Page 10 of Grey (Little River Stallions #2)

Tatum stacked the last few books on the return cart and looked at the clock again. She normally would have been very focused on the task at hand, but today she was buzzing with thoughts of the night to come.

Dinner at the farmhouse and meeting Grey’s friends.

Holy crap, she couldn’t stop having butterflies in her stomach every time she thought about it.

She’d already met a few of his friends—the very sweet and friendly Tris and Zara—plus Crew who was Grey’s closest friend.

But there were more people to meet that he worked and lived with, people who were super important in his life, and she was excited and nervous at the same time.

But it wasn’t just the fact that she was meeting his friends tonight, it was that the invitation to dinner had made her feel like he was inviting her into his world, like she was supposed to be there with him, and that made her whole body feel warm.

In her old life, she’d hated social gatherings, especially with her ex’s friends.

If he didn’t think she’d been friendly enough or put on the show of being the happy girlfriend, he’d berate her for hours afterward.

She’d always had to put on a whole new persona for those nights, playing pretend so she didn’t get yelled at.

But this was different, because with Grey she could be herself.

She could tell him about an interesting legend she’d researched or something funny that happened at the library, and he always listened intently and asked questions, seeming to hang on her every word.

She could relate. She loved hearing him talk about his work at the farm and with the construction company.

Despite the warm feelings about tonight, the tiny voice in the back of her mind wondered if his friends would like her, but every time those thoughts popped up, she’d push them away. Grey cared about her—she’d seen it in his eyes and he wouldn’t bring her around people who would treat her badly.

It was just dinner, but it felt momentous all the same.

“Thanks for locking up for me,” she said to Mrs. Fielder as she grabbed her bag.

“Of course, dear. Have fun tonight.”

“I will.” She waved and hurried out the door to her car.

She’d opted to leave a bit early so she could drive to a state liquor store and pick up a bottle of wine for dinner.

While she didn’t know a darn thing about wine, she was thankful the store worker she spoke to was knowledgeable and had given her some tips, finally settling on a mid-priced bottle that wouldn’t look like she was trying too hard to impress them.

As she drove back through town to go to the farm, she saw the sign for the park and had the urge to stop. She hadn’t planned to stop, but she found herself turning into the lot and getting out of the car.

Pulling a coin from her purse, she shut her door and approached the fountain. The park was empty, and the late afternoon sunlight sparkled on the surface of the water.

Closing her eyes, she made a silent wish.

I want to be part of Grey’s life and I want his friends to like me.

Was that a selfish wish? Her fingers tightened on the coin.

No! It was a universal desire to want to belong and to find people to connect to, especially people to love.

Even though part of her was scared about the feelings she had for Grey after a short time, she couldn’t deny that it felt very right to be with him.

Love at first sight or soulmates or kismet…

it was really just a different way of saying that she’d found her person , and she wanted to let him know tonight just how much she cared about him.

With a smile on her face, she tossed the coin, opening her eyes and smiling as it hit the water, ripples spreading out across the surface.

As she turned to head back to her car, she smiled again. Tonight wasn’t just about dinner, it was a step forward—toward something real and amazing, toward the kind of life that she’d always wanted but had always been just out of reach.

She couldn’t have enjoyed herself any more than she did at dinner with Grey’s friends. Not only were they all super kind and sweet to her, but they made her feel like she belonged there. Like the chair that she sat in next to Grey had been reserved just for her.

It was a heady feeling.

The girls—Tris, Zara, and Nancy—invited her to a spa day on Sunday at the farmhouse with manis and pedis, face masks, and rom-coms. The guys were all clearly close and seemed more like brothers than friends, and they were visibly happy to see her and Grey together.

She’d wished that his friends would like her, and it had come true.

Grey had been so sweet and attentive to her during the dinner, brushing his hand against hers under the table, his eyes lighting up whenever he looked at her.

Her heart squeezed as she thought about him. Her feelings were even more real now, stronger and sweeter. She was both scared and thrilled by that prospect.

Grey put his hand over hers on the table as the meal wound down.

“Hey,” he said with a low voice.

“Hey yourself.”

“Want to go talk?”

“Sure.”

They excused themselves and left the kitchen, heading outside. “What did you think?” he asked.

“Like I just sat through the best dinner of my life. Thanks for inviting me, I really had the best time.”

