We packed up, Noah handling most of it while I shook out the blanket and dusted off my jeans.
“You know, for a guy with a romantic streak, I’m surprised you’re still single,” I teased. Not that it mattered. But I was curious.
He shot me a look. “Romantic?”
“Yeah. Horseback ride and dinner under the stars? Classic.”
He shrugged, securing a load onto his horse’s saddlebag. “Guess the setting did all the work. I just had to show up.”
“And heat up the pie?” I smirked.
“Ah, so you admit I deserve some credit?”
“Maybe.”
His expression shifted just a fraction before he said, “The truth is, relationships and I…we don’t last long.”
My heart hit a weird little pause. “Is that a warning?”
“Oh, no. Nothing like that.” He sighed. “I think I just got used to leaving first. Beat them to it. Figured if I didn’t stick around, it wouldn’t hurt when they didn’t either.”
I stared at him for a beat. No mask. Just Noah.
“You’re different, Blue,” he added. “And I don’t say that lightly.”
“You said that to every girl you dated?”
He grinned. “Plenty of sorries. But never that. I’m not a liar. In fact, I’m maybe too honest for my own good.”
“I’m a convicted thief, but honesty matters to me,” I said, like I wasn’t about to shatter everything I’d just laid out as truth.
“How about you?”
“Prison made me single,” I said, a half-smile tugging at my lips.
We let it sit between us, unspoken but understood, while we cleared the rest of our dinner mess.
Once everything was packed, he turned to me with his hand extended.
“Come here,” he said, his voice sure. “Youarespecial, Maya Belrose.”
I placed my palm in his, and with a smooth pull, he helped me up onto Caramel. His hands lingered at my waist for just a second longer than necessary, like he was making sure I was truly settled. Or maybe he just liked touching me.
I liked it too.
Once he was up on his own horse, we rode side by side, the valley stretching wide before us, bathed in moonlight. How I wished I could forget everything else, like the trouble waiting for me back at the ranch.
19
MAYA
The night should’ve felt peaceful, given the way moonlight draped over the path back. But all I could feel was the tightening in my chest.
The window was closing. This was it.
If I left now, it would have to be for good. No turning back. No second chances.
I swallowed against the nausea clawing up my throat. I needed an excuse. A reason to slip away, get to the oak tree, and take back what was mine. To leave Noah standing in this quiet, beautiful place without me.
