“I—we were. For a little while.” I took a deep breath as we made our way up the road to his little cabin in the woods. “But we had a few other things to discuss.”
“Like what?” he asked, pulling into the circular drive.
“Do you know what Luke is known for, aside from being the Rodeo King?”
Skylar shrugged. “I dunno, being hot?”
I let out a disgruntled sound, which made him laugh. “No.” I drummed my fingers on his dash as he pulled in front of the cabin. “In the short time we overlapped at the rodeo, I never knew Luke was gay. Maybe a handful of people did. He only came out at the very end of his career. Er, more like he was injured and outed on live television.”
Skylar turned to me, eyes wide. “That’swhy I know who he is. It’s been bugging me all morning.”
“It was all over the rodeo websites and social media platforms—there’s even a whole YouTube channel dedicated toit. He went into hiding after and then did one last ride at the gay rodeo up in Austin a few years ago.”
“Oh my God, that is so romantic.”
“More than you realize. His husband is a photographer, among other things, and he took the most beautiful pictures of Luke’s last ride. I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone look so free.”
“It’s nice that you support your friend,” he said, looking thoughtful as he exited the small SUV.
Even with the brace, my knee was already being an asshole, so I gave myself a few extra seconds as I responded, “I do. Support him, that is. I made sure he knew it, too. I’d reached out after all the publicity had died down, but by then we were both busy and never reconnected beyond a few messages. Maybe now we’ll be able to spend more time together.”
“I hope you can. From what Sam says, he’s a great guy.”
“He thought you were pretty great too,” I said, finally exiting the vehicle. Thankfully, I wasn’t facing Sky as I put my weight on the knee.
“Yeah, well.” Skylar gave me hisoopsgrin, his eyes flashing with trouble. “Luke doesn’t know his husband scheduled him for an appointment with me in a couple of weeks. He might not like me so much after that.”
I laughed, the nerves making it a sharp, weird thing. “You really enjoy sneakily taking care of all the cowboys out here, don’t you?”
“Probably a little more than I should,” he said, looking over at me as I shut the door. “I blame you.”
“That’s okay. There’s a lot I blame you for, too,” I said, too nervous to even worry about the twinge in my knee.
Sky tilted his head to the side. “What do you mean by that?”
I met him at the front of the car, so jumpy I thought I was gonna fly apart. I took a deep breath.
“Seriously, Kit. What is going on with you?” he asked, gesturing at the length of me.
Words—every last goddamned one of ’em—fled my brain like woodland animals fleeing a forest fire.
Fuck it.
Unable to articulate what was going on in my body, I wrapped my hand around the back of his head. His eyes widened, and I hesitated, panicked this would be a repeat of the first time I’d kissed him. But then I remembered Luke’s words.
At least you know he likes you back.
“Cowboy?”
I looked into his eyes, so full of surprise and desire, and slowed everything down. My breathing, my heart rate, time itself.
“I would really like to kiss you. For real this time.”
He let out a surprised breath. “Hell, Kit. I’ve been waiting?—”
I closed my eyes and placed a kiss on his soft lips, accidentally cutting off whatever he was going to say. I hadn’t meant to, but I couldn’t wait another second.
The warmth of his mouth against mine was the answer to every question I’d ever had over these last few weeks.Yes,it said softly.This is what you were meant to do with the rest of your life.
