“Of course I like him. He’s really nice. Everyone likes him.”
“He’s nice?” she repeated.
“Yes. He’s really nice.” I pulled under a metal pagoda that had an M with a circle around it at the entrance to Colton’s ranch and drove down the long path that led to his house and barns. “I’ve gotta go, Libby. I’ll call you later.”
“Okay, but Mia if you want my opinion…”
I held my breath. I loved and respected my older sister. Her opinion meant a lot to me and even though she was the one that started the ball rolling on this whole thing, I had a feeling she was about to tell me what I already knew, that it was a bad idea.
“Forget Colton, I think you should have cameras following you around and filming this. I mean that is a reality show I would watch. It’s like a rom-com.”
“Ha, ha, ha.” Relief washed through me that she was joking about this. She never joked about things she was worried about. “You’re so funny. Love you.”
“Love you, too”
The call disconnected just as I pulled up behind Tad’s obnoxiously bright rental car. I stepped out and looked around for any sign of Tad. I didn’t see him anywhere, but I spotted Alexandria sitting on a rocking chair on the porch of the main house drinking what looked like tea.
As I crossed the grassy yard I couldn’t help but think that she looked like she should be on the cover of Country Living.
I lifted my hand in greeting when I got closer. “Hey, is Tad out shooting exteriors?”
“No, he’s out on a ride with Travis.”
“A ride? With Travis?”
“Yeah.” She nodded. “Tad saw the horses and asked if he could ride them. Travis said he’d take him out. They’ve been gone for almost an hour.”
“An hour?” I echoed. “But he just texted me that he was here.”
I didn’t know how to feel about that. My ex was out with my new lover. It was a situation I never thought I’d find myself in. Maybe Libby was right. My life really was like a rom-com.
“That was me.” She lifted Tad’s phone. “I was so bored, you can only look at nature for so long.”
I disagreed. I could look at it forever. I’d never felt as peaceful as I had here and I was busier than I’d ever been.
Something caught her eye over my shoulder. “Oh look, they’re back.”
There were times in life that felt like everything was moving in slow motion, this was one of them. I looked over my shoulder first and then my body followed when my eyes locked on one of the sexiest things I’d ever witnessed.
Travis on a horse.
I’d seen men on horses, but this was different. He looked larger than life. He looked so manly. So capable. So rugged. So alpha.
“Wow,” I breathed.
“Yeah, wow.” Alexandria sighed beside me as we watched the men cross the pasture and head into the stables.
I wasn’t lying when I’d told Libby I liked Travis. I liked him a whole lot. And I wasn’t exactly sure what to do about it.
Chapter 16
Travis
“He was raised on concrete.”
~ Walker Briggs
Some men just weren’t built to be in the great outdoors. I had no problem with that. What I did have a problem with was when those men decided to brave the great outdoors and then complained about the heat, the bugs, the trees and every other damn thing they came across.
“I used to catch more fish than all of my cousins combined when we were up at my Grandfather’s cabin.” Tad bragged behind me as we made our way into the stables. Normally I loved going on rides and hated when they came to an end, but I’d never been so happy to get off a horse in my life.
“Is that right?” I’d pretty much tuned him out five minutes into the ride but every now and then I threw in a ‘you don’t say’ or ‘is that right?’
“Man,” he huffed. “We really should’ve brought water.”
If he wasn’t bitching about something he was boasting about something. Neither of which was I interested in hearing. If I were a teenage girl my eyes would have been strained from how many times I would have rolled them in the last hour. Since I was a grown-ass man, I’d fought the urge…most of the time.
Tad went on and on about his fishing expertise as we dismounted and I began unsaddling the horses. One good thing that had come out of his non-stop stream of talking was that I learned he was just a narcissist, not a jealous ex. When he’d first suggested that we ride, I was sure that once we got away from his fiancée he was going to threaten me or make it clear that he wanted me to stay away from Mia. But in the excruciating sixty minutes we’d been out, she hadn’t come up once. This guy was so far up his own ass he could probably see out his belly button.
