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“Your mom okay with you drinking?” he asked her. She still wasn’t twenty-one.
“I don’t know.” Sabrina shrugged. “Anybody gonna tell her?”
Of course somebody was going to tell her, this town was too small and mouths were too big. Luckily, it wouldn’t involve Grace.
And then Ethan walked over. He was wearing a pair of long shorts and a t-shirt, his hair mussed up the way it always was. “Hey.” He smiled widely at Grace. “I tried to call you earlier. See if you wanted to come over together.”
And she’d ignored his call because she didn’t have the energy to deal with him. “Sorry, I didn’t check my phone. How are you?” she asked politely, because now she felt bad. But she also didn’t want to give him the wrong impression.
“I’m good now that I’ve seen you.” He clinked his beer against hers. “I hear you went riding today.”
And there it was. Proof positive that nothing remained a secret around here. Well, almost nothing. “Arcadia needed to stretch his legs. I haven’t taken him out for a week,” she told him.
“Next time tell me. I’ll ride with you.”
She smiled. “Sure.” But she wouldn’t. She rode to think, to be alone, to feel elated. And it was one thing having her mom there, but not Ethan.
It felt too weird.
From the corner of her eye, she could see her uncles and her dad by the grills, beers in their hands, all laughing. Then her heart did a little twist when she saw Michael there.
She looked away quickly, her cheeks burning.
“I mean, only if you want,” Ethan said.
Grace took a deep breath. “I mostly ride alone,” she told him. “But maybe sometime.”
“Okay.” He grinned at her. “By the way, I met Arcadia last week when I visited the farm to check over all the horses. He’s beautiful.”
She smiled, pleased. “Thank you.” He’d been her sweet sixteenth birthday gift. But she’d had to work weekends at the stable to pay for his board.
“Have you ever thought of breeding him?” Ethan asked, and it felt a little too personal.
“Not really.” She shook her head.
“I have clients who’d love a thoroughbred like him as a sire. If you change your mind, let me know.”
“Sure.”
She looked over at the grills again. Michael was talking to her uncle Cam. He was wearing dark jeans that hugged his thick thighs, and a black t-shirt that had the same attachment to his chest. Before she could look away, he turned and caught her staring. She pulled her lip between her teeth, because she’d promised to ignore him.
He lifted a single brow, and it annoyed her.
Don’t mess with me, asshole. I know your secrets and you have some answering to do.
It was as though neither of them were willing to look away first. A game you’d play in kindergarten, except it never made her feel like this. Light-headed. Buzzing. A little turned on.
He parted his lips to breathe out, and she hoped he felt just as messed up.
“Your hair’s turned lighter,” Ethan said. “Must be something to do with the sun.” He leaned forward to pick up a lock of it, sliding his fingers over her hair.
Michael’s eyes narrowed. She liked that.
“It always does that in the summer,” she murmured.
“It suits you. Makes you look prettier than ever.” Ethan’s fingertips trailed along her cheek, and she shivered – but not from pleasure. She didn’t like him touching her at all.
“Thanks.” She stepped back, feeling uncomfortable.
