Page 62 of The Mistletoe Kisser
“I did no such convincing,” she argued, swinging away from the fence line to cut down the middle of the field.
“You underestimate the power of those big, blue eyes, Sparkle.”
She shifted and looked at him again. His ear flaps were down, the reins clenched in a death grip in one hand—a stickler for the rules. He looked both ridiculous and yet still unsettlingly attractive. “Are you flirting with me?”
“I don’t flirt. I’m simply stating a truth.”
“Well, itsoundslike flirting,” she pointed out.
“It’s not my fault if you take it that way.”
Sammy shook her head and returned her focus to the ride. She reached down and patted the neck of sweet Magnolia. Maggie was a blue roan Tennessee Walking Horse. Sweet and dainty, she had an enviable stride. She also was a skittish mount. With a little more time, a little more love, she’d find her confidence again.
Sammy loved a snowy ride. The thick quiet broken only by the crisp crunch of hooves. The trail of prints the only imperfection in the otherwise intact blanket still covering the ground. The creak of the saddle. The rock of the gentle horse beneath her. The way the sun and sky and snow built a picture so vibrant she couldn’t stare directly at it.
“How do I catch up to you?” Ryan called from behind.
“Give her a little kick with your heels and click your mouth.”
It took him three times, and his mouth click was more like a kiss, but he managed to bring his mount next to hers and looked pretty pleased about it.
“Nice job, cowboy.”
“Thank you, ma’am.”
A young boy in a snowsuit and bright orange hat burst out of the back door of the barn, a scruffy gray-and-white dog in a sweater on his heels.
“That’s Caleb and Waffles,” Sammy explained, returning the wave the boy sent her as he ran for what looked like the beginning of an army of snow people lining up against the pasture fence. “Both adopted by Jax and Joey. Reva too. They’re good people. They built their own family.” She respected that about them.
“Are all your friends married?” he asked.
“Married or in committed relationships. Layla and I are the lone holdouts in our little circle,” she said. “You?”
“Mostly married. The ones who haven’t divorced already are struggling their way through the early years of kids,” he said with a shake of his head. “People just don’t get it. Marriage isn’t some romantic thing that happens to you—it’s a decision you make based on your current and predicted compatibility.”
“Be careful, your accountant is showing,” she teased. “You’re a very practical man.”
Ryan shrugged his broad shoulders then had to steady his balance. “Why waste each other’s time with grandiose ideas of mortgages and minivans and basketball practice if all those goals are built on the idea that one of you has to change to make it happen?”
She pressed her lips together and thought about it. “You’re not wrong,” she admitted. “But is there a place for romance or is it just a business partnership?”
“Romance is like the big family vacation every year. The thing you look forward to while you’re doing the hard work. The hard work is what makes that vacation possible. The hard work that you’ve put into the relationship is what allows you to enjoy the reward of the romance. It works that way. But it never works the other way. How long can someone live off of flowers and candy and surprise Christmas morning proposals if your partner uses baby talk in bed or consistently runs up her credit cards over the limit?”
“Those are some very specific examples,” she noted with a grin. He was unsettlingly cute when he got carried away lecturing. “But what you’re saying makes sense. It’s a shaky foundation to start an entire relationship based on what you think you can turn the other person into. It’s much smarter to prioritize compatibility.”
He shot her a searching look. “Are you just saying that so I don’t feel like some Cupid-stomping robot?”
She laughed. “I’m not. But—”
“I knew that was coming,” he groused.
“Compatibility is important,” she conceded. “But there’s also something to be said for finding someone who challenges you, who makes you a better version of yourself. If you went by compatibility alone, wouldn’t you just end up with Lady Ryan?”
“What’s wrong with Lady Ryan?”
“Do you want to wake up next to someone as grumpy as you are for the rest of your life?”
“God, no,” he shuddered. “But why can’t I just go out there and find Less Grumpy Lady Ryan?”
