Breaking Through (The Breaking Series Book 3) (31 page)

Feeling lighter, I walked onto the back porch and looked over my parents’ beautiful estate. The lush green expanse of the back garden, dotted with lamps, illuminating my mother’s prized flowers.

Hannah’s wedding would be right here and it would be beautiful.

I was happy for her and Leo. They were great together. I wished them more of the same: love and happiness. I wished someday I would heal and find love like that too.

Past the garden, atop a green hill, sat the main stable, where my father’s stallions were housed. Before I noticed what I was doing, I walked across the garden, on one of the side stone paths, until I was standing in front of the stable’s wrought iron gates.

Maybe it was rubbing on me, or maybe I was just starting to pay attention to these beasts for the first time, but I realized horses were growing on me. As I walked past the stable main corridor and looked inside the stalls, I was amazed by how beautiful these animals were. Long necks, massive torsos, strong legs, shiny coats, and some had manes and tails like they visited the hairdresser every week. Well, maybe they did. I was sure my father had the best horse groomer in town. Maybe even in the state.

Okay, I had to admit, I was falling for horses. A sudden pain rushed through my heart, and I wished I were at Hannah’s ranch, walking her stable and stopping by Belle’s stall. Because she was the horse I was falling for.

My first instinct was to reach for my phone and text Gui about my sudden realization, but with a frown, I remembered we hadn’t part on good terms on Thursday, and right now, I wasn’t sure we were even friends. I pocketed my phone and stared at an empty stall.

Footsteps snapped me out of my stupor.

Reese entered the stable, followed by Lucas. A rush of fear went through me and I retreated several steps.

“Oh, hey,” Reese said, sounding suprised. “Your mother said that you went to lie down in your bedroom because you weren’t feeling well.”

I shrugged, not sure what to say.

Reese turned to Lucas and said something to him. Lucas nodded and left. Though my fear had surged because of Lucas, now it spiked because Reese had sent Lucas away, leaving us alone in the stable.

“You didn’t know we would be here tonight, did you?”

“No,” I confessed.

“Yeah, I figured that when you arrived. You looked shocked.”

“Well, I was.”

“I swear this dinner wasn’t my idea.” He stopped just past the front gates, his hands in the pockets of his dress pants. “When my mother told me your mother had invited us over, I thought you knew about it, and I thought it was a great way to talk to you, to get to know you better in a familiar place, with familiar faces. It cuts the edge from a real first date. However, if I had known you were in the dark, I wouldn’t have agreed to it. I wouldn’t have cornered you like that. I’m sorry.”

I offered him a small smile. “Thanks, I appreciate your honesty.”

“I’m honest and most of the time I’m direct too,” he said, the corner of his lips tipping up. I raised an eyebrow. “During dinner, you mentioned being busy with work and the wedding plans. Are those the real reasons you never got back to me about going on a date with me, or are there other reason?”

I gulped. When he said he was direct, he meant it. “I … I have truly been busy.” If not with actual stuff to do, my mind and heart had been busy these past few weeks.

“All right, I’m not stupid. I understand a no when I see one.”

“I … I didn’t mean it like that,” I said quickly, feeling bad for cutting down his hopes.

He stepped closer, but not too close, and looked into my eyes. “I know what you went through, and I can only guess what it has been like these past three years. It must not have been easy. In fact, I guess it was exactly the opposite.” He paused. “I kind of hoped your rejection isn’t because of me per se, but because you’re still dealing with the damage it caused you.”

“Y-yeah, it kind of is,” I confessed, feeling like fate had punched me in the gut. I never had a guy be this honest with me before. And he wasn’t stepping on eggshells around it as if I would break. It was refreshing.

“In that case, I’ll be honest again and say I can wait.” He reached to me and grabbed my hand. I almost pulled back. Almost. “I’ll be here, I’ll be your friend for now, but when the time comes, I’ll remind you of how I feel.”

He kissed my cheek and walked out of the stable.