For the life of me I couldn’t understand how Mia had been with this guy for so long. The other night she’d mentioned him having money, which explained what his current fiancée was doing with him. Alexandria was the stereotypical trophy wife. She must’ve mentioned five times during our lunch at the diner that she was so happy to be retired at twenty-seven. That she would never have to work another day in her life.
But Mia didn’t strike me as the kind of woman that that mattered to. I could never picture her being with someone for any reason other than love. She was one of the most sincere people I’d ever met. Which was kind of funny, since our entire relationship was fake.
Except last night.
There was nothing fake about what happened between us last night. I wasn’t sure if she knew that. There hadn’t been a lot of talking beforehand and within minutes of basking in post-coital bliss she’d gone completely limp and her breathing had deepened. I’d known she was asleep even before I heard her soft snores.
There was also nothing fake about the feelings that I had for her. I’d lived my entire life in Wishing Well. It was my home. But being with Mia felt like my soul found its home.
Pioneer whinnied and I patted him on his neck. “Good boy.”
I tried not to play favorites when it came to animals. But like I knew my parents were lying when they said they didn’t have a favorite child, I’d be lying if I said I didn’t have a favorite horse. Pioneer was my favorite. He loved attention. He loved getting saddled, ridden and groomed. He was a show pony. I’d always felt he was my spirit animal.
Tad still hadn’t stopped talking. I’d been trying to hold my tongue, but there was only so much I could take. I cut him off as he was going on about a three footer he’d caught. “I’m gonna finish up here. I know you need to get some filming done, don’t let me keep you from it.”
“Don’t worry about it. I’m pretty much my own boss, I can do things when I want to do them.”
I know one thing you can’t do: take a hint.
I turned my attention back to Pioneer and the horse that Tad had ridden, Cinnamon.
“You guys were gone a long time.” I heard Alexandria say behind me after a few minutes of Tad continuing to talk.
Great, now I was going to have to hear her whining too.
“Did you have fun?” That question came from a voice that I could listen to every minute of every day for the rest of my life.
When I turned around I saw Mia standing in the middle of the open barn doors, the sun shining behind her, framing her with a halo like the angel that she was. Her hair was falling in waves around her shoulders and her skin radiated with a dewy glow. And her lips, those rosy red lips were like a beacon calling to me.
Without any hesitation or thought, I stalked directly to her and pulled her into my arms, dipping her slightly. Her body stiffened and she glanced past me looking like a kid getting caught with her hand in the cookie jar.
Fear gripped me that she might be having regrets about what happened last night. I’d hated leaving this morning but I didn’t have a choice. I hoped that fresh bagels would at least show her I’d been thinking of her.
I spoke low enough that only she could hear me, “You’re my girlfriend, remember?”
/> “Oh, right.” She smiled and her entire body melted into my arms. “I forgot for a second.”
“I’d like to kiss my girlfriend hello, if that’s okay,” I whispered and through my palm that was at the base of her spine, I felt a shiver run through her.
Her smile widened as she breathed, “Yes, it’s o—”
I cut her off, capturing her mouth beneath mine. I pulled her bottom lip between mine and nipped it gently, then I ran my tongue along it. As tempting as it was to deepen the kiss, I restrained myself. I knew that this wasn’t the time or place, but I did softly press my lips to hers in several more gentle kisses before straightening and pulling her with me so she was standing upright once again. My hand remained behind her and I rubbed my thumb along the waistline of her jeans.
“Hi.” She beamed up at me with a smile brighter than the midday sun.
I felt the warmth of her gaze spread through me. “Hi.”
Out of the corner of my eye I noticed Alexandria and Tad were walking beside us, heading out of the barn.
“MJ, I’m glad you’re here. I have some amazing ideas about what backdrops you need to use for segments on the show.” He continued walking, expecting that Mia would follow.
