her great confession, but she wanted to be as honest as she could, within reason.
“I had a serious boyfriend in college. I thought I was in love with him and I’d sort of been saving myself for the in love thing, so he was my first, well, everything.”
Cade’s gaze was steady. “How did he let you down?”
“What makes you think he did?”
“If he didn’t, you’d still be with him. There’s no way he was stupid enough to let you go.”
She wasn’t sure how Cade meant what he said, but she chose to read it as the sweetest thing a man had ever said to her. Somewhere deep in her chest, her heart crossed the line from maybe to yes.
“The first night we made love, he took pictures of me and put them up on the internet.” She shook her head. “You couldn’t really see anything but it was clear I was naked.”
Cade’s body tensed. “Tell me who he is and I’ll go beat the crap out of him.”
“Thanks, but my father already flew into a rage.”
She hadn’t wanted the king to find out, but there was no way to keep the information from him—or anyone. Her parents had flown out the same day and she’d gone home with them. She still didn’t know what her father had said to the guy, but Bethany had never heard from him again. Still, the pictures lived on as all things internet related did.
“Since then I’ve chosen relatively quiet, meek men who would never dream of doing anything like that.”
“I don’t see you as liking the meek type.”
“I don’t, which is a problem. They can’t stand up to me and they certainly can’t deal with my father so it all becomes a disaster fairly quickly. I know I’m afraid,” she added quickly, before she could stop herself, “of trusting again.”
“Makes sense.”
“Maybe, but it makes me feel like a coward. I’m genuinely lost when it comes to my future. Return to college? Start a business? Move somewhere? I like my work, but I should be doing more with my life. I hate to give up horses, though. I’ve thought of breeding and working on bloodlines. I don’t know.”
His hazel eyes were unreadable. “Have you come to any decisions?”
“Not really.”
She thought longingly of Cade’s ranch. She would live there with him, if he asked her to. If he wanted her in his life. Because she could do good there—working with the horses she loved while improving the bloodlines.
The image of their future was so clear she was surprised he couldn’t see it, too. Only it was all in her head. Cade didn’t even know who she was.
“Okay, this is not Christmas talk,” she said with a laugh. “Let’s go to your sister’s now. On the way we’ll sing ‘Jingle Bells’ and get back in the mood.”
For a second Cade didn’t move. Then he reached for her hand, drew her close and kissed her lightly on the mouth.
“Do you know the words to ‘Jingle Bells’?”
“I know the first verse.”
“Then that’s what we’ll sing.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
SEVERAL HOURS LATER, Cade drove them back to the ranch. Dinner with Pallas and Nick had gone well. Cade enjoyed his sister and her fiancé and liked how Beth fit in with them so easily. She and Pallas had brainstormed ideas for an upcoming wedding while he and Nick had talked sports.
He and his sister had always been close. He’d missed her while he’d lived out of state. Coming home to the ranch had been its own reward, but being near Pallas again was a nice bonus. Nick was a good guy and he appreciated knowing Pallas was with someone who loved and respected her.
Beth leaned back in her seat with her eyes closed. As he glanced at her, she smiled.
“What?” he asked.
“Just enjoying the moment. I had a good day. Shopping for the tree was fun, dinner was great, the company was even better. Plus there was that second glass of wine.” She opened her eyes and looked at him. “I appreciate you driving.”
“Happy to stick to one beer.”
“When do you want to decorate the tree?”
“How’s tomorrow night? We’ll leave it out in the garage until then. I’ll get out the lights and ornaments and we can have at it.”
“It’s a date.”
He liked the sound of that, along with having her close by. She was easy to be with, good with his horses. An unexpected find, and he was going to miss her when she returned to El Bahar.