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He shrugged. “I don’t know. I’ve really enjoyed what I’ve been learning. It might be fun to still try for something like that.”
She bit back a frown. Culturally speaking, the folks out here enjoyed the rodeo. They liked watching cowboys ride and rope with accuracy. They could enjoy the various competitions without thinking too much about what was happening to the animals or how the men risked their lives.
But there was a reason her father had never shown an interest in competing or let his daughters get into it. Aspects of the sport were definitely dangerous. On top of worrying about his safety, she couldn’t help but think about his reasons for trying the rodeo in the first place. He wanted to impress Dahlia, right? She ran in those circles, and by the way Dahlia had been looking at Adam when they’d all bumped into each other at the country club, Faye wouldn’t be surprised if the woman was interested in him.
A trickle of jealousy ate at her, but she quickly shoved those thoughts aside. Adam was here with her, not Dahlia. She needed to live in the moment, enjoy what he had planned.
She took another sip of her drink then placed the cup down. She could now only see his face from the flickering light of the candle.
He cocked his head as he leaned back and put all his weight on the palm of his hand. “Why do you ask? Are you tired of teaching me?”
Faye could tell him now. It would be easy to explain her opinions of the dangers involved with the rodeo. Doing so meant she might ruin their evening. That conversation could come another time when they were riding. She shook her head. “I enjoy our rides far too much to stop teaching you. Besides, you still have a ton to learn.”
He scoffed. “Excuse me? I think I do a pretty good job of holding my own.”
“I don’t think they’d let you enter the rodeo with a horse like Bella.” She giggled. “If you’re serious about the rodeo, you’re going to have to do a lot more than learn how to handle a horse. You’re going to have to learn how to handle a specific kind of horse.”
It was too dark to tell if he was amused right along with her or if he didn’t like what she had told him. He didn’t respond, only bent to pick up a few things and put them back in the basket.
She straightened. “Are we ready? Is it happening?”
Adam grinned then reached for the candle to her right. He held it closer to his face and she could see the reflection of the flame in his eyes. “We’re ready.” He took a deep breath and then puffed the flame out.
Everything around her was black and she blinked several times to help her eyes adjust to the dark. That’s when she realized they were glowing. She lifted her arms then looked up and gasped. There were two large skylights overhead that she’d never noticed before.
Faye dropped her gaze to where Adam was seated beside her. He handed her a blanket and then spread his out before lying atop of it. His hands clasped behind his head, and he chuckled. “Well, come on. You’re going to miss it.”
“Miss what?” She dropped the blanket beside his and settled onto her back to stare up at the skylight. They were a lot closer than she’d realized. It was like they had their own personal window to the heavens.
He brought down his hands from behind his head and they rested between the two of them. His small finger brushed against hers, sending her heart into erratic flurries. Faye bit back a giddy grin. She couldn’t bring herself to look at him, so she kept her eyes trained on the stars that had begun to shine through the skylight. “I would have thought it was too bright to see stars around here. I mean, out at my family’s ranch, you can seeeverything.”
Adam twisted his head around and she finally turned toward him. “I shut off the outside lights. And it certainly helps that we’re a smaller town than Colorado Springs.” He shifted as if he needed to get comfortable, then he lifted his hand and pointed toward the window. “See that brighter star in the upper right corner of the window?”
Faye followed his direction. “Yeah.”
“That one’s mine.”
She snorted. “What? Did you adopt it or something?”
He didn’t answer right away, which caused her to turn her head toward him once again. He smiled. “When I was eight, I had a thing for stars.”
Stunned, she didn’t know what to say. Not only was Adam sensitive, but he also had an appreciation for nature, and he knew how to work on cars. He was a boyfriend trifecta. She couldn’t believe he hadn’t gotten married by now.
Adam chuckled. “What?”
His word tore her from her frozen state. She blinked and let out a laugh of her own. “You were a nerd.”
“Hey!” He dropped his hand between them again, but this time he reached for her hand. His fingers laced between hers. The connection sent a ripple of pleasant shivers through her body.
“So, what did you name it?”
He stiffened. She couldn’t see it, but there was just something about the air between them.
Faye scooted a little closer to him. “What did you name your star?”
“I don’t want to say.”
She sat up on her elbow with a laugh. “It can’t be that bad. It’s a star. You were a kid. What did you name your little star?”
