I squeeze my eyes shut, swallowing past the sudden lump in my throat as I count to five in my mind.
One.
Two.
Three.
Four.
His face flashes behind my closed lids, as beautiful as the last time I kissed him goodbye, wrapping myself inside the security of his embrace, only to return to an empty house, and my chest physically aches at the memory.
Five.Five. Five. Fucking five.
Then I blow out a slow breath, willing the ache to leave, just like he did, but it’s impossible. That pain has been my constant companion.
It’s as present now as it was then.
So, when I open my eyes again to find that Hayley is still chattering away, I force myself to listen. I force myself to put Ford Holloway in the past because that’s where he needs to stay.
And even so, as Hayley prattles on about the lack of emphasis to detail within the Vesper catering staff, visions of my first horse-riding lesson and the subsequent years continue to resonate through my mind.
Encouraging smiles turning to lingering glances becoming heated kisses…and I know as surely as I know my own name, I’ll never be able to move past the man who took all of my firsts.
The same man who broke my heart.
The one who's never far from my thoughts.
The one who’s far too deeply embedded within my soul to ever truly leave…
CHAPTER 3
FORD
“That’s it,Tink! You’re doing great.”
I clap my hands together encouragingly before urging my newly saddle-broken stallion, Marshal, in the direction of Emmy and the handful of steers she’s attempting to herd toward the waiting trailer.
My eyes don’t stray from her petite form as she guides her palomino, Tessa, using her knees, and a small, self-satisfied smile tips my lips upwards. In the seven summers she’s spent at Broken Hart, seventeen-year-old Emerson Hart has come a long way from the city kid who didn’t even know the difference between trotting and cantering.
By the time I’ve crossed the yard, she’s encouraging the last steer up the ramp, turning to face me with a delighted grin when all livestock are safely onboard.
“I did it. I freaking did it.”
Emmy slides off Tessa, gathering the reins to lead her mount back toward me as one of her grandpa’s cowhands closes up the trailer. Her face shines with elation as she looks up at me.
Those big blue eyes of hers, fringed with jet-black lashes, flicker between mine, and I tip my head to one side as my brows draw together.
With her slightly upturned nose, high cheekbones, and a smile that lights her up from within, it’s clear to see why this girl is so fucking magnetic. I’ve known her for seven years, but it’s like I’ve never trulyseenher until right now, at this moment.
My chest tightens painfully, and I inhale through my nostrils, desperate to fill my suddenly oxygen-deprived lungs, as one thing becomes alarmingly apparent.
She’s so beautiful it hurts.
When the fuck did that happen, and why the hell am I noticing it now?
The question is on the tip of my tongue even as my brain tamps down on the words, but Emerson speaks again before I do, rapidly putting an end to my off-limits train of thought.
“Wait until I tell Easton.”
