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“I inherited five billion dollars when I turned twenty-five,” he said, looking up at her. “That’s the deal. You turn twenty-five and you commit to working the ranch? You get the five billion. It’s yours, free and clear. We all pull a salary from the ranch too, but it’s not much.”
Tam stared, the food in her mouth forgotten.
“Stop it,” Blaine said, looking away.
“Your parents have forty billion dollars?” she blurted out. She quickly chewed her food and swallowed it, waiting for him to confirm that.
“We sell over three hundred horses a year,” he said quietly, his fingers moving slowly as he peeled back the paper on his sandwich. “A lot of them for seven figures. We collect three times that much in stabling fees and trainer fees. We rent the track for an astronomical amount. We have coveted studs too. The ranch sustains itself quite nicely. The rest comes from smart investing and generations of Chappells living here and running this ranch.”
He looked up at her. “Tell me this isn’t going to change anything between us.”
Tam shook her head, though her mind was buzzing. “Why would it change anything?”
“Because I can see the way you’re looking at me,” he said. “And it’s changing things.”
She looked away, using her cowgirl hat to hide her face the way so many cowboys did. “I’ve always known you were rich.”
“You didn’t know how rich, though,” he said miserably.
“I do now,” she said, glad her voice had turned lighter. “I suppose you wouldn’t have a budget for a new truck, and you’d be writing a check.”
“Don’t be ridiculous,” Blaine said, and Tam whipped her attention back to him. He grinned at her, so radiantly perfect in that moment. “I’d use my miles card, obviously. There are rewards you can get for spending that much money, I’ll have you know.” He lifted his sandwich and took a bite, his smile still wolfishly on his face.
She rolled her eyes and laughed, but the numbers still swam through her head. Maybe having him come with her that night would be a mistake. She definitely had a budget, and she didn’t want to haggle with the salesman to make sure her payment was under four hundred a month. Maybe she could say he should stay home and rest his back. Or maybe she could ask him to run out to Chicken Little’s for their fried chicken and biscuits while she bought her truck.
“I can see what you’re thinking,” Blaine said.
“Oh, yeah?”
“Yeah, and it’s not going to work.” He met her gaze with a very solid one of his own. “I’m coming with you to buy that truck,andI’m going to sleep on your couch again tonight too.”
Tam secretly rejoiced, though a skiff of anxiety skipped through her too. “Fine,” she said. “Just don’t complain to me about your back.” She pointed one finger at him. “I also want fried chicken for dinner, and guess what, Mister Money Bags? You’re buying.”
He burst out laughing, though Tam wasn’t sure what was so funny. She’d called him names like that for years. Decades.
He shook his head as he quieted, and when he looked at her again, his expression was soft and kind and all of the things that made Blaine so utterly perfect in Tam’s eyes. He reached across the desk and took her hand in his, slowly bringing it to his lips.
Her skin buzzed, and her stomach quaked. Her crush on Blaine had morphed into something else she couldn’t identify, but that she hoped would continue to mature.
“I like you, Tam,” he said, and those were the best words in the world in that moment.
“Good,” she said. “Because I like you too, and we need to get a few things straight about what’s happening here.”
5
Blaine swallowed nervously, but he knew exactly what Tam was talking about. “I’ve been giving off weird signals, right?”
“More likescrambledsignals,” she said.
“Yeah.” He took another bite of his sandwich to give himself a minute to organize everything in his head. When he did, he swallowed and said, “I just needed some time to commit. But I’m ready to do that now.”
“Commit to what?”
“To taking our friendship to the next level.”
Tam’s eyebrows went up, though Blaine didn’t understand why she was surprised.
“You know how I am,” he said. “I have to go back and forth a thousand times before I take the first step.”
