Page 37 of When We Break

“I’ll decide tomorrow, then.” She scoops some eggs onto a piece of toast and takes a bite. I love her appetite. She’s not afraid to eat. “Whatdoyou have to do today? I’m curious.”

“I’ll take over the afternoon milking and feeding,” I reply, thinking it over. “I need to check on the rentals. I’ll probably saddle up a horse and check some fence line to make sure nothing needs to be mended or replaced. There’s always a list of chores that needs to get done.”

“And what time do you typically start in the morning?”

I offer her the last bite of crepe, and she accepts it, popping it in her mouth with a happy sigh.

“Around five,” I reply. She chokes on her food, then reaches for a glass of water. “Not a morning person?”

“Five? Ugh, that’s early. I used to start dance practice at seven, so I’d be up at six, and it felt like I was being punished for something I’d done in a past life.”

“You were up early this morning,” I remind her.

“I was sleeping on a man, on the couch, so it was a little different.” She stops to think about that and chuckles. “A lot different, actually.”

Her phone rings from inside her bag, and she frowns, licks her lips, and digs the phone out of her bag.

“Sorry, it’s Mik.”

“Take it.”

She answers but doesn’t leave the table. “I thought for sure you’d be in practice right now. What are you about?”

She listens, and I can’t take my eyes off her. She’s quick to smile, to laugh, to offer a kind word. She’s not only beautiful on the outside but on the inside, too.

“Mik, that’s wonderful. Congratulations. Of course, I’d love to see that performance, but you know I can’t—yes, I know. I’m so proud of you. I love you, too. Come see me soon. Bye now.”

With a sigh, she drops the phone back in her bag.

“He secured the lead in a performance we’d been working on for years,” she says softly. “And I’m so proud of him. He deserves that role.”

“And he wants you to come watch it. Of course, he does. You should.”

Skyla shakes her head. “I won’t ever go back to New York. I just can’t. But it’ll be filmed, and I’ll watch it from here.”

“Wait.” I reach over and take her hand in mine. “Are some of your performances available to watch online?”

“Many are, yes.” She nods and wrinkles her nose. “You want to watch them?”

“Fuck yes, I want to watch them.”

“Don’t watch them with me,” she insists. “Because I’ll be annoying and give you all the commentary you didn’t ask for. And I’ll critique myself endlessly. I’m not a good audience for myself.”

“You’re not invited, then.” I laugh when she frowns. “You just said I shouldn’t watch with you.”

“I thought you’d try a little harder than that.”

“Okay.” I pull my card out and offer it to the server. “Let me watch it with you so you can teach me something. Maybe tell me what you were thinking when you were performing.”

“I knew you’d be good at the convincing. All right then, I’ll watch with you sometime.”

I like that we continue to make plans.

After I drive Skyla and Riley home and get her car stowed away in the garage, I walk through the house with her, and she joins me on the porch.

“That was the longest date of my life,” she says, checking her watch. “Fifteen hours sets a record.”

In answer, I take her chin in my fingers and tilt her face up so I can nip at her lips before sinking in and dragging my tongue along the seam of her mouth. She opens up for me and groans as her hands fist in my shirt. I slip my free hand over her hip and around to her ass, pulling her against me.

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