riding breeches. In the end, I opt for a pair of tight black leggings I planned to wear in the car on the ride home. They’re stretchy enough to wear in the saddle and under a loose t-shirt, you can’t see my tiny baby bump.
I skip breakfast and head to the stables. I want to get a feel for the horses and stake a claim on an older, gentler steed. Plus, I don’t think I could keep down a bite after what happened. But when I reach the stables, I discover Aja heading out of a stall. She’s dressed in a loose fitting one piece jumpsuit, her silver hair piled on top of her head. Despite the fact that I know she must be nearly seventy, she moves with a strength and capability I’d expect of someone thirty years younger.
“Good morning,” she calls. “Finished with breakfast?”
“I wasn’t hungry.” I join her, patting the mane of a beautiful Arabian as she checks his water.
Aja’s eyebrow ticks up, but she doesn’t comment. Instead, she picks up a brush and begins caring for him. “This is Raina. I named him after the Hindi word meaning night.”
“He’s beautiful,” I murmur.
“He’s stubborn, but he’ll heed a strong rider.” She pauses and studies me for a moment. “He’s a good match for you from what my granddaughter tells me.”
“Oh,” I search for something to say that doesn’t sound like a lame excuse. “I thought we’d better take your calmest horses—for Cyrus’s sake.”
I hate even pretending to be concerned for him. After last night, I have half a mind to ask her which horse is likely to throw him. He deserves it.
“I’m not accustomed to keeping broken animals,” she says loftily. “Mr. Eaton shouldn’t follow an easy path. Poppy fawns over him too much.”
I bite back a smile. At least, she sees through him.
“You’re friends with him,” she says, misreading my silence. “I shouldn’t speak poorly of a boy I hardly know.”
“Sometimes I think we mistake the presence of someone in our life for friendship,” I say softly. “I’ve known Cyrus a long time.”
I can’t help wondering if I know him that well, especially after he hit on me last night. Try as I might to blame it on the wine, I can see the move too clearly. I’d been tired but sober. It didn’t feel as much like a drunken mistake as it did a compromised inhibition. With any luck it was a stupid man having too much to drink and losing control. Maybe then, he won’t even remember it this morning and we don’t ever have to talk about it again.
“He should ride Poppy’s old horse. I’ve kept her for years out of sentimentality. She shouldn’t give him any trouble,” Aja says.
“Which one is that?” I ask.
“Stall three,” she says, “and you will ride Raina. He will obey you. It will be a good, safe ride.”
I flush, trying to decide if I’m reading into her comments. I can’t help thinking that Aja knows what I’m hiding.
“I better check on the others. Get to know him,” Aja says before leaving the stall.
I press my forehead to Raina’s muzzle. “No funny business, okay?”
He huffs, stomping a back hoof like he doesn’t appreciate being told what to do.
“I know,” I whisper, “but it’s not about me. Let’s just trust each other.”
Raina blinks, his round black eyes staring eerily back at mine before his head bows. I would almost swear he understands the request. I spend the next half hour, saddling him and double checking the straps before wandering to stall three to prep Cyrus’s ride. I snort when I see the name placard next to the door.
Princess.
Of course, Poppy named her horse princess. I can only imagine how Cyrus will feel about this development. Before I’ve finished saddling the mare, my friends appear, decked out in riding clothes.
“Oh, I should have told you to pack breeches,” Poppy says when she sees my leggings. “I think I have a spare set.”
“I’m fine,” I say quickly.
“We missed you at breakfast,” Cyrus says casually.
I search his face for guilt or anger or annoyance—any of the emotions I might expect to find after I rebuffed his advances last night, but all I find is the same old Cyrus Eaton. That’s a relief. I don’t want to be the one to break my best friend’s heart, especially since I suspect Cyrus had no idea what he was doing last night.
“I wasn’t hungry, so I came to check the stables.”