Chapter Twenty-Four

“You’ll be fine,” I told Evie as I parked my car beside Hannah’s at the ranch.

She gripped the seat belt and stared at the stable. “How can you be so sure?”

I smiled. A few weeks ago, I had been in her place. Honestly, I still got a little nervous every time I approached a horse, but now I knew how to push through my fear.

After the realization I had at my parents’ last night—that I actually liked horses more than I ever thought I would—I decided I would bring Evie for a ride with me. From Hannah, I knew horses could be used for therapy, and I thought Evie was in need of all the help she could get. Unfortunately, she still hadn’t left Mike, and today she was sporting a new purple bruise on her right shoulder. She hid it under her T-shirt and pulled her hair over it, but it didn’t matter. I still knew it was there.

Since I didn’t have a lot of experience with horses, I contacted Hannah and Bia and asked them to help me out. With two of them and two of us, I felt confident nothing would happen. And, if it did, if something went wrong, Hannah or Bia were capable of handling it, whatever it may be.

Convincing Evie of my idea, though, that had been hard. She had given me several excuses from being sick, to not wanting to aggravate Mike. In the end, I found out she was also afraid of horses, and she had never been near one before.

“Because I’ve been where you are right now,” I told her. “I was afraid of horses, still am a little I guess, but now I can face it, and a few weeks ago, I started riding. And, truth be told, I kinda love it.” She still stared at the stable with fear in her eyes. “Don’t worry. I promise. I’ve brought two specialists to help us out.”

“Specialists?”

“Come and see,” I said, sliding out of my car.

Inside the stable, I found Hannah and Bia tacking Preta. Belle, Argus, and Midnight were already tacked and ready. As we walked through the stalls, I introduced Evie to each one, then showed her the tack room, and even narrated each piece as the girls tacked Preta.

“Wow, are you really my sister?” Hannah teased. “Until a few weeks ago, she wouldn’t even step inside a stable.”

“Very funny,” I said. “Evie, this is my sister, Hannah, the ranch’s owner. She is a master with horses. She is even like a horse whisperer. You know, she can turn abused horses around.”

Evie’s eyes grew wide. “Oh.”

“Nice to meet you, Evie,” Hannah said with a smile.

“And this is Bia. She’s the twin sister of Hannah’s fiancé.” Even I frowned at that long description. “She is also a master with horses. She has been around horses all her life, and her brothers and cousin are famous polo players. And she goes to vet school because she wants to take care of horses.”

“Wow,” Evie whispered.

“
Prazer
,” Bia said.

“Oh, yeah, she’s Brazilian so sometimes she slips a few Portuguese words out.”

Bia shrugged. “Sorry about that.”

“It’s okay,” Evie said with a tentative smile.

“We’re glad you’re here,” Hannah said. Then she switched to her tour guide/instructor voice and explained to Evie all we were doing.

Soon after, we were on our horses, riding through the gates of the arena onto the path of the easiest riding trail.

***

It was only Tuesday, but I felt like my days were getting busier as the week went on. Maybe it was because I had scheduled several dates after work. Yesterday was riding with Evie; she was actually starting to relax and enjoy it. Today was a girls’ night out at a restaurant before Gabi left for Brazil the next morning. Finally, tomorrow, my mother, Hannah, and I were meeting at a quaint restaurant to see more wedding-related stuff.

“Iris and Lauren just texted,” Bia said as we sat around a round table in the center of the restaurant. “They will be a little late, but told us to order their drinks.”

The waitress came and we ordered drinks and appetizers while we waited for Lauren and Iris to arrive.

“Ready to leave?” I asked Gabi.

“Not really,” she admitted. We all knew she wanted to stay.

“Because of Mateus?” Bia asked.

“Who is Mateus?” I asked.

Gabi rolled her eyes. “My ex-boyfriend.”

“Uh-oh,” Hannah said.

