Page 66 of Marrying the Gardener
Crimson:That’s all?
Ava:Yes. Why? Is everything okay?
Everything is…very okay. Or. Verysomethinganyway.
Shoving a warm breath filled with the scent of hay and earth into my lungs, I reply:
Crimson:Everything is fine. Thank you.
I can’t be more specific because we’re supposed to have known each other for several years now. He’s supposed to know things about me. I’m supposed to have opened up about this sort of stuff. Except I haven’t. And I didn’t put it in my debriefing. And…I have no idea how he knows.
Thinking back on it, this speculation that he mined Ava for information is silly because it would go against the script. He’s supposed to already know, and if he doesn’t, he’s not supposed to care. He’s playing the role of an egomaniac. And an egomaniac doesn’t care.
As far as anyone who may come into contact with key players in this scheme of ours needs to know, our dates are the time when Kaleb gets to enjoy himself and show me off.
He wouldn’t break script by gathering information so he could plan a date I’d enjoy. That doesn’t fit the agenda.
Somehow, Kaleb figured it out on his own. Because he loves me. And has spent every second he could since we met trying to show me that with his every breath.
That knowledge really does something to me.
And I think it’s called falling in love.
Chapter 21
?
Devour me, darling. I’m yours.
Kaleb
“How did you know I liked horses?” Crimson asks after a mostly silent ride back from the ranch. We’re just hitting downtown Sunset now and heading toward a Thai place I’ve chosen for dinner.
Sitting beside me in tawny knee high boots, tight cream pants, and a sleek long-sleeve tan shirt that hugs every last one of her curves, Crimson has never looked like she likes horses more. I murmur, “I dunno. Maybe it was the way you launched toward your closet and put together the most elite horse girl outfit I have ever seen in a matter of three minutes after I told you where we were going this morning.”
Eyeing me, she loosens her low ponytail and fits the scrunchy on her wrist. “I didn’t think I was anything but casual.”
“Your eyes erupted like fireworks at the mere prospect. Then, when we arrived, you bee-lined for the nearest horse, touching your forehead to its like you were in a movie. I’ve never seen you so happy. So I think it’s safe to say that it’s fairly obvious you like horses.”
“But you knew to take me to the horses,” she all but accuses. “How did you know that I liked horses before you saw me with the horses?”
“Oh.” I turn down an avenue. “On our first date when you were teasing me about going elsewhere, the first thing you said was horseback riding, then an aquarium. I made an educated guess that if your second thought was of a favorite of Crisis’s,your first was probably a favorite of yours.”
I’m not entirely sure how to decode the way Crimson is looking at me when I pull into a space in front of Khun Thai, turn off the car, and face her.
Her eyes dart toward the restaurant, then back to me. “How did you know I like Thai food?”
“You do like Thai food?” I ask. “I like Thai food, so I figured I’d bring you to one of my favorite places. I didn’t know you did until just now.”
Swallowing, she wets her lips and lowers her gaze. “I…like Thai food. It’s my favorite.”
“That’s…good? We both like Thai food.” I smile warmly at my beautiful horse girl wife. “We’re a match made in heaven.”
She combs her fingers through her hair, letting the strands soak in the setting sun. The picture is a painting, leaving strokes upon the walls of my heart.
“Is everything all right, Crimson?” I ask, as gently as possible.
She startles anyway, flicking her gaze toward me, away again. Absently, she nods. “Yes…I… Everything’s fine. Why?”
