Page 54 of Hats off to Love

It’s then that Ace pops his head out of the stall to see what we are doing and bumps me with his nose.

“AHHH!” I let out a high-pitched scream.

Simultaneously, Ace jumps, Stokes jumps, and I jerk us hard to get away from him, so hard my weight throws Stokes off balance, and we both freefall with him trying to twist while holding on to me so he doesn’t drop me or land on me, and me—well, I’m just clinging to him out of sheer terror.

With a loud oof, we hit the ground, and hay and dust from outside Ace’s stall fly up around us. I’m sprawled on top of Stokes, he groans in pain, and very quickly I realize Ace and several of the other horses are staring at us.

“Oh my God. I’m so sorry. Are you okay?” I prop myself up and look down at him.

“What the hell? What was that?” he asks, looking up at me as I’m hovering over him.

“He scared me,” I tell him, his dark eyes connecting with mine.

“Clearly,” he grumbles as he reaches up to remove some hay that is stuck in my hair.

“I’m sorry.” I bend down and kiss him to try to make this better.

His arms come up around me and pull me to him. He’s hugging me, and I let go of my weight, snuggling into him.

“Forgiven.” He chuckles as his hand sweeps down my back and pulls on my dress to make sure I’m completely covered. “Although, we should get up, or security is going to think we’ve decided to give them a show after all.”

I giggle as I take us in, lying on the barn floor. He’s so handsome with his cheeks full of color and his lips a little swollen from being worked over by me. I did this to him, to me, and I love how it makes me feel.

20

Today is the day.

The day Avery comes to pick up her dress.

I’ve barely slept at all this week, and I’m not sure if it’s from nerves or excitement. I can’t imagine she won’t like the finished product. It’s not too different from what she saw when she was here last month, but assembled and completed with its matching hat, it is by far the most beautiful dress I have ever created.

It is a vision, and I can’t imagine she won’t be one in it.

“So, I just got a text from Stokes,” Molly says as she walks out of the office in the back of the shop with a grin splitting her face.

“Oh yeah?” I reply while reaching over to tap the top of my phone to wake it up and see if I got one too. I didn’t, but then again, I did see him this morning when he dropped off coffees for us, and he’s been texting me off and on all morning. If I didn’t know any better, I would think he’s just as excited about today as we are.

Just thinking of him, that swirly feeling in my stomach returns.

“Yep, he’s asking if Austin and I want to join the two of you for dinner tomorrow night.” She comes to stand next to me, and as I look at her twinkling eyes, I know the wheels in her brain are turning. She’s watched us closely over the last month—well, she’s watched me. My claws have retracted when it comes to him, and I can’t help but wonder what she notices, what she thinks.

Although I have seen Stokes the last four days in a row, we haven’t really had an opportunity to spend any time together. Each morning he’s brought me coffee, and last night he dropped off some Thai food to make sure I stopped for dinner. He didn’t stay, saying he knew how important today was for me and he just wanted to make sure I was taking care of myself. I might have stared at him with hearts in my eyes for a little too long, because he just chuckled, kissed my forehead, and then popped open our boxes.

He and Christopher have also been working on a project together that has kept him as busy as I am, but that hasn’t stopped him from making time for me or giving me a searing kiss each time he sees me. I swear this man loves to leave me breathless and wanting more and more.

“He mentioned he was going to ask you. David’s Distillery on Main is hosting their annual Bourbon and Bowties pairing dinner, and he has four tickets.”

“Bourbon and Bowties!” Her jaw drops. “He so did not mention that’s where dinner is. How on earth did he get these tickets? They’re like impossible to come by.”

Every year, David’s hosts a large charity tasting dinner. They bring in some swanky chef from somewhere, the dinner seats seventy-five, there’s a silent auction, and the tickets are some of the most sought-after of the Derby season. This year, the chef’s name is Sebastian, and he’s a celebrity chef from the Food Network channel.

“I didn’t ask him, and well, he’s Stokes Whitlock—people just give him things.” I walk to the front of the store.

“This is true,” Molly replies as she wipes down the tables one more time then moves to the counter. “I’ve never really understood it. Mostly he gets products and things for the horses. He has social media, but he doesn’t use the accounts for any real purpose. Once or twice I’ve mentioned a few of these things on the farm’s pages, but it’s not like he’s going to be personally endorsing them.”

“Can you imagine if he did post on social media? Pigs would fly.” I grin.

“What I can’t believe is that we are finally going on a double date.” She squeals as she moves back to the counter to store the cleaner.