Page 64 of Untamed Heart
‘But what if it is? What if I’m too fucked up to really let anyone in, Lots? What if Cal was it and I just chucked it away because we’ve been too busy to make it work?’
I sighed, clutching my phone as though it was Hestia’s hand.
‘No, I just don’t buy it. You do let people in – you let me in. And I was dressed as a giant cock when we met.’
She snorted a laugh despite herself.
‘I know, I know. But it’s not the same. I mean, I asked if you wanted to hook up, but seeing as you only like men – and frankly, fuck knows why right now – it means I have to look elsewhere.’ She paused, the amusement fading. ‘Maybe it’s sex that complicates everything,’ she mused. ‘The minute there’s any romance or intimacy involved, bang – it becomes messy and complicated, and seemingly, whether it takes five years or five days, eventually the outcome is the same. Over.’
I considered the short but memorable list of Hestia’s boyfriends and girlfriends since uni. Most had been fairly similar to her, at least in one aspect. They’d had either a shared aesthetic or interest – one had even been the tattoo influence that’d tipped Hestia into discovering her talent for creating them, and her love of collecting them on her own body. But emotionally . . . I’d never seen a deeper connection, not even with Cal.
My mind drifted to Cole, knowing that below our explosive physical attraction was that depth – it wasn’t just a sexual thing, although it was strengthened by that. I wanted the same for Hestia, badly.
‘Listen. Relationships don’t always have to work out, right? They just weren’t the right people for you. Come on, you’d be the first one to tell me the same. Maybe you just need a proper break from things. You guys have worked so fucking hard on the studio in the last couple of years, it’s hardly surprising that it’s become too much.’
Hestia sighed.
‘Oh, Lots. You’ve got real Yoda energy, did you know that?’
I chuckled.
‘I miss you,’ I replied.
‘Don’t give me that,’ she mumbled. ‘I know you’re well occupied over there . . . and I love that for you. Anyway, the other part of it is not wanting to fuck up the studio. It’s doing really well – we’ve got a massive waiting list, so I don’t want to screw that up as well.’
‘I know,’ I said, wishing there was more I could say to reassure her, knowing how down she must really feel if she sounded this low. ‘But the studio is just business, right? Surely you can separate that and set it aside?’
‘Yeah, I think so,’ she replied, another sigh escaping. ‘I just feel fucking exhausted by the whole thing, you know?’
‘You could always try my tried and trusted method,’ I joked. ‘Come over here, try ranch life instead. It’s working for me.’
She paused and I suddenly realized how fun that would be.
‘Really?’ she said, seeming to be genuinely taken aback. ‘No, I couldn’t. I’ve got too much on, can’t trust Cal to handle things at the moment.’
‘So call his mother and make her deal with him,’ I said, remembering how Hestia had always commented that only Cal’s mum could handle his manic moods. ‘What’s her name? Diane?’
‘You’re right, actually,’ she replied. ‘She always did deliver the best verbal bitch-slapping.’
Something clicked as she said it, a light flicking on in my brain. A solution to the Elk Creek problem.
‘Oh shit, you’ve just given me the best idea,’ I said, putting her on speaker so I could finish dressing and drying my hair.
‘What? Does someone over there need a verbal bitch-slapping?’
‘Yep,’ I replied, cursing at my hair, desperately trying to pull a comb through it.
‘Hang the fuck on.’ She paused, her voice suddenly charged. ‘You haven’t even given me any juice on this cowboy! I want names, facts, measurements . . .’
I laughed.
‘Cole; tall, dark and ridiculously am-I-fucking-imagining-it hot, oh and . . . just right.’
‘CHARLOTTE WRIGHT! Youhaveridden a cowboy!’ she screamed. ‘Please can you inform Kyle in front of me, I beg you – I’ll pay?’
Still laughing, I grabbed my hat.
‘Want to know something even better?’ I teased, grinning at her breathless response. ‘He’s got a friend. Also a cowboy. Also hot.’
