Her reaction isn’t what I’m expecting. She bursts into a fit of loud laughter.
“That’s the question you decide to ask? My God. You could have asked meanything.”
My eyes narrow. “I want to know the answer.”
Her laughter fades into a small smirk as she considers me. Then, her expression shifts, something heavier settling in her features.
“Because I don’t ever want to be stifled the way I was in my first marriage. Landon was like”—her brows knit together as she searches for the right words—“a weighted chain wrapped around my waist, dragging me into the depths of the sea.”
“How so?”
She clicks her tongue at me. “Ah-Ah. My question first." Her gaze sharpens as she leans back to study me. "Why didn’t you come back?”
I shrug, though the answer sits heavy in my chest. “I wasn’t supposed to want to be out here. Dad always made it clear he wanted me to take over the accounting firm one day. I guess I just did what was expected of me. I didn’t want to disappoint him.”
She surveys me solemnly. “I guess I can understand that. Disappointing the people you love is always a hard pill to swallow.”
I nod grimly. "Now answer mine. What made you feel chained?"
She glances away, exhaling a shaky breath. “Landon always tried to tame me, to make me more palatable for mass consumption. You know how important his family is around here." She presses her lips into a thin line. "I tried to rein myself in, to be smaller for him, to beless. But eventually, I realized I wasn’t happy. I’d become a ghost of myself.”
“You blame marriage in general and not the man?” I press even though I know it’s my turn to answer a question.
She huffs out a quiet laugh, shaking her head. “I always thought he loved me for who I was until we got married and then everything changed." Her eyes meet mine, her expression unreadable. "We were so young, and I think we both had a lot of growing up to do. I’m not against the construct of marriage, but it’s not something I would ever take so lightly again. I’d need to know that the next man could handle all the wild in me.”
I can’t remember the last time I sat by a fire with a woman late at night, eager to just listen to her talk. Not waiting for my turn to speak, not thinking about what comes next—justlistening.
But here I am, hanging on every word she says.
I could sit out here with her all night and never get bored.
She cocks her head to the side. “What about you, cowboy?”
“Whataboutme?”
“You’re older than I am. I’ve been married and divorced. I have every reason to be wary of marriage. But you?" Her eyes hold mine, curious and unguarded. "Why haven’tyouever entered into holy matrimony?”
“My fiancée dumped me,” I remind her, looking up at the navy sky.
She rolls her eyes. “That’s a cop-out. You already told me about how it ended with Hannah.”
My lips curve into a crooked smile. She’s got me there.
I would have married Hannah simply because it’s what my mother wanted, despite there being no real spark between us. Before that, I’d never found someone who interested me.
I exhale on a self-deprecating laugh. “Never found someone who didn’t bore me to tears, I guess.”
“You’re anaccountant," she says it like it's a dirty word. "Of course, the women you attracted were boring."
I snort. “You’renot boring.”
“And I wasn’t the least bit attracted when you got here,” she points out.
I think back and realize every encounter we had in the beginning was tinged with her obvious distaste, right up until the day I got back in the saddle to rope again. The day I dusted off my old lucky hat.
“So, what you’re saying is you only like me for my Stetson?” I tease.
She smiles, and it makes her face nearly as bright as the flames swirling against the stone. “Something like that.”
