what was the matter with her? A handsome hunk of a man was flirting with her, and she was letting her ex-fiancé Reese Culhane intrude and mess things up. Reese—who could look at her after she’d been with him for so long, after she’d given her heart to him, and say without a qualm that he’d fallen in love with someone else.
She shook her head. “You don’t have anything to be sorry about. It’s not your fault.”
“Perhaps. But what I said reminded you of the wound, and for that, I apologize.”
She’d come to the christening party to forget about Reese and the years she’d wasted loving him. He wasn’t worth a memory, not now when she realized how very shallow he actually was.
Savannah placed her fingers to Cruz’s lips, silencing his apology. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
His hand covering hers, he lightly kissed her fingertips. “Then we won’t. We’ll enjoy the music.” He looked into her eyes so deeply that she was certain he’d touched her soul. “And the company.”
Looking back later, Savannah knew that was the moment—the precise moment—when she fell completely under Cruz’s spell. That was the moment when she decided to forget everything that troubled her—the heartache that had come along with her on this trip—so she could witness the christening of her best friend Vanessa’s nephew. She made up her mind to live for the moment.
And the moment had been touched by Cruz.
“I’ve completely forgotten to introduce myself. I’m Cruz Perez,” he whispered against her ear. And it was as if his very name was a magical cure to heal a heart that had been so badly misused.
Enjoying the warmth that shimmied up and down her spine, Savannah smiled to herself. “Yes, I know. I asked Vanessa about you. I’m Savannah Clark.”
It wasn’t a very sophisticated thing to admit. Saying it, Savannah fully expected Cruz to look at her like a male peacock whose vanity had been stroked. Instead, there had been an amused, partially obscured look in his eyes when he turned them on her.
As if her admission surprised him.
“You did?”
She nodded her head, excitement picking up pace. “Yes.”
“And what is it she told you?” He cocked his head, waiting for her reply.
Vanessa’s exact words came back to her. And looking at Cruz, Savannah could see why they had more than a kernel of truth to them. The man had incredibly disarming eyes and an equally disarming, wicked mouth.
“That mothers lock up their daughters when you’re around.”
He merely laughed at the warning. The sound wound its way deep into her system.
“Locked doors are really not an obstacle if someone is determined to get out.” His eyes glinted with mischief and sensuality. “Or get in.”
Looking into his eyes, Savannah had to remind herself to breathe. It took longer for her to find her tongue again.
“Vanessa says that you’re the best horse trainer the ranch ever had,” she said, abruptly steering the topic to safer ground. As she heard the words come out of her mouth, Savannah upbraided herself for sounding as stilted as a first-grade composition.
He smiled, looking over toward where Vanessa was standing. “Vanessa is known for her kind tongue.”
Savannah was the first to agree that Vanessa had a huge heart. But she was also honest. “Yes, but she doesn’t exaggerate.” And Vanessa had been very adamant about Cruz’s abilities—just as adamant about them as she’d been in her warning.
The band took a well-deserved break, and Savannah found herself alone with Cruz—farther away from the house than she’d realized.
It was as if the air had suddenly stopped moving around her, freezing everything except the two of them. Her eyes trapped by his, Savannah felt her heart hammering wildly.
As he leaned in to kiss her, she turned her head away at the last possible moment. She felt his lips brush against her hair. It was all she could do to take half a step back. Her mind scrambled for something to say. “Show them to me.”
Cruz blinked. “Excuse me?”
Savannah swallowed. She probably sounded like a complete idiot. “Your horses. I’d like to see your horses.”
Cruz paused, seeming to asses her motivation. “They aren’t mine.” He hesitated. “But maybe they’re more mine than anyone’s.”
He took her hand in his. “You’re not exactly dressed to go tramping through the stables.”
When he looked at her like that, as if he knew every thought in her head, every feeling in her heart, she found it difficult to think coherently.
“Dresses can be cleaned,” she finally managed to get out.
His eyes washed over her slowly, making her warm, making her tremble inside—without so much as a word. And then, he laced his fingers through hers and turned away from the party.
And toward the stables.
“Well, what do you think?”
Hellfire was easily the most beautiful horse she had ever seen. It seemed fitting that the animal belonged to someone like Cruz. Both proud, magnificently regal—they belonged together. He told her that Vanessa had presented him with Hellfire for his twenty-fifth birthday.
Murmuring words of endearment, Savannah gently ran her hand along the horse’s muzzle, stroking it. “I think she’s beautiful.”
Leaning against the stall, Cruz laughed. “It’s a he, not a she. You can tell the difference by—”
“Yes,” she said quickly, before Cruz felt called upon to go into an anatomy lesson. “I know exactly how to tell the difference. I was raised on a ranch.”
Flustered, the color came rushing to her cheeks as she stepped away. It had been too crowded in the stall at first for her to clearly view the golden quarter horse. Now that she did, the gender was obvious.
His laughter continued. Savannah could feel her color deepen on her cheeks. “Don’t laugh at me.”
Guiding her away from Hellfire, Cruz drew her toward an empty stall. “Oh, but I’m not laughing at you. I’m laughing at how impossibly sweet and innocent you seem.”
Stung, she raised her chin in protest. “I’m not innocent.”
His laughter melted into a wide, sensuous smile. “Oh, excuse me. But of course, you’re very worldly.”
Her parents were worldly. In an effort to be less like them, she had avoided all their trappings. Maybe, in the long run, that left her a little naive.
She shrugged, looking away. “Well, all right, not very, but—”
He placed his hands on her shoulders, drawing her attention back to him.