And she did.
Well she tried.
She held both of her thumbs up and motioned to the side. “I better go.”
My fingers gripped her back tighter, holding her in place, not quite ready to let her go. “Will I see you tonight?” My voice held more gravel than the rock quarry.
She nodded eagerly. “Yeah, I was thinking I could make you dinner tonight. If you still want…I mean…I thought because I said two dinners…but if you don’t want—”
“I’d love for you to make me dinner. Let’s do it at my place. I’ll text you the address.”
“Sounds good,” she agreed as her smile widened. Then she took a deep breath, lifted up on her toes and pressed a soft kiss to my lips before moving out of my embrace and out of the barn.
I’d always been a natural optimist, but I think even a pessimist would admit that Mia kissing me, unprovoked by my magic fingers and with no one around whose benefit it would be for, was a good sign.
As I watched her walk across the pasture, back towards the main house, I couldn’t help but think that she looked like she belonged here. It was too bad she didn’t see things the same way I did. She had a life in Chicago and she’d mentioned wanting to move to Los Angeles. Long distance never worked and I’d never even considered leaving Wishing Well.
Until now.
Chapter 17
Mia
“Worry and stress don’t stop bad things from happening; it just stops you from enjoying the good things.”
~ Walker Briggs
As I pushed my cart around the grocery store, my mind was filled with my inner voices of reason and my more optimistic, rose-colored glasses, voice. I named them Reece and Rose and they were having a heated discussion.
Reece: What if I’m too distracted by Travis?
Rose: What if getting distracted by him is the best thing that’s ever happened to you? Travis is amazing.
Reece: What if the show is a disaster?
Rose: What if it’s the best-rated show on the network? Colton has a huge fan base pulling for him to find true love.
Reece: What if I can’t find work once I get to LA?
Rose: What if you land your dream job? There are a lot of opportunities in Los Angeles.
Reece: What if I hate it there?
Rose: What if you love it? The weather’s great year-round and there are beaches.
Reece: What about the traffic?
Rose: Yeah, there’s traffic.
Even Rose had no comeback for that one.
I inhaled deeply as my fingers tightened around the grocery cart and I tried to calm my racing mind. Since I’d woken up this morning and found Travis’ note I hadn’t had a moment to breathe. I felt like I was running about twenty minutes behind all day and had just been able to catch up now. Thankfully, something had come up at the ranch and Travis wasn’t going to be able to get away as soon as he’d thought.
He’d texted an hour ago asking if we could do eight o’clock. I’d offered to cancel tonight if it wasn’t working out for him, but he’d immediately responded with the “no” emoji of a person holding their arms in an x. I had to laugh because I’d never imagined Travis as a big emoji user. It seemed he didn’t even have to be in the same room to make me laugh.
A sigh fell from my lips as I turned down the aisle that led to the meat section at the back of the store. Even with everything that I’d had going on today, I still hadn’t been able to go even a few minutes without thinking of him. He’d infiltrated my thoughts to the point that I was thinking things like, Travis would think that’s so funny and I wish Travis was here so he could see how ridiculous this is. Or, I wonder what Travis would think of that.
When he’d helped me cast the girls on the show his insights into the female psyche were incredibly accurate. We played a game the other night where I’d pause the auditions and he’d guess what was going to be said next. He had an astonishing accuracy rate. He accurately guessed several favorite books, movies and food. He also knew many of their fears and pet peeves. It was incredible.
He knew women. There was no question about that. Which didn’t make me feel any better about the road my emotions and heart were headed down. What if he was just doing what he said and being my boyfriend for a week. Last night could have been just one more service of his boyfriend status.
I’d never felt this…unsettled.
Everyone had one life to live, and so far I didn’t feel like I’d been living mine to the fullest. All of my life, I’d followed a plan. My decision to go into physical therapy had been a solid one, but I hadn’t followed through with it. I’d left because I’d fallen in love with Tad and production. But now I no longer had Tad and as much as I did love production, I was beginning to hate the long hours and the isolation.
