Broken (Broken 1)

“Lame? That is not a lame nickname. Are you not from the city? I mean, come on. New York City, I bet, right? You can’t get any more city than that. ”

“Whitley, that’s my name. Please call me Whitley. ”

“Fine. Whitley, it is. ”

“Fine. ”

“I already said fine. ”

“Jesus Christ, no wonder you’re not married. ”

I started to laugh. This girl was full of spit and fire. “What about you?”

“What about me?”

“Married? Boyfriend? Family here? What brought you to Llano? How old are you?”

I felt her tense up.

“I’m single and plan on staying that way. My family lives in New York, and my best friend, Courtney, moved here with me. I needed a fresh start, and Texas was it. I’d heard about Llano years ago, and I decided this was what I wanted—small-town, country living. And I’m twenty-four. ”

“You running from someone?”

“What? Why would you ask me that?”

Jesus, she was instantly on guard. Yep, she’s running from something…or someone.

“It was just a question, CG. ”

“No, I’m not running. Shit, I thought you were supposed to be a Southern gentleman, not an asshole. ”

“Ouch. Now, I see why you’re single. ”

“Can we just not talk anymore? Please. ”

“Fine by me,” I said.

“Good. ”

When she placed her head on my back, I instantly felt like a dick. Just by the way she was holding on to me, I could tell she was upset. I should have just dropped it. My heart actually hurt, knowing I might have caused her pain.

We rode the rest of the way to the house in silence.

Chapter Three: Whitley

I couldn’t believe I was trying to get to my first appointment with my first client on the back of a horse with a damn cowboy—and a smart-ass cowboy to top it off.

Wait until I tell Court about this. She would be pissed. My first official contact with a cowboy, and she wasn’t with me.

I smiled, just thinking about telling her.

Shit. Why did my car have to break down?

Damn it! Why does he have to smell so good?

Breathe out of your mouth, Whitley. Don’t breathe in his heavenly scent.

I closed my eyes and thought back to fifteen minutes ago when I saw him for the first time and felt like I’d died and gone to heaven. He was about five-eleven and built like a god. He had the bluest of blue eyes. I’d never in my life seen eyes that looked like they were piercing into my soul.