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Brielle tilted her head, her eyes drilling into him. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and looked away.
“They’re not even really my cousins.” When he glanced back at her, he noted the confusion that filled her face. “I was adopted. They’re not related to me by blood. They never treated me like family, so I never thought to tell you about them.”
“Oh,” she murmured softly. “Well, I guess that’s something you could tell Eloise. Maybe then she might view Marc differently.”
He held up his hands, shaking his head. “I can’t tell her anything that would reveal—” He cut himself off when the doorknob rattled.
Both of them turned their attention to the noise, and Eloise made an appearance. Her eyes darted from Brielle to Shane, and then she sighed. “You’re not telling him off, are you?”
Brielle glanced toward him, offering him a tight smile. “No. I think we’ve finally come to terms with what happened.”
“Good.” Eloise gave her sister a hug. “I’ll be back late. Tell Dad not to wait up.” She turned toward Shane, but behind her, Brielle gestured wildly to her arm.
It took everything in his wheelhouse not to roll his eyes. He was a gentleman. His parents and grandfather raised him as such. Of course he was going to offer Eloise his arm.
She grinned up at him as she accepted, and they headed down the steps toward his truck.
Her touch was gentle, and the warmth seeped through his suit coat almost immediately. A strange kind of shiver originated from where she held onto him, and it traveled up his arm into his chest.
He could do this—get close to her in a way he had never allowed himself to do with anyone else. He just had to plan ahead. She didn’t need to know his life story. And telling her a little bit wouldn’t make him weak. Just because he’d learned to keep a lot of that sort of thing to himself around his cousins didn’t mean he had to do the same thing with Eloise. She’d probably see right through it anyway.
Shane opened the door, and she climbed inside. Between their drive to the airport and getting on the plane, their small talk was excruciating.
“So, what is your business meeting about?”
They had been up in the air for about twenty minutes of their two-hour flight. He shot a look in her direction, taking a break from the papers he was going over.
She gestured toward said papers. “I assume that’s why you’re enthralled with those documents instead of enjoying a conversation with me.”
He flinched. Technically the flight and the meeting weren’t part of the date. He should have been able to prepare for his meeting. But Eloise made a good point without even trying. “Yes, I’m preparing for my meeting. I have to look over the proposition they’ve sent.” He tilted the paperwork. “They’re suggesting a partnership where they are the sole providers of the horses I use at the equine therapy center I’ve started.”
Eloise scooted closer to him, peering at the papers. “Why would you do that? Aren’t there enough horses to buy locally?”
“Yes, if I don’t plan to expand. I’ve looked into offering more services such as riding lessons. The horses I use for therapy wouldn’t be the same as the ones I’d use to teach cowboys how to ride and rope.”
Her eyes flitted up to meet his. “Oh.”
“And I worry if I expand too quickly, I’d be taking horses from the locals who need them for their work.”
“That makes sense.” She glanced at the paperwork again. “May I?”
Shane shrugged. “Be my guest.”
She read through the first few lines, then let out a laugh. “This is a joke, right?”
He frowned. “I’m sorry?”
Eloise shook her head and handed him the paperwork again. “For what you’re describing, that proposal is a rip-off. They’re not cutting you a deal at all. My father gets livestock for at least ten percent less and he doesn’t have a contract with anyone. I’d suggest getting a few other bids.”
“Their offer includes training.”
“That’s great and all, but you have trainers who probably do a better job because they know what you need.”
He stared at her. In under five minutes she’d made it perfectly clear what he needed to say to this company. He’d nearly been prepared to sign on the dotted line simply because he couldn’t see anything wrong with what they were offering.
“Seriously, if you get an exclusive deal, it’s not supposed to benefit them more than you. You’ve created a brand for your therapy services. If you were to expand to other states, then they would be able to wear that badge of honor and advertise it. They should be giving you a steeper discount if they want to win you over.” Eloise snuggled back into her seat.
A smile stretched across his face unbidden. “Point taken.” He placed the paperwork on the table in front of him. “I take it that your father was the one to teach you this sort of thing?”
