‘Sure is,’ he says. ‘She’s sweet as ’em too.’
Fuck me, he sounds like Matthew McConaughey and he looks like, well, Matthew McConaughey, a younger, buffer version, from his romcom peak.
‘Why do you have a horse?’ I ask.
‘Why were you in the fountain?’ he replies with a smile and a shrug.
I don’t have a good answer for that. I suppose something close to the truth makes sense.
‘My hand felt swollen, my ring was stuck on, I gave it a tug and fell.’
‘Well, here, let me help you,’ he says. He crouches down in front of me and takes my hand in his. ‘Wow, that’s really on here, huh? Just try not to think about it, look at me, look into my eyes.’
I do and I can feel myself getting lost. It’s like I’m floating, being drawn into him, I can feel my face moving closer to his.
‘There we go,’ he says.
The ring gives all of a sudden. He presses it into the palm of my hand, so that I can hold it tightly.
‘Thank you,’ I tell him, reaching out to wipe some sludge from his face, realising that it must have come from me when he lifted me out.
‘Anytime, miss,’ he replies. ‘Are you hurt?’
‘I don’t think so,’ I tell him. ‘Just mortified.’
‘Yeah, that’ll sting,’ he replies. ‘Beats a broken bone though.’
I glance around, suddenly remembering where we are. People are staring.
The woman with the pram. The influencer. The tourists. Everyone is looking at us.
I suppose, in their defence, a wet woman being rescued from a fountain by a cowboy with a horse is not a common sight.
‘Oh my God,’ I whisper. ‘Everyone is staring.’
The cowboy follows my gaze then looks back at me. His eyes sparkle with amusement.
‘We are both soaking wet,’ he reminds me. ‘And I do have a horse.’
‘It’s so embarrassing.’
‘It’ll be okay,’ he reassures me.
‘That’s easy for you to say. You look like you’re doing a photo shoot. I look like I’m doing a public safety ad – I’m what not to do,’ I babble.
He chuckles, deep and warmly, and it sends a little jolt of something through my body.
‘Can you stand?’ he asks.
‘I can,’ I say, even though my dignity cannot.
I stand up but my foot twists slightly on the slick stone. Pain shoots up my leg and I make a small, squeaky noise. You couldn’t pay me to be cool right now.
I wobble, and then I fall – straight into his arms.
His arms catch me automatically, wrapping around my waist, holding my body close to his to keep me steady. My hands grab his shoulders before I can even think about what I’m doing.
We end up chest to chest, my face tipped up toward his, his breath warm against my cheek.