“Hawk, what did you think about the foals?” Demi asked, and I gladly sank into that conversation.
A couple of days later, I was in my office, when Carter called.
I answered with, “Hey, aren’t you supposed to be working hard?”
His warm chuckle made me feel a pleasant pressure in my chest.
“Yes, but I have a question for you.”
“Oh?”
“Would you be able to take a bit of time off? Either overnight or just have a late night otherwise?” he asked in a tone that told me he wasn’t expecting any particular answer.
“Probably not overnight right now, but leaving early and coming back late would work. How come?”
“Marielle and Elisa found some event in Colorado Springs on Wednesday they want to attend, so they’re thinking about heading there tomorrow, then spending a few days in a hotel. I thought maybe we could go too, have dinner somewhere we don’t usually dine at. Come back late since you can’t do overnight?” He was trying to sound casual, but I heard how much he wanted to do this in his tone.
I hummed thoughtfully as I tried to reorganize things in my brain. I’d get Gemma and Mal to help out. Yeah. I could do this.
“Let’s make it an overnight thing. It’s not too bad of a drive in the morning especially if we get an early start after breakfast,” I said firmly, holding back the excitement that was suddenly bubbling up.
“You’re sure you have time?”
“Yeah, I’ll make it work. I’ll just work with Snoopy in the afternoon instead of the morning. It’ll be fine.” I smiled so he could hear it in my voice.
“Okay. Great. We already talked about a restaurant choice and came to the conclusion that something on the casual side would be best. I assume that sounds good to you as well?” He sounded relieved now, and genuinely happy. Something about that made me feel warm and fuzzy as fuck inside.
“Absolutely. Besides, something less fancy makes it easier to find a table this late,” I pointed out, not that he didn’t know that.
“Right. I’ll text you as soon as I have solid plans.”
“Sounds good. Talk to you later.”
“Bye.”
I put my phone down and felt a bit like swooning. A hotel night with my man? I was pretty damn sure he would get some fancy hotel and that was something I hadn’t experienced before, either.
I finished my paperwork and then went to find my sister and Mal to reorganize the schedule a little.
We ended up driving to Colorado Springs in Carter’s Jeep, because all four of us and our bags could fit in it.
Carter was going to go pick them up once they were done in the city later in the week. I thought he just wanted something to do and to hang out with them on the way back. Besides, Carter didn’t want them driving in a city they didn’t know, apparently that was what Uber was for.
I didn’t get it. They had a rental, after all. But it wasn’t my business so I didn’t say anything out loud and instead enjoyed their company on the way to the Springs.
Funnily enough, this was the first time I had any time to actually chat with Marielle and Elisa, and I found both of them really funny. Marielle was trying to hold onto her more official persona, but with Elisa and Carter’s gentle needling, she was much more relaxed than she’d been at the ranch.
“So,” Marielle said suddenly from the back seat where they were sitting.
Carter immediately glanced at me, then the rearview mirror, and grinned a bit as he continued to drive.
Elisa let out a quiet groan.
“Yes?” I asked, because clearly this was about me somehow.
“You’re a bit young and a bit little, aren’t you?” Marielle asked, her arms crossed over her chest as she attempted some sort of a playful, stern tone.
This was the most playful and relaxed I’d seen her, and frankly it was both entertaining and endearing. She was trying so hard. Carter had told me she had trouble being friends with him sometimes, given that they had a working relationship, too.
