“Okay, that’s cute. Tell me more.” Curiosity is epically piqued.
He grins. “Thought you didn’t care?”
“I don’t,” I counter. “I just like stories.”
“Uh-huh. Before my father met her, he said that the farm lacked heart, and then he found her. So he said she was the heart to his stone, and then he changed it to Heartstone so that no matter how hard things are, we know that there’s always life here. And her heart is what keeps us going.”
“That might be the sweetest thing I’ve ever heard,” I confess.
“Pop is a bit of a romantic,” he admits.
Of all the things I’ve heard about his father, that’s definitely not one. Still, it’s adorable, and I know that my heart will never be the same after that.
“Girls love a grand gesture,” I say absently. “I bet she was a goner after that.”
Tristan laughs. “Legend has it that she fell in love with him the moment she saw him.”
“And what about him?”
“I think he loved her before they met.”
We keep riding, the beautiful story of his parents’ love fading with each mile and my nausea growing. God, I should’ve stayed home. Mary Lou and her “let’s go have some drinks and dance” night out. It’s never just that. It always ends up being drunken nights and regret-filled mornings.
“I told my friends that I broke up with Jeremy,” I tell Tristan for absolutely no good reason. “Suzanne decided that was worth a shot, and Mary Lou said it was worth four.”
“That sounds like her.”
I turn my head to look at him. “She really is a bad influence.”
“Emmy Jo and I had our hands full with her…” Tristan clears his throat and looks ahead. “Anyway, anytime Mary Lou gives advice, do the opposite.”
I laugh. “I’ll remember that.”
“Honestly, I’ll be shocked if you remember half of tonight.”
“I remember that you danced with me,” I joke.
Although I won’t ever forget it, so maybe the joke is really on me.
“You danced with me. The girl circles.”
I roll my eyes. “Sure, she does. You could’ve skipped.”
“As could you.”
This is true. “The second time, though, that was all you.”
He snorts. “That was like ten seconds, and really, it was more like me saving you.”
I roll my eyes. “Semantics. The truth is, we danced together.”
He half laughs while shaking his head. “I’ll deny it until the day I die.”
“I’m sure there’s proof somewhere.”
“Just like there’s going to be proof we’re not the ones vandalizing your property.”
“If you say so…”
