Page 41 of One Night Bride
I’d never been more proud of someone.
“Look at you, city girl. You’re riding a horse all by yourself.”
Her grin spread and she even did a shoulder wiggle, showing just how comfortable she’d gotten in the saddle. Helped that her mare was the most gentle horse I’d ever seen, innately knowing what her rider needed at any given time. It had been worth the investment to rent out the whole place for the day just to see Esme right now.
“How about we head to the tree over there?” I pointed to a huge sycamore next to a barely trickling stream that must rise in wintertime. I checked behind us and saw the therapist had cleared out as I’d asked, leaving just Esme and me on the property for the next hour.
Esme nodded and gently turned her mare in that direction. They’d put me on a bigger horse, but he was just as gentle, understanding that the other rider needed the group to go slower. Kind of made me wish to start my own equine therapy program with the horses on our ranch that aged out of ranching. Maybe after my nonprofit was up and running, I could look into the feasibility of that business endeavor.
When we got to the tree, I hopped off first, running over to help Esme. “Okay, put your right hand on the saddle and pull your right leg out of the stirrup.”
She did, though her hands began to tremble again.
“Good. Now swing your right leg over the back of the horse. Pull your other foot out and let me catch you.”
She followed the directions perfectly with me catching her and slowly lowering her to the ground. She blew out a huge breath and staggered over to the blanket on the grass.
“Oh thank God. Terra firma.” She collapsed and lay flat on her back, making me chuckle. I gave her mare an extra nuzzle for being such a good girl before letting her roam free. The therapist had said we could trust they wouldn’t go far.
I turned to see Esme still lying on the blanket, her hands pillowed behind her head as she gazed up at the tree branches swaying in the breeze, smiling and humming a tune. If I could freeze time, I would have done it just to watch her for a while and soak her in. Maybe it was the clothes, the setting, or the bravery she showed by facing her fears, but this was the moment I knew I’d lost my heart completely to a girl I’d met randomly in Tahoe. We did everything backward by getting married first and then getting to know each other, but I was determined to make this right.
When she sat up on her elbows and looked over at me, putting her hand up to shield her eyes, I walked over and had a seat with her. “Ready for some lunch?”
She sat up quick and pulled on my shirt until our noses almost hit. “Thank you for today, Remy. This is the perfect date.” She sealed her lips to mine, and I forgot all about my intentions of wining and dining her out in nature. All I could think about was getting my hands on her skin. She must have felt the same because when I pulled her shirttails out of her jeans, she didn’t stop me.
“The therapist…” she started.
I cut her off. “Has been paid handsomely to vacate the premises during our picnic.”
She grinned against my lips and then kissed me again, helping me peel the flannel shirt off her body. I had to tear away from her to pull those boots off, her giggle making me hurry. I followed suit, stripping quickly as I looked down at her laid out for me under a tree. The trickle of the stream was the perfect backdrop when I slid home. She chanted my name as the birds chirped and all the walls I’d built fell completely, exposing myself in a way that made everything that much more special.
Esme held my face in her hands, her cheeks pink with pleasure and her eyes gone hazy. “I love being free of a fear. Thank you for that, Remy,” she whispered, love and trust in her gaze.
I pumped into her body, smelling her, feeling her, wanting to be buried so deep inside of her she’d never be rid of me.
“I’d do anything for you, Esme. I love you.”
The words came easy, so true it was like saying the sky was blue. Her eyes went wide and a second later she squeezed them shut again. Her back bowed off the blanket and she let out a breathy scream that set me off too. Every nerve ending in my body screamed in pleasure and my rhythm faltered. I collapsed on top of her, out of breath and out of my mind. Even a crowd of people showing up in that field couldn’t have stirred me to move.
We lay there under the tree, listening to each other breathe until Esme’s stomach growled so loud I knew I needed to feed her the picnic I’d promised. We got dressed, ate lunch, and laughed while we talked. Eventually, I coached her back on the horse and got us all back in the barn without a single incident.
But all the while I was aware she hadn’t said it back.
19
Esme
Over a week had passed since our first date at the horse ranch, and I’d never been happier. My business was running smoothly and nothing further had come up about us dating. I’d answered my client truthfully that I was dating someone, but left it at that. Casual. Definitely not something as serious as marriage.
I got off the last call with my client for the day, stretching my neck and looking out the window of my home office, seeing the wide expanse of ocean. I could hear Remington in the background, making calls from the office we’d set up for him in the guest room. At night, he stayed in my room, so it made sense to make that space an office.
I wondered if he ever got tired of me working so much. Men I’d tried to date in the past had always made complaints about my long work hours, always trying to convince me to ditch it to run off and play somewhere. And to be fair, they had a point. Here I was living right on the ocean, and yet I almost never got out there to enjoy it. The view was great, but being out there in the water, feet in the sand and sun on my face, was a hundred times more relaxing.
I glanced over to the sticky note Remington had slid on my desk this morning when I was on a call. The name and number for his web designer. I’d mentioned yesterday that I wanted to put together a new online course to slowly transfer my business model to a course-based system, rather than just one-on-one sessions with clients. Remington had listened and gotten me a contact. Just like that. It was like he was making himself indispensable. Like an actual partner in life.
And it made me nervous as hell.
I’d grown up watching my dad be a leader in this town as chief of police, my mom a constant shadow behind him. She supported him and made sure his clothes were washed and pressed, his meals always hot, and his mustache trimmed to perfection before town events where he’d speak. She loved her life being his wife, but I’d always wanted more for myself, or if not more, something different. I didn’t want to be the assistant; I wanted to be the leader.
