I nodded, trying not to smile too much. I’d missed riding with her.
Hell, I’d missed everything about her.
Even if I was pissed about the way she’d left, the way she’d walked out of my life—it didn’t mean I didn’t miss the hell out of her.
“All right. We can do that.”
I turned to walk down a few stalls to get Honey.
And just like that, we were moving down the field toward the trees and the river.
I glanced over to see Wren’s long braid hanging over one shoulder beneath her helmet, her lips turned up in the corners and contentment in those dark eyes.
We galloped through the acres of grass side by side, just like we’d done thousands of times before.
She pointed at the tree.
Our tree.
We pulled back on the reins at the same time before we both slid off our horses and tied them to the tree where we’d spent most of our teenage years.
She dropped to the ground and sat so her back was leaning against the tree. This was the most open she’d been with me, and vice versa.
“I meant it when I said I don’t want to hate you anymore,” she said as she turned to look at me.
The sun was a mix of oranges and pinks, and a light breeze bustled around us. Spring in Rosewood River was my favorite. Not too hot, but warm enough to get into the river if you wanted to.
“And I meant it when I said it, too.”
“Hating you is hard, Axel.” She blinked up at me a few times, and I noticed she looked exhausted.
“Not talking to you has been difficult for me. Really difficult,” I admitted.
Her eyes cinched together as if she was confused by the statement.
“I had to do it for self-preservation.” She shrugged.
What the fuck does that mean?
“I’m not sure why you needed to block me from not only your phone but your life for self-preservation.”
She blew out a breath. “The truth is, we shouldn’t have crossed the line that night. That was mistake number one.”
Wow. Was that what this was about? She’d regretted our night together.
Fuck me.
It was all I’d thought about after she left. And then I’d forced myself to move on, though I still thought about it almost every fucking day.
Even though she forced my hand, and I had to let her go.
“I didn’t expect you to say that,” I admitted. “It wasn’t something I took lightly.”
She sighed loudly as if my statement irritated her.
Glass fucking houses.
Her saying that our one night together was a mistake irritated me as well.
