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“Yes!” she cries, with sudden enthusiasm. “The horses await!”
I grin at her, still totally taken by how adorable she is, and we make our way back up to the room to change into some more appropriate clothing.
“Have you ever been horse riding?” I ask once we’re downstairs and making the long trek over to the stables.
“Nope,” she tells me, flashing me a smile. “That’s why I’m so excited for this.”
Something about the way she says it makes my heart feel full. Once again, I’m just so glad that I can do something that brings her joy.
She wears a broad smile all the way to the stables and even though it’s a bit of a hike to get there, I don’t mind at all. It’s more than worth it to see her so happy. When we get there, we’re each given a horse. Mine is a black mare, while hers is a lovely chestnut that almost matches her skin.
It’s clear she’s immediately in love and even though I should be listening to the instructor, I’m keeping one eye on Jada instead. She’s waiting for someone to help her up onto the saddle and while she waits, she mutters little comments to the steed.
“Oh you’re so lovely,” I hear her say, leaning against the horse’s neck. “We’re going to have a nice little ride through the country, aren’t we?”
I have to stifle a smile so my instructor doesn’t think I’m a lunatic and kick me off the trail ride, but her one-way conversation with the horse is exceedingly cute. It’s a side to her I haven’t completely seen before, and I love that she’s still surprising me with little things like that. It shows me how much more of her there is to discover.
“Alright, so you got all that?” the instructor asks me, pulling my attention away from Jada.
“Yup, sounds good,” I tell him, even though I was only half-listening.
Luckily I have enough experience with horses that I can fake my way through the parts I didn’t hear and soon we’re setting off along a track that winds through the small woods lying behind the resort.
“Oh my God, this is amazing!” squeals Jada as her horse trundles slowly alongside mine.
Both our horses already know what to do without any input from us of course, but it seems like Jada paid perfect attention to her instructor because she’s holding the reins with just the right amount of tension. It’s clear she’s completely ecstatic, and I already want to live this moment over and over again.
“Having fun, I take it?” I ask with a knowing smile as I look over at her.
“This might be the best thing I’ve ever done,” she tells me. “Apart from marrying you of course,” she adds with a wink and a wry smile.
As usual, I can’t tell if this is just her sense of humor or if there’s some truth to her words, but I decide it doesn’t matter. All I want is to enjoy this moment with her, and I do.
24
JADA
The sweet aroma of animals takes on a new personality in our suite. It’s a rancid mix of our sweat, the sun-baked room and horses. I turn around, face Carter when he shuts the door behind us, and scrunch my nose.
He looks at me without missing a beat and says, “Well, you smell pretty bad yourself.”
My hand flies up to cover the burst of giggles I let out. “I didn’t mean it like that, I promise.”
“Your face said otherwise,” he says goodnaturedly. “Dibs on the bathroom!”
His innocent announcement strikes my heart with a mild lightning bolt. Should fake married people, who kiss goodnight and hold hands when they take walks, see each other going in and out of the shower? The lines are blurry. I can’t imagine stripping out of my dirty clothes while I wait for the shower, even if I wear a towel after, any more than I can imagine wearing them another second.
I flash him my best sad puppy face in response.
“Okay, fine,” he concedes. “I’ll clean up after you.”
Preparing for my shower takes longer than usual. I grab everything I might need and then some. Don’t want to have to saunter back half-naked, looking for any forgotten necessities.
Twenty minutes later I come out clean and fully dressed. When he goes in, I sit atop the bed and reminisce about our day. I’m happy that the modesty lines are now drawn in regards to the shower.
Just as I muse on this, Carter strolls out of the bathroom. He seems to have missed my oh-so deliberate decency memo. My eyes dart away from his shirtless, water droplet speckled, chiseled calendar model body.
Oh boy.
