I whip around.
Declan is standing three feet away from me.
Declan Wild, my husband, who I haven’t seen since our wedding night.
Without giving any thought to what it means, I run and jump into his arms.
“I’m so glad to see you,” I say into his neck.
He smells like fresh soap and his woodsy cologne. I pull my head back so I can look at him.
He smiles, almost looking surprised. “I figured you would have enjoyed the alone time to adjust to everything.”
“I enjoy company.”Especially yours. “You’re dressed all fancy,” I say teasingly as I admire his coat and tie.
He grins. “Didn’t have a chance to change after my press conference.”
His facial hair is thicker than usual as if he hasn’t shaved in a few days, and I reach out and run my fingers over his jawline. He sucks in a breath, and his beautiful gray eyes darken as we study each other in silence.
I slide down his hard, solid body until my feet hit the carpeted floor. “What are you doing here?”
“We got home early. You weren’t at our cabin, so I thought I’d offer to take you home.” He grimaces. “Except I’m an idiot. You drove here, right?”
I smile. “I did, but you must be psychic. I’m too tired to ride my bike tonight. I was going to call a cab.”
He takes my hand in his and hits the down button for the elevator. “Let’s go home.”
Chapter Eighteen
The ride in Declan’s truck is warm and comfortable. We catch each other up on little things we didn’t get a chance to talk about on the phone. Like how excited I am about Chronicle Montana and how busy my job has been.
“Congratulations. That’s awesome,” Declan says as he reaches over and gently pats my arm.
I swallow at the tingling feel of his large, warm hand touching me. “Thank you.”
He pulls his hand back quickly. “So you said you’ve been busy with work. You love it, though, right?”
I smile. “I appreciate the question. My mom would have wondered the same thing.”
He flicks his gaze to me. “What’s the answer?”
“I do love it,” I say. “My dad and I agree on next to nothing from a business perspective. I think that’s partly why he hasn’t retired yet. I don’t know that he trusts what I’m going to do with the company when it’s fully in my control.”
“Whatareyou going to do with it?” he asks as we make our way through the dark night toward the ranch.
“I want to get involved in saving abused and neglected horses,” I say. “Dad doesn’t see how our company can swing something like that. But I think we can. And I have an idea.”
“Oh, yeah?” He puts on his signal, and we turn off the main road and down the tree-lined back road.
“Yeah. I’ve been talking about starting a foundation that specializes in rescuing horses. We have funds allocated for pro bono charity work. My dad is slow to agree, and it may not happen until I’m in charge of the company, though.”
“Mia.” Declan reaches over and puts his large, warm hand over my thigh.
And I very nearly have an orgasm.
“I think that’s an awesome idea,” he says. “Maybe you can involve Wild Ranch somehow.”
“You think Luke would be interested?”
