Not when we were supposed to keep our relationship amical. Not when my father had warned me beforehand that Bishop would be my future father-in-law and I had to do everything to please him, enough that he’d happily hand over his daughter to me.
And especially not when I knew that Coal needed me.
Some would say I had the power to speak with horses because of how good I was with them.
I still remembered the flash of platinum blonde hair when Grace had rushed to hide when my gaze had caught her behind the hay.
“I know you’re there,” I called out, rubbing a hand over Coal’s chest. He stomped his heel and turned his head to the side, almost grumpily. “Yeah, yeah. You hate me,” I muttered to the stubborn stallion.
“You better come out now,” I said, loud enough for the girl to hear me. “I don’t like people sneaking up on me and Coal is a bit unpredictable. You might end up hurt.”
That did the job. She let out a small squeak, and from my peripheral vision, I saw her coming out from behind the stack of hay.
“And who you are, Miss…?”
She wrung her hands. “Do I have to answer that?”
“Are you a thief?” I questioned, sternly. But I already knew she wasn’t.
First of all, she was neither dressed nor looked like a thief. She had a lavender dress on and it came down to her mid-thighs. Her hair was loose, with two tiny braids on either side of her temple, but they pulled back and got lost in her waves. Her ankle boots were black and leather, still quite new.
Second, she fidgeted too much to be a thief.
And third – Bishop’s security was tight and a little girl like her would definitely not be able to sneak inside. So, I had already come to one conclusion.
“Of course not,” she responded, clearly affronted by such judgment.
Coal’s attention was on her and I knew that look very well. He definitely didn’t like her and felt threatened by her presence. I kept a hand on him, trying to soothe the big beast. “Did you do something wrong and now you’re running away?”
Her lips thinned. “No.”
“Then why can’t you give me your name?”
“Because I don’t want to.”
“Not an acceptable answer, princess,” I rasped.
Her lips parted and I watched her inhale sharply. “You already know who I am,” she accused.
My lips twitched. “I might already have an idea.”
She crossed her arms over her chest and inched closer to me. “Tell me,” she challenged.
“You tell me,” I shot back. Coal threw his head back, stomping and letting out a small huff. He had been a good boy all day today and I didn’t want our intruder to mess this up, so I led the stallion back to his stall. He happily stomped inside and I closed the latch behind him, making sure he was securely locked inside.
He had already tried to run away twice.
I faced the girl once again and rubbed my sweaty palms over my pants. I still wore my office clothes since I wasn’t supposed to be here today to train Coal, but it was a last-minute decision. I might have missed his stubborn and grumpy ass.
She eyed me carefully, her gaze drifting from my polished leather shoes, up my legs and then my stomach. Her eyes lingered a second longer on my chest, where the top of my white shirt gaped open; the buttons were undone and my sleeves were pulled up to my elbows while I worked with Coal.
I leaned back against a beam and crossed my ankles. “Once you’re done checking me out, please don’t hesitant to introduce yourself.”
She gasped indignantly. “I wasn’t checking you out.”
I quirked an eyebrow, watching her flush and mumble under her breath.
“What’s your name?”
“Killian,” I finally introduced myself. “Killian Spencer.”
Her jaw went slack and she sputtered. “You–”
She looked left and right and wrung her hands together. Her wide eyes would have been comical if she wasn’t so goddamn… beautiful, while looking so confused.
Her round face. White-blonde hair. Grey eyes. Pink lips and a curvaceous body. I usually went for brunettes, but I’d definitely make an exception for this one.
“You are… the Killian Spencer. William Spencer’s son? What are you doing here, training my father’s horse?” she rambled, clearly in shock.
Ah.
So that confirmed my suspicion. She was Bishop’s daughter.
And she must have thought I was some stable boy her father hired. How fucking hilarious.
I tucked my hands into the pockets of my black slacks, watching her. “I have to go,” she breathed, when I didn’t answer her quick enough. “Um, I shouldn’t be here.”
She was already walking backward and I watched her disappear around the corner of the stables. She left without giving me her name.
I saw her again the next day.
And the day after.
And the day after that.