Jem dug into his food, and they ate in silence for a few minutes.
“How far should we ride today?” he finally asked.
“Won’t that depend on how long the groom can be spared? They won’t let us ride alone.” Reese rolled her eyes.
Jem hadn’t considered that. He’d hoped to have this time alone with her. What kind of entourage would they have? In an attempt to hide his disappointment, he said, “Considering the size of this estate, that might be better. I don’t want to get lost.”
Reese pushed back her plate and wiped her mouth.
“Are you ready?” he asked. “This won’t be quite like the rides we used to take back home.”
“Yeah. We didn’t have to wear top hats,” she said. “I have a ribbon to keep mine on, but how about you?”
“Nellie’s staff fitted it to me,” he said. “And I must say your own hat is quite fetching.”
“Nice.” Reese gave an appreciative chuckle. “You sounded just like Richard Armitage.”
Jem accepted the compliment with a nod and pointed at the door. She rose, draped the train over her left arm this time, and preceded him from the room.
“You do that like a pro,” he said.
“Self-preservation,” Reese said, “but I’ve told Nellie I must have split skirts. She’s got her people working on it.”
“Should we see if her people can cut off the train?” he asked. “That would make the skirt more manageable.”
“No, I’m going to ride astride. I think there’s enough fabric in the train to cover my offending ankles.” She made a face. “Like they won’t be covered by my boots anyway. Can you imagine how these people would freak out if they went to one of our beaches?”
Jem laughed.
Chapter 6
“I HAVEN’T BEEN RIDING ALL winter,” Reese said as they stepped outside of the house.
“It’s been more than a year for me.” Jem offered her his arm. “I had the stables notified to set up a mounting block for you. I figured it might be easier the first time in those skirts.”
“Thank you.” Reese took his elbow, grateful for his thoughtfulness. She had spent so much time worrying about riding sidesaddle or battling Nellie’s people over the right to ride astride that she hadn’t even considered how to get on the horse in the first place.
“Either the groom or I could give you a leg up, I guess.” Jem shot her a sidelong glance, the corner of his mouth quirking up.
“No thanks.” She laughed. “The last time you did that I was thirteen, and you hefted me clear over the horse.”
“I know you thought I did it on purpose, but I was so embarrassed.” Jem chuckled. “Kaitlyn still ribs me about it sometimes.”
“I had a bruise on my bum for two weeks and couldn’t wear my swimsuit.” Reese shook her head. “I was so mad at you for the rest of that summer.”
“Like I could forget that. I thought you’d never forgive me.”
“Well, you finally got off my yucky list.” His bicep under her hand stiffened a little.
“Did I?” he asked softly, a wistful note to his voice.
The air around them seemed to resonate with energy that set Reese’s heart pounding. Her whole body tingled with it. Was it their chemistry, or had they walked through some kind of faerie thingy? She glanced over her shoulder but didn’t see anything.
“What is it?” Jem stopped, and they turned around.
“Just now, I . . .” She let the words die on her lips. What if he hadn’t felt it? Was magic like that, only touching one person even when they were right next to each other?
“Reese, what is it?” He seemed genuinely concerned.
