“Who is it?” he asked, curiosity getting the better of him.
She bit her lip. “Promise not to laugh?”
“No,” he answered with a cheeky grin and she swatted at him. “Okay, okay, I promise. Who was it?”
She took a deep breath and answered with a slight cringe, “Jeremiah Stinger.”
“From Not Another Garage Band?” When she nodded, he tried to hold back his laughter but wasn’t very successful.
“Hey! That’s not nice. I was only nineteen and didn’t know any better. But in my defense, he used to be hot and I didn’t know he was such a douche until I caught him in bed with another girl, a groupie, of all clichéd things.”
“Yeah, musicians...they’re kinda all the same in my experience. I’ve had a few as clients. I think I prefer politicians over musicians and I hate politicians. There’s only so many times you can pretend you aren’t in the same room as someone getting a blowjob. Just awkward.”
She wrinkled her nose. “Really?”
“Oh, yeah. I’ve seen things that have really left a mental scar. That’s why I prefer not to deal with musicians. Groupies are a pain in the ass.”
“Have you ever been offered sexual favors?”
He laughed. “Of course. Which is why the easiest rule to keep things straight is not to mess with clients—or the groupies of clients.”
She snuggled against him. “Poor you. Having to fend off blowjobs.”
“True story. Rough life.”
CoCo squealed with giggles as he grabbed her and began tickling, laughing himself as they rolled around, still completely naked—and neither minded. It was a perfect moment that he didn’t want to end.
Funny, lately, there’d been quite a few of those.
18
IT WAS THE DAY after Rian had finished helping Warren with the cattle and CoCo had helped Adeline do a little grocery shopping in the tiny town of Woodsville that Rian and CoCo found themselves back on the horses, enjoying a leisurely ride through the countryside.
“I’d forgotten how much I enjoy riding,” she admitted, loving the clean country air and the carefree feeling in her heart. “I used to love it.”
“Warren used to say that wisdom could always be found in the company of a good horse.”
She laughed, agreeing. “He’s right. I lost all my wisdom once we had to put Gypsy down. For a brief moment I’d considered getting a new horse but each time I tried, I started crying. Suddenly, partying and going out with friends seemed so much more fun than dealing with my grief.”
“At least a horse won’t slip something in your drink,” he noted derisively and she supposed he was right. She should’ve stuck with horses. “Speaking of, what’s the deal with that friend of yours, Stella?”
CoCo sighed. “I don’t know. She’s a party girl. She loves a good time and isn’t afraid to go after one. I think that’s what I liked most about her when we first met. Believe it or not, I was a little shy when I first moved back to live with my mom. I didn’t really know anyone and Stella helped me break out of my shell.”
“Did you go to college?”
“Of course. Honor roll with a degree in marketing.”
“Wow. Impressive.”
She laughed wistfully. “Now ask me what I’ve done with that degree and you’ll be a lot less impressed.”
“So what happened?”
“Life happened, I guess. Getting a job was a lot less attractive than being footloose and fancy-free, plus no one was making me do anything so I didn’t. My mom couldn’t care less about what I do and my dad is so sweet and understanding that he never pushes me to do anything.”
“So why marketing?”
“My dad wants me to take over the company.”
“Do you want to?”
At one time she thought it would be exciting to work for the company that her father had built from the ground up but then working in general had lost its appeal and she’d stopped thinking about it at all. “I don’t know. I mean, it’s shoes, you know? I wanted to design a women’s shoe line but my dad was insistent that I stick to the menswear. I just didn’t have an interest. Eventually, I stopped sketching my own ideas and discarded the idea of working for my dad at all.”