Page 78 of Romantic Hero
River grins at me, eyes wide with a wonder that I’m certain mirrors mine. He huffs a soft laugh of disbelief. ‘You know when you saidjust once?’
‘Oh, I was fully lying.’ I bury my head into his neck, nuzzling my cheek against him like a cat, running my fingertips across his broad back. I pull back. ‘You know when you saidfor curiosity’s sake?’
His eyes glint. ‘I’m afraid my curiosity has only been further piqued.’
‘Me too.’ I lean my forehead against his. ‘I think maybe further investigation is required.’
He swings both his arms around me and grips me tightly to him in what I think is the hottest, nicest hug I ever had. ‘I was hoping you’d say that.’
CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX
‘I’m aMike Hannigan?’ River asks later as we complete the ‘WhichFriendsCharacter Are You?’ quiz in between episodes ofFriends, biscuits and a forty-minute break in which River makes me see stars using only his tongue. ‘Who is Mike Hannigan?’
‘He’s not actually in the show until the final season. He marries Phoebe.’
‘Would you say it’s an accurate result?’ He adjusts the pillow beneath his head and pulls my legs up onto his lap.
I screw up my face. ‘I think so. He was always my favourite.’ I tap the laptop. ‘It says I’m a Phoebe here, but I’d actually say I’m more of a Monica. I’m not entirely sure this quiz can be trusted anyway.’
‘Oh, I reckon you’re a Rachel,’ River muses, which, let’s be honest, is all anyone really wants to hear about themselves.
I close the laptop, turn onto my side to face River and prop my head up on my hand. ‘I was wondering. What do you miss most about home? Like, what are you most looking forward to doing when you get back?’
River scrunches his nose, thinking about it. ‘Oddly, not as much as I thought I might. I do miss my horses. I miss their company, I miss taking them out, roaming the landscapewhenever I get chance. I donotmiss the daily work, let me tell you. I was run ragged before I got here. Hadn’t realised how much, actually.’
I sit up. ‘So, say you didn’t work at the ranch, what would you do instead?’
‘I’d teach horseback riding,’ he replies immediately, face relaxing into an open smile as he idly twists a lock of my hair around his fingers. ‘That’s what my mother did. She taught people to ride horses. She taught me to ride horses.’
‘That’s very cool.’
River grins and props his head into his hand. ‘Mom was an excellent instructor, best in the county, at least until … You know she actually managed to hold it together for about a year after Dad had his affair? But when she found out that his mistress was pregnant? That’s when she started drinking. And then she never taught again.’
‘I’m so sorry.’ I take his hand and give it a long squeeze. ‘For what it’s worth, I think you’d make a great horse-riding instructor.’
‘Yeah?’
‘Absolutely. You’re bossy enough. And while Operation Windbag didn’t work out, you were an excellent teacher.’
River’s eyes crinkle. ‘Aww, you said Operation Windbag!’
‘If the mission name fits, I guess. Hey.’ I sit up. ‘Maybe when you get home you could try to find a way to, you know, switch things up a little. Not take so much on at Oakley Ranch when—’
He tenses beneath my hand. ‘Not an option.’
I frown. ‘Just like that? You won’t even consider it? What about Cassidy? She could help with the load. You know, I think if you just talked to her, found some common ground, you two could—’
‘I don’t think so.’
I huff. ‘So what? You’ll just never get to do the thing you truly want to do? You’ll never teach people to ride horses? You’ll head up the ranch for ever when you don’t actually seem to enjoy it? Why? Because you made a promise to someone who it seems didn’t treat you or your mother very well at all? Because you think you only matter when you’re running the show? Because you’re as … as stubborn as a constipated mule?’
‘All of the above.’ His eyes meet mine. ‘I don’t know, Gertie. It’s complicated.’ He sighs long and low. ‘Maybe in another life …’
‘Yeah …’ I lay my head back down onto the pillow. ‘Maybe in another life.’
*
After a dinner break in which we try and fail to eat cheese toasties while not kissing and feeling each other up every thirty seconds, I tell River that I finally understand what a ‘let’s-fuck-on-the-side-of-the-road’ phase must feel like.
