It had been two weeks since the shirt incident, and she couldn’t get it out of her mind—which was incredibly embarrassing. But the man was ripped. Like… impossibly so. He was like something out of an action or superhero movie, all perfectly carved muscles and shining skin. He was a completely unfair combination of devastatingly handsome and powerful.
She’d been gobsmacked at first, because how could she not be? He was such a hunk! But then she’d realized that he was using his looks just to get a rise out of her and wow, had that ticked her off more than anything else.
She hated being manipulated.
When Nova had been younger, she’d been lanky, gawkish, and hadn’t quite grown into her features. Always the ugly duckling, kids in her school had played cruel jokes by asking her out for their friend and then their friend acting grossed out. It was annoying, it was childish, and yet it always made her angry.
It wasn’t until she was nineteen, just three scant years ago, that she started to grow into her looks. Her face fit her better, and she had cheekbones that sat high and regal under her dark, heavily lashed eyes. Sure, she was still pretty much flat as a board on top, with broad shoulders and defined arms, if she did say so herself. Although not Elizabeth-levels of defined. That vet was something else. But Nova’s thighs had thickened while her hips had widened, leaving her with a curvy lower half that some people needed a plastic surgeon’s help to achieve.
So, when Sal was sidling up to her, looking all Adonis-like and glistening in the sun, there had been a sharp moment where she’d gone from addled by his straight-up impressiveness to feeling tricked. Teased. Made fun of.
She probably shouldn’t have asked him if he thought she was an idiot, but it was so hard to contain her temper when she felt embarrassed. She’d stormed off, and while he hadn’t approached her since, they still crossed paths annoyingly often. If she had her way, she’d just forget he even existed.
…which was difficult considering how his chiseled torso kept popping into her mind’s eye. Inconvenient.
At least the horses didn’t judge her for mentally ogling the guy. They only cared if she brought them treats, which of course she did. She wasn’t cruel, after all.
“I’m weak, Obelisk,” Nova groaned, letting her head rest against Sterling’s horse’s flank. The poor Miller boy was down with what appeared to be the flu, so she had been more than happy to spend some extra time riding the mount at the start of her shift then spending a good chunk of time brushing out his coat when they were done. Obelisk was a good horse, even if he had a saucy attitude, and he definitely liked to try to lead if she didn’t pay close attention. “I think the Bible says I’m supposed to pluck out my own eyes or something, right? If I can’t keep them to myself? Pretty sure Jesus said that.”
“What’s this about plucking out eyeballs? I’m pretty sure our insurance won’t cover that if it’s self-inflicted.”
Nova yelped, nearly dropping the curry comb that she had been using. She had forgotten that Silas was in the barn with her, baby-talking to his horse. He’d been quiet after telling her he was getting a bottle of water from the mini fridge on the far side of the building.
Well, that was absolutely embarrassing.
“Oh, nothing. Just being silly with Obelisk here.”
“That makes sense; he’s a silly kind of boy.”
“Is he? I hadn’t noticed.” Whew, there was one bullet dodged. As nice as Silas seemed, it definitely didn’t feel appropriate to admit that her mind kept calling up images of his younger brother’s glistening abs.
…definitely not appropriate.
“He’s got character, alright. Matches Sterling just fine.”
“How is he doin’, by the by?” Nova asked, glad they were just glossing right over the whole eye-plucking thing.
“Not bad. I mean, he’s miserable, feverish and pretty much permanently wrapped up in a blanket, but Mom’s feeding him soup on the regular.”
“Oh, not Elizabeth?”
“She tried, actually, but Sterling didn’t want her getting sick and told her she was temporarily banned from the house.”
Nova laughed at that. Elizabeth always seemed so determined and in charge that it was hard to imagine her listening to an order from a sick man.
“And she actually listened to him?”
“Yup. Funny thing about those two. They’re both stubborn as brick walls, but somehow, they know when they need to bend for each other. Never thought anyone would get my twin besides me, but Miss Elizabeth certainly has a way with him.”
“You like her?” Nova said, looking over the horse. “Not like, romantically, but in that annoying older brother who approves kinda way?”
The smile he gave her over Amaranth’s back was a genuine one. No wonder he’d been able to bag that smoking hot mechanic that had looked at Nova’s junker. “Yeah. I think they’re bringing out the best in each other. Then again, I might be biased.”
“Why, because he’s your twin?”
“Nah, because it was after they started dating that my brother really started talking to me again.”
“…oh?” There was a story there, that was for sure. As far as Nova knew, the twins got on like white on rice, all finishing each other’s sentences and being buddy-buddy, but the way Silas had worded that made it seem like that hadn’t always been the case.
“Ah, it’s all in the past. Nothing we need to worry about now. But yes, I like Elizabeth in that annoying older brother kind of way.”
“What about being an annoying older brother?”
Nova cringed and ducked right back behind Obelisk’s neck, gently resting her forehead against his soft fur. She knew that voice without having to even see that irritatingly handsome face on that oh-so-good-looking body of his.
“Hey Sal, you need something? Or did you swing around just to take in the sights…”
Nova peeked around the horse, sensing the tension ramping up in the air, and it wasn’t because of her. There was definitely something going on with the brothers that she wasn’t entirely privy to.
“Do I need a reason to come see the horses?”
Yeah, tension. So much tension.
“No, just not a place I see you too often.”
“Yeah, I guess we don’t see each other that often much.”
“I guess we don’t.”
Nova peeked out further just to accidentally make eye contact with Sal, like he had been looking at her the entire time instead of the brother he was barbing back and forth with. Ducking her head, she returned to her grooming of Obelisk.
At least the horse was tolerating the lengthy grooming like a champ. He had every right to be overstimulated, but he seemed to be a fairly chill mount. Either that or he was enjoying the soap-opera-like drama going on.
But Nova certainly wasn’t. She could feel his gaze on her, not fading, even as he and Silas kept right on doing whatever it was they were doing. She was so busy pretending to be busy and completely oblivious to things that she didn’t realize Sal had approached her until he cleared his throat right by the opening of the stall.
“Oh!” she blurted with a start, dropping the curry comb for real this time and scrambling to catch it. She bounced it between her hands for a moment before it clattered to the ground. Nova picked it up, huffing when she saw that Sal was still there, looking amused.