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Dangerous thoughts swirled around and around in Sarah’s head. She should take off—run from the stable and go find Brielle.
No, that would be very bad. She didn’t know how Brielle would react to this information. What if she got upset about it? Well, then she would talk some sense into Sarah. It wasn’t too late. She hadn’t kissed him.
Not yet.
They could be adults about this, and she could tell him she hadn’t meant to—to what? To lean into him and show him that she was interested.
She cleared her throat, peering over the side of the stall door as he brushed the horse with agitated movements. The horse sidestepped and bobbed her head. She was probably more nervous with the pace at which he was brushing her, not due to any discomfort.
“Dax?” she repeated.
He grunted.
“Can we talk?”
Dax’s eyes lifted to her, guarded. She couldn’t tell if he was upset because they’d been interrupted or if he was upset because of the line they’d nearly crossed. Her heart leaped into her chest.
He’d told her helikedher. The way he’d grown quiet after that confession had made her consider that he might be interested in something more. But there was still a part of her that was content to stay in denial.
Until he nearly kissed her.
She could still feel the weight of his hands on her waist, feel the warmth of his body against hers, and a thrill shot through her. She could do so much worse than Dax—like Kenneth. Once, she’d thought she likedhim. He still hadn’t made any attempt to contact her, and her anxiety about seeing him had settled into something more like a quiet unease.
Sarah shook her head to clear it. Dax’s steady gaze remained locked on her, and she squirmed beneath it. How was she supposed to bring any of this up and not sound like some dumb, lovesick teenager? Being near him made her feel so small and insignificant already.
“Well?” he demanded.
She jumped.
Dax let out a sigh. “What do you want to talk about?”
Sarah swallowed hard. It was obvious, wasn’t it? “We almost—” Her voice died in her throat when he tossed the brush to the side and strode toward her.
“What do you want me to say?” His voice lowered to something huskier and goosebumps prickled on her arms and legs.
She took a quick step back, even though the stall door remained between them. “I just—I guess I want to know why.”
“Why what?” Dax tilted his head. “Why we almost kissed?”
She nodded. Finally, someone was able to voice what her tongue was unwilling to.
He let out a frustrated sigh. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t—” Her brows knit together. “You don’t know.”
“Look, I’m not interested in a relationship. At least I wasn’t until…” He frowned and his jaw tightened, the muscles in his neck twitching. “No. I still don’t. I’m too busy. You’re not…”
Her stomach plummeted and she looked away. “I’m not what you’re looking for—because of myhistory.” She knew she should have kept that part of her life private. Dax hadn’t needed to know that about her. What made this whole thing worse was how disappointed she felt over his confession. He had seemed so understanding about it.
“What? No. That’s not what I was going to say.” Dax darted out of the stall, causing her to stumble back a few more steps. He closed the distance between them, standing close enough that it wouldn’t take much to pick up where they’d left off. His eyes searched hers. “If anything, knowing about your history is something that helped me relate to you.” He snatched his hat from his head and raked a hand through his damp hair. “I was going to say that you’re not going to be here that long. You’ll be leaving at the end of the summer. The last thing I want is for either one of us to get hurt.”
That actually made sense. There was so much she had to consider if she were to allow herself to fall for him. Like what she’d done to deserve community service, her wealth, and whether or not she wanted to stay here. She took in a shuddering breath. She pressed her lips together, gnawing on them between her teeth. “Oh.”
“Yeah,” he muttered. “But honestly, if you did decide to stay, there could be other problems.”
Confusion mingled with the disappointment.
“I’m technically your boss, Sarah. I don’t like the idea of mixing business with pleasure.”
