Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84075 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84075 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 420(@200wpm)___ 336(@250wpm)___ 280(@300wpm)
A thrill runs down my spine. The place where he grazed my hip tingles with a burning excitement and the dimples from his fingers are still fresh on my bare arms. I stare at him, my mouth open, and I try to figure out what his game is. Why would Ford Arc want to see me? Why would he touch me, talk to me at all, even act like we know each other in the slightest? This man is the best of the best in our world, one of the most eligible bachelors around, the sort of beast that could take any prize.
Why would he look at someone like me twice?
Unless it’s all a game to piss off Sara Lynn.
I turn away and hurry after my cousin as she stomps back to her party. I feel Ford’s eyes on me, and when I reach the steps, I glance back.
He’s standing there staring like he was looking at my ass.
My face turns bright pink as I descend, but I stop halfway down and reach into my clutch.
It’s a card. White, simple, with only his name and his phone number embossed in black.
“Just a game,” I whisper to myself and shove the card back into my clutch. “Just a stupid game.”
I stand up straight, put my shoulders back, take a deep breath, and wade back into the party even as my heart continues to flutter and I can’t get the way Ford was staring at me out of my head.
Chapter 5
Kat
“Here’s to three years.” Melody raises her glass and grins at me. “Honestly, Kat, when you showed up at Shady Farms, I thought you’d last like three hours. It never crossed my mind you’d actually stick around, let alone hang out for three years.”
“We always knew she liked horses, but actual work I wasn’t so sure about,” Tina says with a laugh.
I grin at my two best friends and feel a flush of pride. I know most people don’t celebrate three-year work anniversaries, but this is a big deal for me. I’m barely even allowed to have a job and Shady means so much—it’s practically my lifeblood, my identity, and without it, I don’t know what I’d be. I genuinely think I’d be dead if I couldn’t go there every day and escape myself in the simplicity of the animals and the work and turn off the part of my brain that’s been trained by my family to constantly hate myself. “Turns out I don’t mind getting a little dirty if I’m around animals. Who knew?”
We toast and drink and get back to enjoying a lavish meal out on the Stockton family account. We’re at a restaurant my grandfather invested in years back right in the heart of Dallas’s financial district. It’s filled with thick red rugs, lots of polished wood, and waiters that act like they’re serving literal royalty, and sometimes they are. It’s nice to be treated well for a change, and even nicer to do it with Tina and Melody.
I met Melody my first day at Shady. She’d been a trainer for six years and we clicked almost instantly, even though she was more than a little skeptical of the new rich girl. Not that I can blame her. They figured I was nothing more than a useless nepotism hire, and they were half right, except I worked my butt off to prove that I could fit in and do the job. Meanwhile, Tina and I met in third grade and have been best friends ever since. She’s a lawyer and is probably the most intense person I’ve ever met.
“I heard a rumor about you,” Tina says, leaning closer. “Everyone’s talking about it. Apparently, your grandfather put out some feelers? You know…” She trails off, eyebrows raised.
I groan and cover my face. At least she waited until we already drank one bottle of wine to bring up this nightmare. “He basically assaulted me with potential suitors at Sara Lynn’s birthday party a couple weeks back.”
“How’s that going?” Tina asks. “When my parents brought up the possibility of, you know, an arrangement, I practically told them to go to hell. Not that I’m judging you, I just think my parents have terrible taste, especially my mom.”
I shift in my seat uncomfortably. “It’s not really going at all. I mean, Grandfather says he’s finding more options, but—” I shrug a little. “So far nothing feels right, and the only positive thing I can say is that he hasn’t forced anyone on me. Yet anyway. I don’t know how long he’ll be patient.”
“You rich people are bizarre,” Melody says, shaking her head. “Seriously, an arranged marriage? I mean, what year is it?”
“Even you know?” I gape at her than glare at Tina. “You told her.”
“She needed to know, and it’s not like we’re being subtle. She would’ve figured it out.”