Page 14 of Saddles & Suits

Chris nods sympathetically. He’s a brilliant instructor and could have opened his own riding school but has no desire to bog himself down with the details of running a business on that scale. He told me once that it’s bad enough doing the bookkeeping and paperwork for the select clients he takes on.

“The boss coming down this week? Any chance you can palm some of it off on him?” He winks, and I snort.

“I wish. He’ll be down Thursday night.” It’s been six weeks since Jack’s first visit, and for five of them, he’s been working from the estate two, sometimes three days every week. He usually comes down on a Thursday night and goes back on Tuesday morning. I’ve been surprised by how nice it is to have someone else in the house on a regular basis. Technically, Jack being here means an increase to my workload, but I don’t care. Jack’s good company, a considerate housemate—even though he owns the house—and I look forward to his arrival every week. It’s probably a sign that I need to do something about my social life.

In fact, come to think of it, when’s the last time I went out for fun? A date, a hookup, or even with friends to the pub?

I can’t remember.

That’s sad.

“Earth to Seb.” Chris’s voice breaks into my introspection, and I blink.

“Sorry. Hey, when was Jen’s birthday?” We all went out for drinks that night, and I’m pretty sure it’s the last time I was social.

“Ah… May? Yeah, I remember because it was so warm, and we were all saying how warm it was for May. Why?”

I shake my head. Three months is way too long. “Not important. You doing anything tonight? Wanna go to the pub?”

Chris looks at me like I’m losing my marbles. “Sure. Can I ask Lisa to join us?”

“Yeah, no worries.” Chris’s girlfriend is awesome, another competition-level rider from a wealthy family, but totally down-to-earth and a lot of fun at a party.

A dinging from Chris’s pocket interrupts us, and Chris pulls out his phone and silences it. “Fifteen-minute warning,” he says, and I remember that he has a client coming.

“Right. I’ll leave you to it. I’m going to give Stark some love, then get back to work.”

I wander through the stable to my horse’s stall. Stark’s happy to see me, as always, and I promise myself I’ll make more time for us to spend together.

Does hanging out with my horse count as a social activity?

Laughing,I lift my glass and drain it. I was right to do this—get out of the house, away from the Vale. Going forward, I’ll make an effort to reconnect with my friends.

“Coming out tonight was a great idea, Seb,” Lisa says, as though reading my mind. “I forget sometimes how important it is to blow off steam midweek.” She refills our glasses from the pitcher.

“To Seb’s brilliant idea,” Chris toasts, and we drink. “Although, gotta ask, what brought it on, mate?”

I shake my head. “I realized how long it had been since I’d actually done this.” I wave a hand to encompass the bar. “I’m turning into a hermit.”

“Is that why you asked me about Jen’s birthday? Wow. That’s a long time.”

“Yep. But that’s gonna change,” I declare.

Chris makes a doubting face, and Lisa laughs.

“You guys suck,” I tell them, which makes them both laugh.

“Why have you been hibernating?” Lisa asks, and I shrug.

“No idea. I didn’t even realize I’d been doing it until Chris asked me about Jack and it occurred to me that his arrival is the most exciting part of my week.” It’s my turn to laugh, and it takes me a moment to notice they’re not laughing with me. In fact, they’re giving me funny looks. “Guys?”

They exchange glances, doing some kind of couple communication, and I sigh. That never bodes well for the single person. “What?”

“Nothing, really,” Chris says. “Just… well, you and Jack seem to be getting close.”

I have the sneaking suspicion I’m missing something, that Chris’s statement has some kind of subtext I’m just not getting. “Yeah. He’s a nice guy. We get along well. He’s letting me go ahead with my plans for making the estate more profitable, which is good for all of us. Why? Do you not like him?” That can’t be right. I’ve seen Jack and Chris yukking it up more than once over the last month or so.

“Nah, he’s great,” Chris assures me. “I—wejust wondered if maybe there was something more there. With Jack. And you.”

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