Page 48 of Wildest Dreams

“Okay?” No idea why he is telling me this.

Nothing.

I am confused. Fully. I have no idea what he thought he saw but it really was nothing.

“Are we done here?” I go to walk away, and he meets me, toe to toe.

His green eyes draw me in every damn time, but still he keeps quiet.

“Okay, cool, because I really need to go pump,” I nudge my shoulder into him as I begin to walk downstairs. He is hot on my heels.

Ignoring him, I move towards the kitchen, and I am grateful that Orla has taken Lainey away from the living room as she definitely would have heard me. Grabbing my pump from the drainer, I turn to look at him, eyes ablaze with some kind of fury masked with irritation.

He is following me like a lost puppy and the more he follows, the more he annoys me. Climbing the stairs, I hear the sound of his boots when I turn around on the step and face him. He is two down, but our eyes are level.

“Go away Tripp, why are you still here?”

I watch him. Watch as his expression changes. Hard to soft. Wound up to relaxed.

He says nothing.Again.

So I turn and head to my room, slamming the door behind me.

Walking backinto the stables and feeling a lot more comfortable and definitely not as irritable as I was half an hour ago, I see Conrad shoeing a dark brown horse.

I scan the room, Harlow and Tripp are nowhere to be seen.

Not entirely sure why, but the thought of Tripp not being here disappoints me.

I try to walk past Conrad unnoticed, but I fail.

“You're back.”

“I am,” my voice a little higher, a small smile playing on my lips, but I continue walking to where I left my barrow, broom and fork.

“Did you fancy getting a drink with me one night?” He calls out, his voice echoing down the stalls, and I stop in my tracks as I turn to face him.

“I'm not into dating at the moment...” my voice trails off.

“Who said anything about a date?” his head cocks to the side, a stupid ass grin on his face.

“I... erm,” shit, I feel like a fool. My cheeks flame, burning as I stare at him.

“Just a drink,” he counters, stepping closer to me.

“I don't think that's such a good idea...” I shrink back against the wall. I'm not good in situations like this. His face softens and it's like he feels sorry for me almost. Am I that readable?

“Okay okay,” he stops in his tracks, and I swear it’s because he saw a flash of fear strike through my eyes, he holds his hands up. “I didn't mean to scare you.”

“You didn't,” I laugh it off.

“Well, your face says different,” he smirks, his eyes raking over my body.

“I'm just not very good at things like...” I pause, moving my finger between the both of us, “this.”

He says nothing, just stands as if he is waiting for me to explain. But I don't.

“Not a problem, the offer will always be there...” he reaches for my hand and scoops it into his as he brushes his lips across the back.

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