Page 25 of Second Time Around

The thought sent her heart plummeting.

“Do we walk or drive to the stables?” Kyra asked, breathless from keeping up with Will. “I’d love to take the mini Ferrari for a spin.” And instructing her on how to drive it might relax the rigidity in Will’s jaw and body.

“Then we shall drive.” She could hear the effort it took to make his response sound easy and casual.

They arrived at the Ferrari without further incident. Will stowed the glasses in the cart’s trunk and settled the bottle between his feet. His smile was forced when he said, “Don’t want it getting shaken up and exploding behind us.”

He explained the simple controls to Kyra, the tension in his voice easing as he did so. She gingerly backed the cart away from the wall and then drove it onto the paved lane.

“Thank you,” Will said.

“For driving?”Keep it light.

“For—” He seemed to be at a loss before he bit out a laugh. “For not turning around.”

“That was pretty hard, to be honest.”

“You wanted to meet Petra?” His tone was disbelieving.

“No, just to see her. You nearly married her so I can’t help being curious.”

He gave her a seductive smile. “She doesn’t hold a candle to you.”

Kyra wasn’t buying that, but the fact that he would say it sent a warm little glow through her. She gunned the engine down the straightaway.

The breeze created by the cart’s motion combed through her hair and gave her a sense of freedom. She laughed and glanced over at Will. His eyes were focused on her, hot and intense, while his dark-blond hair ruffled and fluttered around the chiseled bones of his face.

“Oh,” Kyra said, the cart weaving a bit as she got caught in his look.

“Steady.” Will grabbed the wheel to straighten their course. He shifted his gaze forward, but the heat of it still licked along Kyra’s nerve endings, making her aware of where he brushed against her at shoulder and thigh. Maybe it hadn’t been an empty compliment.

“Turn right,” Will said.

She turned down another paved lane that led to a courtyard surrounded on three sides by the stone stables. About half the stalls had the top doors open and horses’ glossy heads poking out of them.

“Where should I park? I don’t want to scare them,” she said.

“Go around to the back. That’s where the trucks bring in the hay and feed.”

As Kyra pulled in beside a maroon pickup truck with “Arion Farm” lettered on the side, Schuyler walked out of the wide doorway just beside it. “Hey, bro, welcome to the sanctuary.”

Will raised the champagne bottle. “I’ve brought provisions, Sky.”

“Such a Boy Scout,” Schuyler said, accepting one of the flutes. “I drank mine straight out of the bottle.”

Kyra laughed, and Will worked the cork out with a gentle pop, spilling golden liquid into the elegant glasses. “Kyra loves horses,” he said.

Enthusiasm shone in Schuyler’s eyes. “You ride?”

“Only in my dreams,” Kyra said.

“We should change that,” Schuyler said. “But let me introduce you to the residents. We used to leave them out to pasture during the party. Mum liked the pretty picture it made. But one year a couple of drunken guests decided to go bareback riding, and that didn’t end well. For the riders, not the horses, thank God.”

“Sky would have committed murder if they’d injured a horse,” Will said.

“I don’t blame her,” Kyra said. “Animals trust us to take care of them. We shouldn’t abuse that trust.”

Schuyler gave her an approving nod.