“They like you, but I knew they would.” He smiled, but he seemed suddenly troubled.

“Are you okay?” she asked, a bolt of worry spearing through her.

“I want to show you something.” He gave her hand a squeeze and led her into the barn where they’d spent the night in the apartment.

“What do you want to show me?”

They stopped in the middle of the barn, and he got such a serious look on his face that she was worried what he might say next, even though she couldn’t imagine what it might be.

“I need to tell you something about me. It’s kind of a family legend.

But what I’m going to tell you is so important and so…

unbelievable. But I need to know that what I tell you, what I show you next, will stay between us.

You can’t tell anyone what happens tonight. It has to stay a secret. Forever.”

“You’re kind of freaking me out,” she said. “What is it?”

“I’m crazy about you, Tatum. From the moment I met you, I knew that you were the one female on the planet for me.

My soulmate. The reason that I know that is because there’s part of me that I’ve kept back from you, something secret I had to keep close to my heart.

” He paused, and her heart thudded, nerves and curiosity swirling inside her at how serious he was being.

“I think you know in your heart that I’ve been keeping something from you. ”

“Yeah, I could feel it.”

He blew out a breath. “I’m sorry, but it’s because it’s a secret, an important one, that I needed to keep it from you until I knew that you cared for me. You do, don’t you?”

“I do,” she said.

“I’m a stallion. A horse shifter. I was born this way, with the ability to turn into a horse whenever I want. And it’s not just me. My friends are stallions too, and we use the farm as not only a place to live and work, but as a cover for our horses so we have a safe place to run in our shifts.”

She stared at him.

Was he serious? He thought he could turn into a horse?

She was about to ask him if he’d lost his mind when the barn door opened, and Nancy and Dexter walked in.

“I can see that you think I’m nuts,” Grey said, “so I’m going to show you. I’ll be stuck as a horse for a few hours, so I wanted Dexter and Nancy here to talk to you. Remember that I’m still me, I’m just a horse, okay?”

She scoffed, but couldn’t come up with the words to say that she didn’t just think he was nuts, she thought he’d walked off the bridge into insane territory.

He took off his shirt and tossed it to a nearby workbench.

Nancy walked over to her and said, “I’m not going to watch your soulmate strip, but I’m going to stand here with you. I don’t want you to freak out.”

“Okay, all right,” Tatum said as Grey reached for his belt.

“Hold the phone here, what the heck is going on? Are you—are you nuts? You think you can turn into a horse? That doesn’t even make sense!

If you could turn into an animal, why wouldn’t you pick something cool, like a wolf or a dragon?

I mean, a horse? Holy crap, Grey, are you making fun of me thinking legends and myths are interesting that you think I should find this charade appealing? ”

“It’s not a charade,” he said. “I know you feel like there’s something more going on between us than just us being attracted to each other and falling for each other, and it’s because I’m not human. I’m a stallion and you’re my soulmate.”

“Stop saying that!”

He tilted his head, and for a moment, he looked hurt. And then he said, “You’ll see.”

“I’m not seeing anything, I’m going home.”

Nancy put her hand on Tatum’s shoulder as she turned to face away from where Grey continued to strip. “Just wait, honey. I promise he’s telling the truth.”

“Not you too?”

Grey stripped fully and Tatum ignored how much she liked to see his sexy body on display for her because she was so pissed that he was…wait, what?

“What’s happening?” she asked with a harsh whisper as his body changed from sexy man to huge white-and-gray horse.

She didn’t think she blinked for a full minute.

“Did I just see that?” she asked, her voice squeaking with disbelief. But she had seen it. She’d seen sexy Grey turn into a horse. Like really turn into a horse.

The horse whinnied, tossing back his head like a nod.

Nancy turned around and put her arm around Tatum’s shoulders.

“Yes, honey, you did see that. Grey is a stallion shifter, just like Crew, Ford, Avi, and my Dexter. I’m human like you and I didn’t believe my eyes when Dexter shifted for me the first time either.

But it’s real and it happened, honey. Can you imagine how serious the secret is?

How incredible shifters are, but how important it is that their secret needs to be kept?

Grey shifted for you because he cares so deeply for you he didn’t want to keep the secret from you, and he’s trusting you with this truth, believing that you’ll keep it in your heart and not tell another living soul. ”

Her mouth went dry.

Holy crap, the guy she was falling for was a horse.