“I accept.” I kicked Andromeda’s flank on one side and used my crop on the other to spur her forward.
“Yah!” Damon shouted behind me.
I flicked my wrists, snapping my horse’s reins, but her response was half-hearted, her steps slow.
Damon pulled even with me, spared me a grin, then raced ahead.
I leaned forward. “Come on, girl. Faster.”
Andromeda increased her speed, but her effort was too little, too late. My mare was no match for a stallion, and Damon crossed our finish line first.
Dash it all!
“Conversation it is,” he said smugly as we pulled our horses to a slow walk. “When did you first know you were in love with my brother?”
I had no desire to answer his question, but I wouldn’t go back on my word. Besides, the quicker I answered, the sooner we could move on to less-embarrassing questions. “It was the end of my twelfth summer,” I said, still a bit winded from our race. “We were standing under the old oak tree saying goodbye; he kissed my hand and then my cheek, and . . . I just knew.”
Damon smiled as if amused. “Is that all it takes for you to fall in love with a man? A kiss on your hand?”
“And my cheek.”
“Had I known it was so easy.” He chuckled under his breath.
“You mock me.” I frowned. “You have no doubt given and received many kisses. I probably seem foolish or naive to someone like you.”
“Someone like me?” His eyes narrowed.
“An heir to an earldom must have an endless supply of willing women to kiss.”
“Ah yes. The title is quite attractive to your sex. Though to be fair, many women find my estate more alluring.” Damon laughed lightly, like the fact that women wanted his title more than they wanted him didn’t bother him in the least. But the overly cool way in which he spoke made me wonder if somewhere, hidden in the deepest recesses of his heart, he had a desire to be loved not forwhathe was, but forwhohe was.
“Do you deny it?” I asked softly, wanting to know the truth.
“Most emphatically. I am not the libertine you imagine me to be.”
“Perhaps not, but Ollie would have let me win the race to the crest.”
“Had you ridden the stallion instead of the mare, you would not have needed me to let you win. You could have won on your own merit.” Damon kicked the horse’s flanks, demanding his mount forward.
Every time I thought I’d gained the upper hand in our conversation, he found some way to outwit me. I glared at the back of his head for a long moment, then guided my horse in the same direction.
Damon made no attempt to continue our discussion, and I let my gaze wander over the breathtaking view. Lord Winfield owned the land as far as the eye could see. The hills and the river that passed through it. Every rock, blade of grass, and animal that dwelled within my sight would one day belong to Damon.
“What are you thinking?” Damon said, breaking the silence.
“I was wondering what it would be like to live every day in such a paradise.”
“Purgatory.”
I frowned. I couldn’t imagine anyone disliking Summerhaven, much less its future lord and master. “Do you hate Summerhaven?”
“Hate, like anger, is futile,” Damon said, “but I will confess to disliking what she requires me to be.”
“What does she require you to be?”
“My father’s son and heir.”
My brow pulled together in surprise. “Why would you hate that?”
