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Jack, the stable lad, cut a glance toward them from the box he mucked out. “He’s right fond of ye, he is, sir.”
“I think ’tis sweet,” Kendra said.
Not to be outdone, Pandora’s creamy head appeared over her gate. “Hello, my lovely,” Kendra crooned, offering the gentle mare an apple. Pandora greedily accepted her treat as Broden offered a fruit to Sheik.
Sensing they were missing out, several more horses hurried to see what the commotion was about. In a few short breaths, nearly every box had an expectant equestrian seeking an apple.
Kendra laughed and passed the basket to Jack. “There should be enough for them to each have one.”
He accepted the hamper, a wide grin of anticipation curving his mouth. “I’ll return the basket to the house when I’m done, Miss Kendra.”
“Thank ye,” she said, giving Pandora one last stroke down her smooth her neck. “We’ll go for a nice long ride soon, my sweet.” If only around the paddock and stables.
She hadn’t been permitted to ride since Broden’s shooting, and Pandora didn’t understand why she wasn’t being saddled when Kendra was in the barn.
Turning, she met Broden’s speaking gaze, her anticipation sending little tendrils of heat sneaking up her face. This was new territory for her. She wasn’t nervous, exactly, but her typical confidence had momentarily deserted her.
One hand extended toward the open stable doors, he flashed a knowing smile. Obviously, his confidence hadn’t been affected one iota. Men.
“Shall we?” The upward turn of his mouth, as well as the invitation his proffered hand offered, were irresistible.
Well, to someone who had no desire to resist them, they were. “Aye.”
Knowing full well Jack and the other groomsmen, trainers, and stable hands likely watched their every move, Kendra was mindful to keep her demeanor polite but reserved while regarding Broden.
A chuckle escaped her once they’d made good their escape, and they weren’t in danger of being overheard.
He cocked an eyebrow over his sinfully handsome face. “What, may I ask, do ye find so funny?”
“Surely ye saw the baffled looks on their faces, and the puzzled glances the poor stable hands kept sendin’ each other. We’ve never spent that long in one another’s company without squabblin’. They dinna ken what to make of it.” Giggling again, she glanced behind her. “’Tis as if they were waitin’ for the other boot to drop.”
His rich chuckle mixed with hers as he boldly seized her hand and whisked her into a copse of trees between the house and barns. “I wonder what they’d say if they kent I want to make ye my countess?”
Kendra went utterly still, peering up at him, her heart fluttering like a trapped wren in her chest. She’d been correct about his innuendo earlier, then. “Isna it awfully premature to be thinkin’ along those lines? For years, we’ve scarcely been civil to one another.”
But hadn’t there always been an undercurrent of sexual awareness between them?
For certain, she’d been very conscious he was a virile man, and when she’d disliked him, it had infuriated her to no end that she could countenance such irrational stirrings toward him.
Did Broden feel the same way?
Had he been as conflicted?
Had he experienced the same maddening internal battle?
“Aye, ’tis early to be comtemplatin’ such a drastic step, but I want ye to have nae doubts my intentions are honorable.” He gathered her hands in his, brushing his thumbs across the knuckles in a steady, mesmerizing caress. “We’ve chosen to put our past differences behind us to give us the possibility of a future together.”
He drew her near, and she didn’t object. Not if it meant more of those soul-searing kisses. Besides, she agreed with his assessment. The past was behind them. She wanted, above all else, to look to the future. Their future.
Standing up on her tiptoes, she wended her arms around his sturdy neck, relishing the low rumbling growl throttling up his throat a mere second before his mouth found hers.
“Well, I’ll settle for more kisses for now,” she murmured against his warm, firm mouth. “Let’s just wait and see what tomorrow brings.”
“I willna be here tomorrow, leannan.”
God, he wouldna.
And she didn’t know for certain when he’d return. Never before had she regretted his departure. Now the thought brought stinging tears to her eyes. She closed her eyelids to hide her dismay.
