanks to Ryder.
One stupid trip. That’s all she’d planned to re-kindle whatever spark that had existed between them. Within a day, that spark had been stomped on and she couldn’t even remember what it looked like.
It was painfully clear that they were over. They’d been a convenient match, but they didn’t have a damn thing in common.
Yeah, she was lusting after Grady, big time, but there was something more. Convenience and lust had driven her to hook up with Ryder. When lust fizzled, what remained? What if this was just lust with Grady? She’d dump her boyfriend... fiancé, apparently, and be left with the same drab fizzle as the dust settled?
No, something told her it was more than just lust. Sure, her nipples perked up and her ovaries danced in elation at the wallop of testosterone when he walked into a room. But there was something else.
Practically: She’d already invested two long years with Ryder, and her frontal lobe was settling on staying the course. Biologically: Her uterus declared either Mallory would make beautiful babies. Orgasmically: Many, many parts of her were hooting and hollering for her to give Grady a chance.
Hell, on the flight up, she’d debated calling it quits with Ryder after they’d butted heads on every detail along the way. Then, he’d been sweet and swapped spots with her so she could have the window seat and see the Cascades and Seattle as they landed. He’d even held her hand for no reason, but she couldn’t help but feel the affection was his way of making an effort, rather than simply craving the connection.
Tonight. No problem. A romantic dinner for two. And then? Was it really ever okay to haveThe Talkon a trip to meet his family? If she talked to him now, she wouldn’t feel comfortable staying any longer, not that she was comfortable staying now, but it would get super awkward. And she wouldn’t get to see more of those gorgeous horses.
Or Grady. But, if she waited and had the talk when they got back home, she’d have to spend a miserable vacation being ignored by Ryder, subtly criticized by his crazy parents, and heartbroken with every minute she couldn’t do anything about Grady.
No, she was an honest person. She wasn’t going to wait around on this one. Maybe she could stay at a hotel in town and meet with local vet clinics. Who knows, maybe she’d find a job here? And find an excuse to explore where things went with Grady?
Impressed with her own problem solving in sixty-seconds-or-less, Claire nodded in satisfaction.
Dump Ryder. Why wait until dinner?
Explore this beautiful town.
Find her dream job.
Seduce her nearly brother-in-law.
She swung open the door and strolled inside. Nothing was better than a good plan.
