The Heartbreaker of Echo Pass - Maisey Yates Page 0,66
house, I didn’t really ever figure out what kind of home I would make. What kind of life I wanted to have.”
He nodded slowly. “You know, they say time goes on, but it’s a funny thing about grief. And about people. You can sure as hell do your damnedest to stop time. To pull yourself right out of it. To make it so you’ve got nothing but you and your grief.”
“Yeah,” she said. “That’s very true.
“So,” she said, her tone changing to something comically conversational. “Are you from California?”
He didn’t know why. But he laughed. It caught him off guard about as much as when she had made him smile earlier. But damn, she had made him smile. “Yes,” he said. “I am. The Bay Area. Kind of outside of San Francisco. Born and raised.”
“I see. Rich family?”
“Yes,” he laughed. “So I never really appreciated it, I have to say. Things were just kind of there. And yeah, I did a pretty good job managing all my money and things like that, but to be honest so much of that came from having learned how to do it way back when. My dad was always managing lots of portfolios and things like that. But the best thing is we had a ranch. So I grew up with horses. And I just... Oh I love them. I always have. Horses are the best part of life.”
“Then you really are a cowboy.”
“I really am. On a good day.”
“Are you going to make a ranch up here?”
“I don’t know.”
The subject of the house loomed large between them, but she didn’t push. And he wasn’t in the mood to talk about it. It didn’t go along with this. This light, getting to know you stuff that was like something he’d forgotten existed.
“Favorite color,” he asked.
She closed her eyes and smiled. “Raspberry buttercream.”
“That’s not a color.”
She opened her eyes again. “Disagree. It is a food, a flavor and color. And it’s a very particular color that you get when you put fresh raspberries in buttercream, and it is both beautiful and delicious.”
“Okay,” he said. “Favorite food.”
“This could get repetitive really quickly.” She tapped her chin and looked at him. “First kiss.”
“Molly McDonald. Fourth grade.”
“No way.”
“There was no tongue.”
“A relief.”
“You?”
“Well,” she said, her cheeks turning rosy. “That would be you.”
“How the hell, Iris?”
“I don’t know. I mean, I guess I do. I just kind of closed myself off. And then I decided to step out and go for it, and it turns out I can start a business, and find a man to kiss. I had no idea.”
“There you go.”
“First time?” she asked. “And I’m not asking so you can ask me too. The answer is going to be boring.”
“Lacey Anderson. An older woman. I was sixteen, she was seventeen. She taught me a thing or two.”
“So, not big on virgins, then?”
“Not historically.”
“Do you have any brothers or sisters?”
He nodded slowly. “My sister, Mallory, is quite a bit younger than me. She worries. A lot. All the time. And is frequently unhappy with me for my lack of contact.”
“What about your mom and dad?”
“They’re giving me space. You know, like good new age California parents do. Which is nice since, if we were in the same vicinity, they’d give me no space at all. If my dad is talking, he’s sharing his opinions. So. Space is being given.”
“But your sister’s not giving you space.”
“No. And anyway, half the time I’m convinced she’s acting as an agent for my parents while they pretend to be a lot more okay with me doing my own thing than they actually are.”
“I know all about meddling siblings. I might not have my parents, but believe me when I tell you my older brother more than makes up for it. Plus, my sisters are always in my business. Then there’s my cousins, and Sammy.”
He probably wouldn’t meet them. It would be for the best if he didn’t. This thing that they were doing up here... It didn’t have anywhere to go. That was the problem. It was stuck up here, because he was stuck up here. Because there was nothing else.
And as nice as it was to sit and talk, it wasn’t really an appetite for talking she had awakened in him last night. He brushed her hair back from her face and kissed her. The desire that flared inside him was instant, hard and deep.