“I wasn’t planning to admit that.”
He shifted, turning more in her direction. “We need to be straight with each other.”
Her gaze flickered.
He squeezed her hand. “We were last time. We didn’t pull any punches.”
“You’re right.” She took a deep breath. “If I’m honest with myself, I adopted the H&H horses because it created a connection to you.”
His heartbeat ramped up a notch. “I wondered about that.”
“I liked being a tiny part of the project you care so much about. But then….” She looked away. “I had this dream about you.”
“Only one? I’ve had dozens about you. Mostly X-rated.”
“I’ve had those, too, but this was different. You asked me to come to you. You said we… we belong together.”
His brain stalled. “That’s what brought you here? To find out if we?—”
“Good heavens, no. Clearly we don’t belong together. We both know that.”
She might know it. He was no longer sure.
“That stupid dream stuck with me just like the earworm of a song you can’t get rid of. If you had been married, that would likely have squashed it. I searched for clues on the website. Couldn’t find any.”
“Nothing to find.” And why was he still single? Another good question. Was he a one-woman man? That would suck.
“I was still convinced you had to be married or at least engaged. Since I couldn’t confirm it online, I had a perfect excuse to come see for myself.”
“What was your Plan B?”
“Didn’t have one.”
“That’s not like you.”
“In my mind, odds of you being available were ninety-nine to one.” She turned back to him. “At the very least you’d have a serious girlfriend. That wouldn’t be as solid, but if you were in love with someone, better yet if I saw you with her acting all lovey-dovey, I’d be free of that blasted dream.”
“Will you tell me about it?”
“Why?”
“Just curious. Maybe there’s something in there that would help dismantle it.”
“Okay.” She settled back against the pillow. “It was twilight, my favorite time of day.”
“Night. It’s not day anymore at twilight.”
“Yes, it is. There’s still light in the sky from the sun, which makes it part of the day.”
“The percentage of dark is more than the percentage of light, which makes it part of the night. The evening star comes out. They don’t call it the daylight star.”
“Do you really want to argue about this?”
“I kinda do. Reminds me of the debates we used to have, like whether Scout is more of a Paint than a pinto.”
“Paint.”
“Pinto.”
