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Even the thought of confirming what she probably already knew was enough to get his heart racing. This wasn’t a proposal. He didn’t have a ring, and he wasn’t asking her to move in with him. But he was telling her that he had no intention of dating anyone else and he wanted her to know she was it for him.
His whole body was on edge, mentally and physically. All the steps he planned to take over the next couple of months were going to change both of their lives forever.
“Simon? You in here?” Daniel poked his head in the doorway. Evening had fallen behind him and the glow from the barn light illuminated only his face to make it appear he was floating. Behind Daniel, Megan materialized.
Simon still couldn’t get past the way Megan looked like she’d just walked out of a corporate office. She’d been living here for long enough, he would have thought her wardrobe would have changed to match. But then if she stopped wearing her pantsuits and donned a cowboy hat, he wasn’t sure he’d recognize her.
Megan smiled warmly at him and waved a manila folder in the air. “Guess what I have,” she sang.
Simon placed his hands on his knees and stood from the bale of hay he’d been sitting on. He moved toward her, and his heart accelerated even faster. At some point, he was bound to have a cardiac event if he didn’t get his nerves under control. Holding out his hand, he took the folder and flipped it open.
“I take it the city approved my business registration. And the loan?” He glanced up at Megan, who nodded.
“Better than we expected.”
His eyes widened and he turned his focus back to the paperwork until he found the document. “You’re kidding,” he muttered.
“Nope. Seems when Daniel was willing to co-sign with you, it bumped up your credibility.” Megan gave her husband a warm look, the kind that Simon often gave to Katrina. It was nice to see the love these two shared seemed comparable to that he had for Katrina. It made him feel like he had a shot at his own happily ever after.
“I can’t believe it. I didn’t think it was going to be so easy.”
“It’s amazing what you can accomplish when you set your mind to something, right?” Daniel chuckled, clapping his hand on Simon’s shoulder. “You’ve earned it. I don’t think I’ve seen anyone work as hard as you did. The research alone would have made my head explode.”
Megan slipped her arm around Daniel’s waist and leaned into him before resting her cheek against his shoulder. “To be fair, Simon has been dreaming about this for a long time. It wasn’t just something that fell into his lap.”
Daniel scoffed, shooting a mocked-hurt expression in her direction. “That’s not fair at all.”
She laughed.
Simon watched them interact and found it hard to believe they’d been such at odds with one another not too long ago. Katrina didn’t give him all the details, but she did mention that Daniel had absolutely hated Megan when she’d first shown up.
Now, they were in love.
Daniel glanced over to Simon, probably sensing that he was being watched. “Now that you have the loan approval and the business plan in place, you’re all set to break ground on the training center you wanted to build. It’s going to take a while to get it constructed, so I wanted to offer some space out at our place if you need to board any horses you might buy.”
“I don’t think I’ll be making that kind of purchase yet. I need to get materials for the training, and I wanted to reach out to some of the locals to offer on-site training until it’s up and running.”
Megan straightened. “That’s a wonderful idea. You’ll be able to get a loyal client-base and when you move everything here, you’ll have an amazing jumping-off point.”
“Have you told Katrina yet?”
Daniel’s serious voice wasn’t expected and it made Simon do a double-take. He glanced toward Megan briefly as if she would know why her fiancé was suddenly not as lively as before.
“Not yet. And thanks, by the way, for not telling her. I wanted to make sure everything would work out. You know the way she got when she lost out on the job she had. I didn’t want to trigger anything.” Simon forced a smile, suddenly feeling like he was being judged for keeping this from his girlfriend.
Daniel and Megan exchanged glances. Megan reached out and patted his arm. “Don’t worry about it. Tell her when you’re ready. It’ll be a big change for both of you. And just so you know, this is happening. That paperwork in your hand proves it.”
“Congrats, man. I’m glad we could do this together. I can’t think of a guy I’d rather work with on something like this.” Daniel smiled once more toward his wife. “And Megan can attest to just how hard it is for me to work with someone else on their dream.”
“Thanks, guys.” Simon tapped the folder on his palm. Daniel was right. Even though he hadn’t said anything out loud, and he didn’t have to, Simon knew it was time.
Still, just because Simon had come to this conclusion didn’t mean he was happy about it. He’d go talk to Katrina right now and make sure she knew what was going on. Then he’d make sure she knew how he felt about their future.
He forced another smile and saw the couple off. Stepping out into the darkness, he glanced toward his house. The lights in the front room were on, and he could see through the window just how nice the living room had turned out. By the looks of it, Katrina had done what she could to arrange the furniture.
His breath caught in his lungs, and he had to focus on drawing in enough oxygen before he made his way toward the front door. He could do this. They’d successfully avoided any conversation regarding her past and what had brought her home, but now it was time to face the music.
He hoped everything would turn out exactly the way he wanted it to. Why not? She was happy. He was excited. They were good together.
