Marry Me for Real, Cowboy - Valerie Comer Page 0,32

evidence of love between them. Just a marriage of convenience which turned out not to be all that convenient. Maybe things had been better in the early days. After all, Alexia and Emma hadn’t come from thin air.

“Your father was my one great love, Adam. I loved him like you love Riley. We...”

Her voice may have gone on. In fact, it probably did, but she’d lost him when she’d mentioned Riley and one great love in the same context. What did she see when she watched them together? Because he and Ry had visited her a couple of times a week, so she’d had chances to observe.

“What do you see in us?” he blurted out. Oops, he’d interrupted her with no idea where her words had gone after that bombshell.

Mom pivoted in her saddle and stared at him from beneath furrowed brows. “You and Riley? What do you mean?”

“Do we look happy?” He didn’t want to put doubts in her mind, not this early, and especially not if she and Declan ever talked things over. They must, occasionally, right?

“Do you look happy?” she repeated, her voice incredulous. “Adam, honey, I’ve never seen you so settled. So content.”

“I feel that way,” he admitted. “But remember I’ve also rededicated my life to Jesus in the past few months. Pretty sure that has a lot to do with it.” In fact, he knew it did, because that was real while the thing with Riley was not.

“I’m not discounting that, son. But I also see the way you two look at each other, as though your beloved has hung the moon. It does my heart good to see the stars in your eyes when you look at Riley. When I see the way you naturally protect her with an arm around her shoulders or just by taking her hand.”

It’s all a sham, Mom. All fake.

It had been. But was it still?

Mom chuckled. “I’ll admit I had doubts at first. Last I heard, you were coming off a relationship with that singer. The next thing I knew, you were bringing home a girl we’d never heard a thing about, telling us all you two were engaged. You’ve always been impulsive, but this was a whole new level.”

Yeah. About that.

“But since then I’ve watched the two of you together, and it’s done my mama heart good to remember young love. You’ve resurfaced good memories of the early days with your dad. Before you boys were born. Before cancer swung its wrecking ball through what seemed to be a perfect life.”

Adam opened his mouth, couldn’t think of a thing to say, and shut it again. Either he and Riley were both much better actors than he’d thought, or there was really something there between them. It almost seemed too much to hope for after the rough beginning.

Finally he swallowed hard. “I’m glad you like her. I can see what you mean about it seeming to be sudden but, as soon as we met, I knew there was just something about her. Didn’t take me long to decide I needed to pursue her in a big way.” Like five minutes, tops.

Mom smiled, but it didn’t quite reach her eyes. “I’m truly happy for you, Adam. She’s wonderful, and she’s good for you.”

Their split-up would crush his mother. His rash proposal back in October had been just that. But maybe there was hope. Mom corroborated what Adam had been seeing and feeling on his own.

There was definite potential for something long-term with Riley.

“They’ve still got you mucking out stalls?” Dakota sounded more curious than contemptuous.

Riley straightened and glanced over to the woman leaning against a squared timber post. “Sure do!” She didn’t mind. Not much, anyway, since it kept her out of Declan’s line-of-sight for most of the day. She was pretty sure if he spent too long staring at her, every one of her secrets would be laid bare for all the world to see.

“Mr. Cavanagh can be a hard taskmaster.”

“Yes, but he’s fair.” Riley’d seen that for herself, time and again. She worked hard, but she’d received two paychecks now, and both were in the bank. He assigned the men fairly, too, playing no favorites.

“I bet you can’t wait until Adam takes you away from here, though. Or is he going to work for his stepfather forever?” Dakota’s eyebrows arched.

Like there was any way Riley was going to confide in Travis’s ex. “We’re examining our options. We’re in no hurry.”

Dakota forced a laugh. “I thought you weren’t