Page 161 of Lost Trust

He pulls out a foil-wrapped bundle of potatoes and a bottle of my favorite Pinot Noir.

I glance at the bottle. “Okay, what else did my mother tell you?”

“That you would hate being fussed over.”

My chest tightens, and I look away. “Yeah, well, I don’t hate it. I’m just not used to it.”

He builds the fire while I sit on the blanket, watching him move around the small campsite.

There’s something profoundly sexy about seeing a man like Royce do something just because he wants to make you happy.

No audience. No performance. No one to clap.

He cooks the steaks over the fire while I open and pour the wine.

He’s cooking over an open flame, and he looks at ease, like it’s something he does all the time.

Once he’s done, I take one bite of the steak and moan. “This is good.”

“I know,” he says, sitting back with his ankles crossed, his own plate on his lap.

“You’re so damn arrogant.”

He shrugs. “If I’m not good at it, I don’t do it.”

“Is that right?”

He nods.

“Tell me, then, Mr. Confident, how do you know if you’re good at something if you don’t try it?”

He smiles. “Do try it. At least once. If you suck at it, move on and find something you are good at.”

“Isn’t that the opposite of what you tell your bull riding hopefuls?”

He shakes his head. “No. They’ve already tried it. They already know they’re good at it, or they wouldn’t be there in the first place. All I do is tell them how to be better at it.”

We eat as the sun sinks lower and the mountains turn amber.

I find myself watching the way the firelight moves across his face. The scar. The strong line of his jaw. Those whiskey eyes.

He catches me staring. “What?”

I shake my head. “Nothing.”

“Bullshit.”

I smile. “I was just thinking about how strange this is.”

His smile fades. “What?”

I gesture between us. “Us.”

He studies me for a long moment. Then he sets his plate aside and turns to face me. “I’ve been thinking about us too.”

My heart starts beating harder when he picks up my hand, and his thumb moves slowly over my knuckles.

“Lately, I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about what I want.”