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Jaime let out an awkward laugh. “What does that mean?” As they passed the arena, a ranch hand dragged the dirt with a tractor, getting ready for his mom’s riding classes. “Trust me, there’s nothing more to it than that.”
“How’d you get in the path of a runaway bride?”
He didn’t want to tell the story. “You remember Ian Adler?” Because he’d look like an asshole.
He wanted to be better than that.
“No.”
At the barn, Jaime punched in the code. The gears whirred and then the lock opened. “The Rhode Island guy who used to come out to the dude ranch every summer?”
“Oh, yeah.” Cole followed him into the rink. “The one who kept inviting you sailing?”
“That’s the one.” He’d never been able to afford it. Only when he’d turned the ranch around did he finally go. That was when he’d gotten his first glimpse of Grace. “Well, she was the bride in that wedding I just went to. I was his groomsman.”
“You hooked up with Ian’s…ex-fiancée?” Cole sounded confused.
He dropped his bag. “Yes.” He looked to Cole for a reaction.
But Cole was busy sitting down on a bench and kicking off his worn sneakers. “No wonder you look so torn up.” He pulled out his skates. “You’ve got a thing for your friend’s girl. Did she run because of you?”
“No. Of course not. Ian stole from her and her parents.” Jaime sat beside him and pulled his skates out of his bag. “They’ve been together fifteen years, and she can’t get past the betrayal. She’s done with him.”
“Okay, but what about you?”
“I’m done, too. Absolutely. I talked to him, and he admitted what he did. Doesn’t seem to get how badly he fucked them over. Thinks they can get past it.”
“That’s not what I’m talking about. You obviously have feelings for her.”
What could he say to that? He could keep fighting himself, pretending it was a hook-up like all the others…or he could get real. “I do. But nothing’s going to happen.”
“Why not? She’s here for the summer. And I saw the way she looked at you.”
“How’s that?” He shouldn’t be so on edge to hear the answer. Because it didn’t matter.
“The same way Evvie would look at one of those pastries.”
Yeah, he guessed he knew that. The way she responded to him was part of the attraction, the thing that got him all worked up. But Cole didn’t need to hear it. “Can you blame her?” He pointed to himself.
Tying his skate, Cole grinned. “The sparks were flyin’. That’s all I’m saying.”
“Yeah, well, I’m a father. Would you bring random women around Paisley and Evvie?”
“Hell, no.” Cole grinned. “Hailey would kick my ass.”
“I meant if you didn’t have Hailey, asshole.”
“Sorry, man. I’m not going to imagine my life without her. But I will say, I’ve dated a lot of women in my life, and I didn’t feel jack shit for any of them. But with Hailey—I knew.”
It was like fitting a puzzle piece into the right spot, the connection, the click…the sense of rightness. “Like I said, she’s leaving at the end of summer.”
“I hear you, man.” Skates tied, Cole stood. “If you’re coming up with excuses, then she’s not your girl.”
“I just told you she’s not staying.”
“I heard you. But I lived in Boston, and Hailey lived in New York, and I can tell you right now, nothing would’ve kept me from trying to make it work with her. I was not letting that woman go.”
“It’s different. Grace has to go back to her family’s business.” Jaime grabbed his stick and followed Cole.
