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“I was actually getting a little warm,” he fibbed.
She hesitated one more moment before taking it to slide her arms into the sleeves. “Thanks.”
It was huge on her, with the rolled sleeves nearly reaching her wrists. The unbuttoned sides fell down along her thighs in a way that had him imagining her in nothing but his shirt, her dark hair loose and wavy as it cascaded over her shoulders.
He let loose a groan under his breath. She shot him a questioning glance, and heat crept up his neck as he quickly urged Taz ahead of Diamond Fire. If he kept thinking along the lines of her in his shirt, in his bed—don’t go adding details—the ride was going to very quickly get extremely uncomfortable.
He scrambled for a distraction and went back to what they’d been talking about. “You know, who’s to say you can’t jump and do something more? As you pointed out, the re-homing isn’t my whole job.”
She and Fire drew even with him and Taz once more. “Can I help you with Saving Grace and Willow Midnight the next couple of weeks?” she asked.
More time together above and beyond her training? Absolutely not. “Sure.”
“That would be great.” Her hazel eyes lit with a sudden excitement. “If you show me what to do, I could start a program when I get home.”
Home. In Texas.
The reminder hit like a kick to the gut.
But then again, considering how much he enjoyed spending time with her yesterday and today, that reminder was exactly what he needed. And often.
12
Raine felt a little bad taking her scheduled day off on Sunday when it felt like she’d already taken Friday and Saturday off. But, seeing as those were both on her trainer’s orders, she ignored the guilt and headed up to the main house for brunch.
The past few days put a spring in her step. Things had been good. Great even. First at the horse rescue on Friday, and then yesterday’s ride had been amazing in a way she hadn’t realized how much she and Fire needed. She was pretty sure her horse enjoyed the change of scenery as much as she did, and the company hadn’t been too shabby, either.
She rolled her eyes at her understatement and lifted a hand to keep her loose hair from blowing into her face. Reyes had been nice, and fun, and surprisingly funny at times. They’d talked comfortably the whole time, and she didn’t think he’d caught any of the countless instances she’d discretely lifted the collar of his shirt to inhale the tummy-flipping scent of him clinging to the material.
At least she sure hoped not, since she was the one who suggested they be friends. The very last thing she should’ve been doing as they ate lunch on a big fallen log was imagine sliding over to bury her nose in the crook of his neck—but dear Lord, the man smelled so damn good.
Doing her best to put him out of her mind, she walked past all the vehicles in the drive and entered the house. A cacophony of voices led her to the kitchen. Of the dozen or so people gathered, her gaze landed smack dab on Reyes holding Ava, Asher and Honor’s little four month old.
Her heart lodged up in her throat at the sight of his uninhibited smile as the baby giggled while he ran her tiny little palm over the whiskers on his chin.
“Hey.”
Raine jumped at the stage whisper in her ear, and twisted to see her cousin standing slightly behind her with a wide grin.
“I’m telling you,” Shelby said in a soft sing-song voice, “there’s something about those Torrez boys.”
Yes, there definitely was. Looking back toward Reyes and the baby, she gave Bells a one-armed hug. “Only they’re not boys anymore.”
“Most definitely not,” her cousin agreed with a happy grin.
A spark of envy burned in her chest. Not for her cousin’s man, but because if she was being honest and said to hell with all the friendship stuff, she wanted what Shelby had.
With Reyes.
And yet, it wasn’t going to happen. They lived in different states. Hell, they lived different lives.
Not that different.
Different enough though.
“You know, we’ve invited Reyes to brunch before. This is the first time he’s come.”
Her pulse skipped at her cousin’s insinuation. She glanced at Shelby, then back to him. “We’re becoming friends.”