Oddly enough, my loneliness wasn’t so blatantly obvious back home. I wasn’t sure if it was just the faster pace of the city or the fact that I’d gone from a dorm to living with Tad. So I was never really alone. Here in Wishing Well, having a fake boyfriend, seeing kids riding their bikes, playing little league, families having picnics—it was all like a neon sign showing me all the things I didn’t have. It was the epitome of small-town living and I felt myself falling in love with it…and it wasn’t the only thing I was falling in love with.
Shaking off all thoughts of the future, I determined to live in the moment as I grabbed a package of ground beef and headed towards the produce section. I needed some onions, peppers, tomatoes and avocados. I was making tacos. There was no way I was going to attempt my oven-baked chicken after tasting his mom’s fried chicken.
I had just passed the bakery when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned and saw a gorgeous brunette with bright green eyes and a wide smile. I recognized her from the wedding. She was one of the bridesmaids.
“Hi, you’re Mia, right?” She held out her hand, greeting me warmly, “I’m Harmony.”
I shook her hand and smiled. “Hi, Harmony, it’s nice to meet you.”
Instead of letting my hand drop she held it for a moment as she introduced herself again, “Harmony Briggs.”
“Ohhhh,” I said as the full picture of who she was formed in my mind. “You’re Travis’ sister.”
Our hands dropped to our sides and she nodded. “I am. And you are Travis’ girlfriend.”
“Oh…um…I…well…” It felt so wrong lying about our relationship to family. Sure, he’d told his mom that I was his girlfriend, but I hadn’t said a word.
She saved me from my stuttering. “Travis likes you. He really likes you.”
“Oh, that’s…” It was nice to hear even if it might not be the truth. I may not be able to come clean with the fact that we weren’t really a couple, but I could be totally honest as I told her, “I like him too.
Really like him.”
She chuckled. “I feel like we’re in middle school again and I should be passing you a note that says check yes if you really, really like my brother.”
“I know, right?” I agreed as my phone buzzed. “I’m sorry, I have to check this.”
When I pulled it out I saw it was a text from Travis. He said that he was heading home now and was going to jump in the shower. He said he’d leave the door open so I could let myself in and start dinner or join him in the shower. He followed up with a spraying water, fingers crossed and wink emoji.
I laughed as I shot back a chef emoji and put the phone back in my pocket.
“Was that him?” Harmony’s left brow rose.
“Um, yeah.”
“I’m glad. If you were blushing over someone else’s text like that, we’d have a problem,” she teased.
At least, I thought she was teasing.
For some reason, I felt the need to assure her it was Travis. “I’m making him dinner tonight, so he was just saying that he was on his way home.”
“Dinner, huh?”
“Yep.”
“Well, I’ll let you go, then. It was so nice meeting you.” She reached out and pulled me into a hug.
That was another thing I’d noticed about this town. There were a lot of huggers. It was nice.
As she stood back she started to turn, but stopped mid-pivot. “I almost forgot to tell you, my mom wants you to come to dinner this Sunday.”
“Oh, I don’t…I’m not sure…” Tad was leaving on Saturday. There was no reason for Travis and me to keep pretending we were a couple after that.
“I know you’re new to town, but trust me, no one turns down an invitation to a Briggs Sunday Dinner. My mom’s cooking is legendary.”
I bit the inside of my cheek as nerves bubbled up inside of me like a pot of water sitting on lava. I looked down at my cart filled with taco fixings.
“Don’t worry.” Harmony placed her hand on my forearm. “I have a feeling you could fry dirt and Travis would think it was the most delicious thing he’d ever tasted. Anyway, think about Sunday and let me know. And if my brother does something idiotic before then you can come as my guest.” She graciously offered before pulling me into another quick embrace then turning and leaving without waiting for my answer.
Taming Travis (Wishing Well, Texas Book 4) Page 12