‘Don’t be smart.’
Aspen glared at him. ‘Then don’t be insulting.’
He looked at her as if he was contemplating throttling her, but even that wasn’t enough to stop the thrilling buzz coursing through her body at his closeness.
Aspen shook her head as much at herself as him. ‘You really have a low opinion of me, don’t you, Cruz?’
‘Look at it from my point of view.’ He balled his hands on his hips. ‘I come out here to find you giggling like a schoolgirl and one of my best trainers stuffing his wallet back into his pocket. What am I supposed to think?’
Aspen’s gaze was icily steady on his. ‘That he was showing me pictures of his children being dragged along by the family goat.’
A beat passed in which she wouldn’t have been surprised if Cruz had turned and walked away as he had the night before. It seemed to be his modus operandi when confronted with anything remotely emotional. Only he didn’t.
‘I’m sorry,’ he said abruptly, raking a hand through his hair. ‘I might have overreacted.’
Aspen had never had a man apologise to her before and it completely took the wind out of her sails. ‘Well, okay...’
For the first time in her dealings with him he looked a tad uncomfortable. ‘I didn’t come here to quarrel with you.’
‘What did you come here for? If you’re checking on Bandit’s cankers I had a look at the affected hoof before and it’s completely healed.’
Cruz frowned. ‘That’s for the vet to decide, not you.’
‘The vet was busy and I know what I’m doing. I’m one semester away from becoming a fully qualified vet. Plus, I’ve treated a couple of our horses for the disease. So,’ she couldn’t resist adding, ‘not just marrying to secure my future, then.’
A muscle ticked in his jaw. ‘You enjoyed telling me that, didn’t you?’
‘It did feel rather good, yes.’
They stared at each other and then his mouth kicked up at the corners. ‘I suppose you want another apology?’
What she wanted was for him to stop smiling and scowl again so she could catch her breath. ‘Would it be too much to hope for, do you think?’
‘Probably.’
Aspen couldn’t hold back a grin and quickly ducked down to pick up Bandit’s rear hoof and clean it.
‘You’ve changed,’ he said softly.
She looked up and he nodded to the tool in her hand.
‘You used to be much more of a princess type.’
‘Really?’ Her green eyes sparkled with amusement. ‘That’s how you saw me?’
‘That’s how all the boys saw you.’ He shrugged. ‘We got your horse ready and you rode it and then we brushed it down at the end. Back then you wouldn’t have even known how to use one of those.’
Aspen grimaced and went back to work on the horse. ‘That was because my grandfather wouldn’t let me work with the horses. He had very clear ideas on a woman’s place in the world. It was why my mother left. She didn’t really talk to me about him, but I remember overhearing her talking to a friend and saying that he didn’t understand anyone else’s opinion but his own.’
Satisfied that the horse’s feet were clean, Aspen patted her rump and collected the wooden toolbox. ‘You’re done for the day, girl.’
She glanced up as Cruz continued to block the doorway. The sound of someone moving tack around further along the stable rattled between them.
‘Why did you set me up that night?’
The suddenness of the question and the harshness of his tone jolted her.
‘What are you talking about?’ She couldn’t think how she had set him up, but—
‘Eight years ago. You and your fiancé.’
‘Fiancé?’
She frowned and then realised that he was talking about the night her grandfather had found them. She had no idea what he meant by setting him up, but it shocked her that he thought she’d been engaged to Chad at the time. Then she recalled her grandfather’s vitriolic outburst. Something she’d shoved into the deepest recess of her mind.
She grimaced as it all came rushing back. ‘Chad and I weren’t actually engaged that night,’ she said slowly.
‘Your grandfather certainly thought you were.’
‘That’s because I later learned that he had accepted Chad’s proposal on my behalf.’
Cruz swore. ‘You’re saying he forced you to go along with it?’