Page 17 of Fake Fiancée for Dad's Best Friend
She pouts. “Am I supposed to just trot here for the whole morning?”
She’s got a point.
“Why don’t you ride double with her?” Rob suggests. “Once you’re at the beach, you can let her ride alone.”
“Are you sure Charlie can take both our weights?”
Rob glances at Vivian and chuckles. “Don’t mean no offense but she can’t be heavier than my grandson Billy. We did it quite often when I taught him how to ride.”
The last time when I met Billy, he was a chubby boy, about ten. I’m sure Vivian weighs more than him, but I’m willing to give it a try.
So, I get on the horse behind Vivian and we say goodbye to Rob.
I grab the rein. “I’ll do the communication. You just enjoy the ride,” I say to Vivian.
I’m practically holding her in my arms. I don’t have much choice, do I? Damn. Her soft, round ass is right against my crotch. Despite my willpower, my boner grows. Vivian is tense for a second but relaxes soon as we enter the riding trail.
The trail goes up before it drops. It runs along a creek, and it’s pretty shady at first, with dense eucalyptus trees and fragrant with orange blossoms. It winds through manmade scenic spots as well, including a Japanese garden with a wooden bridge and a desert garden with cactuses. Soon it becomes rocky as we near the top.
“What a magnificent view!” Vivian exclaims.
The ocean stretches below like a mirage. I let her down to stretch and admire the view before we descend.
Once we’re at the beach, I let Vivian hold the rein.
“This is so nice!” Vivian squeals. “Can we go faster?”
“Sure, do you want to try to tell Charlie yourself?” I say. “Just squeeze your legs.”
“Okay,” she says, and then without a moment’s pause, she squeezes her legs, and Charlie starts to gallop. “Ohmigod! That’s too fast!”
I chuckle. Damn. She probably squeezed too hard. I instruct her to pull the rein, but she ends up sending the wrong message. The next minute, Charlie runs into the ocean.
Both of us scream as our legs immerse in the water. I pull the rein, but Charlie seems to enjoy the swim. He doesn’t stop for another minute.
After a moment’s confusion, I have Charlie under control and we’re back to the beach. Of course, all three of us are wet.
We get off the horse and sit on the sand, letting Charlie play in the water alone.
“This is incredible,” Vivian murmurs, still gazing at the ocean. “I can’t believe it. My first ride, and I end up in the ocean. When was your first time?”
I think for a moment. “When I was five?”
“Wow.”
“I loved riding,” I say. “I used to spend most of my weekends on horseback. And I preferred horses over cars.”
“What made you leave home and live in New York instead?” Vivian asks me, her head resting on my shoulder. Naturally, I loop an arm around her waist.
“The temptation of the outside world. I didn’t need the money. I was born with a silver spoon, but I wasn’t happy about it. I wanted to prove that I could be successful without my parents’ money. So I got in Columbia and then an industry my parents had no connection in.”
“Well, you proved it,” she says, gazing up at me with what looks like admiration in her eyes.
It’s all I can do not to kiss those lips.
“Thank you, but I’ll be lying to myself if I dismissed my family’s support altogether. They paid for my college. Just the fact alone helped because I didn’t have the burden of paying back any loans. And just knowing that they’d have my back in case anything went wrong was enough a boost to my confidence. And I suspected my family did help me in other ways, although I’m not sure how.”
“That doesn’t make your accomplishment less commendable,” she says in a husky voice.
