Total pages in book: 68
Estimated words: 64683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 323(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 64683 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 323(@200wpm)___ 259(@250wpm)___ 216(@300wpm)
Because he simply wasn't.
ANAH WAS ALREADY WAITING outside her school the moment Ethan pulled up, and she swung up into the passenger seat next to him before he could even get out to open her door.
"Still ashamed to be seen with me, I see," Ethan commented with a smirk.
Anah wrinkled her nose. "You know it's not that."
That was true, Ethan thought as he shifted gears and made a U-turn at the corner. Anah hated drawing attention to herself whereas Guilia...
Don't think about her, dammit.
His jaw clenched, and as he had been wont to do in recent months, he turned to Anah for distraction. She already had a book up, the paperback succeeding in hiding most of her face. He noticed the way her chest was rapidly rising and falling, and Ethan frowned. Was she reading something too scary again? He glanced back at the cover, and his frown deepened.
Well, fuck.
He had always known Anah enjoyed reading romances as much as thrillers, but it was his first time to see her reading some sappy young adult love story. Since when had her reading tastes changed? Or was this simply because she had a boy her age that she liked now?
Unaware of being the subject of her companion's thoughts, Anah was too busy trying to regulate both her breathing and heart rate, which tended to get a little messed-up every time she was alone in a car with Ethan.
Honestly, it was a miracle she had lasted this long without Ethan having a single clue about her feelings. It would be nice if she could believe she had her acting to thank for that, but more likely than not, it was only because Ethan was that indifferent to her.
Anah was relieved to see the gates to the Blackwoods' ranch coming up, and she reached for the handle as soon as she heard Ethan unlock their doors. "Race you to the stables!"
Ethan rolled his eyes as Anah dashed off without even waiting for him to answer. Times like this, she seemed more like twelve than sixteen. Then again, would twelve-year-olds find themselves breathless just while reading a teenage love story?
Ethan found himself frowning again, and his mood only lightened when he got to the stables and saw Anah feeding an apple to Coral Dawn while murmuring sweet nothings to the two-year-old mare's ear.
He walked up to her silently and had Anah shrieking in surprise as he clasped her waist from behind and swung her up to the mare's saddle.
"Ethan!" Anah glared at him in consternation even as the part of her body he had so briefly touched still burned and tingled.
"What?" Ethan's voice was filled with sham innocence, and the smile he gave her over his shoulder was so disarming it had her knees knocking against the mare's flanks, which then had Coral Dawn misinterpreting as a command.
Anah barely had time to grab the reins as the mare set out for a brisk totter, and she could hear Ethan chuckling even as he had his black stallion catch up to her in one swift gallop.
"Race you to the clearing," Ethan challenged, and just like she had done earlier, he had Dark Sky sprinting off before Anah could even answer. It was payback, plain and simple, and Anah burst into laughter even as she leaned forward to urge Coral Dawn into a speedy run.
As with most of their rides, the first half hour was an exhilarating uphill climb that gradually slowed down as they negotiated a steep descent to a gently streaming brook. It was here they allowed the horses to rest and graze while Ethan untied the picnic hamper from his saddle and Anah laid a picnic blanket over the grass.
When Ethan came to sit next to her, Anah had to slowly turn her head and look away, just so she could regulate her breathing without him seeing it. Breathe in, breathe out. It took a few more seconds, but Anah's breathing eventually returned to normal, and she turned to face Ethan again just as he finished unwrapping today's culinary surprise from the Blackwoods' head cook.
Ethan grinned when he heard Anah's gasp of delight and wasn't at all surprised when her hand shot out all at once. Cook Nancy's bacon-cheddar biscuits were one of Anah's all-time favorites, and he shook his head in mock disappointment when she started munching on a biscuit.
"We haven't said grace yet, little Anah."
Anah turned red and stammered out an apology. "I was just so hungry—-" Her voice broke off when Ethan suddenly leaned forward, and she could only freeze in shock when she felt him wipe away the crumbs that had dusted the corner of her lip.
"You really are just like a kid at times," Ethan murmured in amusement.
Anah could only smile weakly, not trusting herself to speak.
Ethan glanced at the hamper. "We have bottled water, juice, and soda. Pick your poison."