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At nine that evening, JoJo held onto the box with cake slices in it, unlocked the door of her apartment, stepped inside, then closed it. She was tired. It had been a long day, and she would soak in the tub, then relax the rest of the evening. She was excited about seeing Brett tomorrow.
****
Sunday morning, Brett strode across the yard to the barn, then entered. After his eyes adjusted, he strolled down the aisle to check the horses.
“Hey, girl,” he whispered, peering into the stall. The horse raised her head, blew out a breath, and walked to the gate. Brett smiled as he rubbed her velvety nose.
Ryder told him her name was Cinder, short for Cinderella, and the male was Viggo. Brett laughed when Ryder told him his wife, Kelsey, named them.Cinderellawas her favorite fairytale, and she loved Viggo Mortensen.
Brett knew people named their animals after things like that. When he was younger, he had a horse named Indiana, after Harrison Ford, in the Indiana Jones movies.
He took the lead off the hook, slid the gate open, hooked it to the halter, then led her out to the corral. He returned to the barn and did the same thing with Viggo.
Placing his arms on the top rail, he watched them run around. Once JoJo got here, he’d saddle them. He knew where he wanted to ride today. He planned to go to the pond and have lunch there.
He didn’t know if JoJo liked to fish, but he loved it. Striding into the tack room, he found the fishing poles and put them by the saddlebags. He placed one of the tackle boxes next to it.
Glancing at his watch, he saw it was almost ten. She should be here soon, and he couldn’t wait to see her. Was this happening too fast? He had just met her but knew he wanted to know her so much more and hoped she felt the same.
It didn’t take long to know you liked someone. He’d met many people who rubbed him the wrong way the minute he met them. His mother always told him he had great instincts about people. He didn’t know about that. He knew there were people he didn’t like.
Brett laughed. He was sure some people didn’t like him either, but he had a lot of friends who did, and as long as JoJo did, he was okay with that.
He squinted up at the sun. It would be a hot day. It was already close to eighty, and the temperature would rise as the day went on. A swim would feel great after the ride.
At eleven, he stood in the kitchen, making up the lunches. He’d leave the sandwiches until JoJo arrived because he didn’t know what she liked. He got two apples from the fruit bowl on the bar and put them into the bags, then added bottled water and paper towels.
He smiled when he heard a vehicle outside and went to the door to look out the window. He watched as she exited her SUV, glanced around, and looked at the house.
Brett opened the door and stepped onto the porch.
“Hey,” he said, and when she smiled at him, his heart hit his stomach.
“Hi. You have a beautiful place here, Brett.”
“Thanks. Come in, and I’ll show you around.”
She nodded, opened the backdoor, reached inside, pulled out a bag, and walked up the steps. She held it up.
“Cake.”
“I love cake. We can take it with us for dessert.”
“Great. It’s a yellow cake with chocolate icing, which is so good.”
“Did you make it?”
“No. Sloane did. She makes all kinds of cakes for occasions.”
“Well, if it’s anything like the other sweets in the bakery, I can’t wait to taste it.” He stepped forward, took the bag from her, then took her hand and led her inside. He didn’t want to let go.
“It’s a beautiful kitchen.”
Brett set the bag on the counter, then led her through the house.
“I liked the house before I even entered it.”
“It’s gorgeous.” She gasped when he took her into the master bedroom, and he watched her walk to the French doors and peer out. “That pool looks so inviting.”