“We dated all through high school, and then he went to São Paulo for college,” Gabi explained. “He wanted to keep dating, but I don’t do the distance thing, so we broke up. Now he’s back in Porto Alegre. He transferred there a month ago, and he’s been calling me, asking to see me. I have avoided him so far, but I know he’ll corner me at some point.”

“You two were so cute together,” Bia said with a smile.

“I thought so too, but we broke up eight months ago. At first it was hard, but I like being single now.” She sighed. “I’m not ready to face him. He was part of a good phase in my life. I don’t want to end up being rude to him.”

“Hopefully, he’ll realize you moved on as soon as you two meet, and you won’t need to be rude,” Hannah said.

“Yeah, that would be better,” Gabi said. “I can’t wait to be back for the bachelorette party and the wedding, though. Do you guys want to kidnap me so I can stay in the U.S. forever?”

We laughed, but I knew her joke had a bit of truth.

The waitress came back with our drinks and appetizers, and we then talked about the bachelorette party. As maid of honor, I was planning it. The girls tried to guess what I was coming up with, but I wanted most of the details to be a surprise.

“There will be strippers, right?” Bia asked.

“I’m not telling,” I said.

Then, Hannah’s cell phone dinged. Then Bia’s. Then Gabi’s. I frowned as they grabbed their phones, stared at the screen, and frowned.

Hannah turned to me, her eyes wide. “You kissed Reese?”

I sputtered the soda I was drinking. “W-what? No! Why would you say that?”

They all looked at me as if I had committed the crime of the century. I fished my cell phone from my purse and looked at it, expecting to see whatever they had seen, but there was nothing.

“Leo just texted me saying you kissed Reese Saturday night in our parents’ stable,” Hannah said.

“No! That’s not true. I didn’t kiss him. And he didn’t kiss …” The kiss on the cheek. Reese had kissed me on the cheek. Oh my gosh, what was he telling people?

My cell phone rang and, startled, I almost dropped it. I looked at the screen and swallowed hard.

“Hi,” I said once I answered.

“You kissed Reese?” Gui asked, his tone harsh.

“Why are you all asking me that?” I asked, looking at the girls.

“You all? Who is asking you that?” he asked. “No, wait, first answer me. Did you kiss Reese?”

I stood and rushed out of the restaurant, barely aware that I bumped into Lauren and Iris as they came in to meet us. I halted on the sidewalk, where I was far away from known faces and ears.

“No! I didn’t.”

“Why is he saying that, then?”

“I don’t know. Where did you hear about that?”

“Apparently, Reese told Lucas, who told Malcolm, who told Justin, and then Carlos heard them talking about it—”

Malcolm and Justin were on the Knight House team with Reese, but … “Who’s Carlos?”

“A guy who works at the club. He heard Malcolm telling Justin, and then he gossiped to Leo, Ri, and Pedro when they were leaving practice this evening. Leo, who I guess knows about us somehow, called and told me.” He paused before continuing, his voice tight again. “Reese was gloating about having dinner with you and then, before he left, you two had a moment and kissed.”

I groaned. “Reese twisted what happened—”

“So something happened?”

“Yes, no.” Rage slipped over me. “It’s none of your business!”

Gui inhaled sharply. “You did kiss him.” I was about to explain—again—that I had not kissed Reese, but he spoke up before I could. “You know what, you’re right. This is none of my business. You made that clear when you told me you didn’t want anything with me and even after I told you I wanted to give us a try. So, yeah, it’s none of my business. I’m sorry I called.”

He hung up. Just like that.

Frozen on the sidewalk, I gaped at my cell phone.

I didn’t know how many minutes or hours went by until Hannah came outside. My sister hooked her arm around my shoulders and brought me inside the restaurant. I sat in my previous chair and found five faces staring at me, worried and curious.

“Do you want to talk about it?” Gabi asked, reaching across the table and squeezing my hand.

Even though I shook my head, I said out loud, “I didn’t kiss Reese.”