Page 74 of Knight Life In Vegas

“Apparently.”

“So what did you do?”

I filled her in on everything that had happened so far while I sipped away on the decadent drink.

“Your life sounds like a fever dream. I can’t even getonescent match and you have four tripping over each other? How was the stable? Better as fantasy or as reality?”

My cheeks warmed. “Reality was pretty great. The straw bits I found in my bra later were a little less awesome.”

Madison laughed again. “I think the whole situation is perfect. I know some people get a little bit weird working with spouses, but that’s going to be so nice and flexible for you with your kiddos. Speaking of, you should really bring them over on the weekend. I know they really love your friend’s pool, but mine is also available if you wanted to hang out again.”

“We can definitely do that when it’s not a school day.”

“I’m still not clear why they have school in July.”

“Their school offers summer day programs. They’re not really behind since they’re only in first and third grade, but theythrive on routine, and it’s not like I’m going to be jetsetting with them to need time off. Most of their day gets spent on educational games and exercise, and they love being able to socialize with the other kids. I’d never get a single thing done if they were home all day, needing me to entertain them, so it works out really well for all of us.”

“Oof, yeah, I guess I was a tiny terror for my parents over the summers. It’s good for you to have breaks. Plus, selfishly, I know this means I can bother you during the week to do stuff with me.”

“I almost forgot what breaks were until recently,” I confessed.

“So when do you start your fancy horse job?”

“I’m not sure. First we have to come up with a program, get all of the insurance and whatnot in place, and get permission from the owners of the most relaxed horses for us to use them in lessons.”

“This is so cool. Is it going to be just for little kids?”

“I was thinking so, but do you think adults would like it?”

“I was a horse girl in spirit, never got the opportunity to be one in practice,” Madison replied. “I bet lots of adults would love it. You could even do a parent-and-child class so the parents don’t have to just sit on their butts and watch their kids ride around.”

“That’s a great idea. Get families involved. I’m not sure how much of this is reasonable while getting started, but I can pitch the idea to the guys.”

Madison clapped, wiggling happily in her seat. “I’ll totally be a guinea pig if you need someone to practice your teaching skills on.”

“I’ll keep that in mind.”

Madison’s enthusiasm got me excited too. I already loved the idea, but it was always different when someone completely unrelated to a project was into it.

I gave her details on our plans, and by the time we were finished with the mocktails, she had to run off to pick up a client order but asked if I would come with her. That certainly sounded much more fun than going home and trying to be quiet while Beau was working remotely.

I slid into the passenger seat next to Madison and she took off to the luxury nesting supply store, Best of Nests. My sheets were from here, but everything was pretty pricey so I hadn’t indulged myself in more. It was a huge temptation as Madison navigated me around the place, showing me what she had selected for the nest she was designing for a friend since the order would be boxed up.

“How do you not have your own business? You’d make a killing.”

“Tyler doesn’t want me to have anything official so I can be more flexible. He makes so much money I don’t even have to worry about it.”

“If it’s something you want to do, you should be able to pursue it. It’s a hard feeling to rely on someone for money, and you’re so incredible at what you do.”

She waved me off. “No sense picking a fight. I don’t need the money and I have fun doing this for friends.”

I held my tongue. I didn’t foresee that mindset turning out well, but I couldn’t force her to see the red flags. I knew all too well what it was like to wear rose-colored glasses and see all the flags as the same color. Maybe Tyler would be better than Andrew, but I saw myself in Madison. The last thing I wanted was for her to experience the same suffering.

She insisted on buying me a purple pillow that was too expensive for my taste but wassosoft I wanted to cry justholding it. We got the order loaded into her vehicle before going for iced coffees. It was so nice to have a friend here totally unrelated to my past. At some point I should introduce her to Ava since they were neighbors, but for now I would keep Madison to myself.

“Do you want to go get our nails done?”

I had hardly anything in a beauty budget, and she must have caught the indecision on my face.

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