Cassie laughed. “I think that’s the first time I’ve heard you swear. It sounds strange.”
“Oh, I curse plenty. I just don’t do it in front of ladies.”
“Oh my god, that’s so archaic,” Cassie said.
“I prefer the term chivalrous.”
“I think the term you’re looking for isoutdated.”
“Whatever.” Taryn extricated herself from Cassie’s fingers and got up from the bed. “Would you like something to eat? I’m starved.”
She pushed through the door and left Cassie wondering what was happening. Were they still playing or had she actually offended Taryn? Cassie followed Taryn into the main area to find Taryn with her head in the freezer. “Whatcha doing?”
“Seeing if I can freeze my tear ducts. I’ve cried more today than I have in the past three decades.” She closed the freezer door quietly. “Just tell me you want to see me, and that you’re not going to use our jobs as an excuse not to.”
Cassie frowned. “I’m not sure what I’ve done to make you think that, but no, I’m definitely not going to use my position to avoid seeing you.” She hadn’t been expecting this conversation and certainly not this reaction. It was little wonder that Taryn hadn’t let Cassie touch her if this level of vulnerability and self-doubt was the outcome. It was extraordinary that even the most confident-appearing person could harbor such deep insecurities about being dumped, especially when they were only ever supposed to be a short-term thing. She cupped Taryn’s face. “While you’re in Vegas, I’ll want to see you. Okay?”
Taryn placed her hands over Cassie’s, pulled them from her face, and kissed them. “Okay.” She gave a sheepish grin. “Sorry. I guess my post-O hormones got me all emotional and unnecessary.”
“Well, you did have quite a few.” Cassie wiggled her eyebrows, feeling quite proud of herself for hitting the spot more than once given that Taryn clearly didn’t allow it to happen often.
Taryn shook her head slowly. “Feeling quite pleased with yourself, are you? You look like the cat that got the cream.”
Cassie shrugged. “If we’re going to be crude, that’s exactly what I got.” She laughed and pulled away gently, her attention caught by the many knickknacks scattered all over Taryn’s trailer. Practically every surface except the sink had some sort of figure, rock, or miscellaneous item on it. In the center of the main table was a large and ornately carved wooden box, and curiosity got Cassie wondering what treasures were inside it and what they might reveal about Taryn—if she’d allow her to look, that was.
She wandered over to the side of the trailer and reached up to pluck a small Mickey Mouse painted with the American flag from a high shelf. But it didn’t move.
“Most everything is stuck down,” Taryn said. “That way, I don’t have to keep packing it up every time I drive the trailer. Which is usually every couple of days while we’re on tour.”
“What’s with all the trinkets?” Cassie ran her fingers over some of the shaped rocks and pebbles, wanting to know the story behind each of them.
“I collect mementoes from everywhere I go. Stones, ticket stubs, business cards, anything that’ll remind me where I’ve been. I like to have them with me wherever I go.”
“What about when you’re not on tour?” Cassie sat at the table, her fingers itching to open the wooden box.
“Some of the time I’m at Andi’s property in Texas, practicing stunts and trying to invent new ones.” Taryn slid into the bench opposite and grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl. “I spend the rest of the time traveling the world.”
“You take your trailer overseas?”
“No. I looked into it once, but it was crazy expensive. I rent cars or bikes or just travel by train.” Taryn bit into the apple and juice dribbled down her chin, but she wiped it away quickly. “Are you sure don’t want something to eat?”
Cassie shook her head. Shewashungry, but that would wait while she sated her desire for more intimate knowledge of Taryn. “Is there one special thing you always take with you if you can’t take everything in here?”
“Yes.” Taryn indicated to the box between them with her gaze. “It’s in there. But I don’t think I should show it to you. I’ve done enough damage to my cool reputation today; you don’t need to see it.”
Cassie bounced on her seat, feeling a little like a kid hoping to see inside Santa’s workshop. “I definitelydoneed to see it.”
Before she could move, Taryn grabbed the box with both hands, pulled it across the table, and held it to her chest.
“You definitely donot. I can’t have you thinking I’m any more sappy than you’ve already come to realize today.”
“Huh.” Cassie placed her hands on the table and inched toward the box. “And why would that be?”
“You like strong women who can carry you in their arms. I’m pretty sure you wouldn’t be interested in a woman with a soft underbelly.”
Cassie crept forward a little more. “Then you’d be wrong. I think it would be wonderful if you had a marshmallow heart beating beneath that extremely firm chest. A ‘soft underbelly’ protected by a rock-hard shell seems like the perfect combination for a woman.”
Taryn raised her eyebrows and looked unconvinced. “Really?”
