“Need a boost?” he asked, and all I could do was nod.

His chest pressed against my shoulder, rising and falling with each breath, as he maneuvered beside me. Sure enough, waves of warm electricity licked up my arm. That … I absolutely couldn’t ignore.

An awkward moment ticked by when we both just looked at each other. Then one side of his mouth kicked up, showing off a deep, bracketing dimple. He probably thought he looked irresistible, and he wasn’t far off. He cupped his hands for me to step into. “Ready?”

I swallowed and put a hand on his shoulder for balance—ironic because the closer I got to him, the more unbalanced I became. I quickly bounced on my booted toe to help lift me, and at the same exact time, he vaulted me up, nearly blasting me over Stargazer’s back.

I grappled for the saddle horn just as Shay grabbed for my leg to keep me from sailing over. All well and good until I realized his hands were wrapped, rather intimately, around my thigh. An embarrassingly girlish squeal escaped me. Then awkward squirming began.

Yeah, real attractive.

“Here,” he mumbled, shifting his hands to my ankle, helping my foot find the stirrup. “Got it?” he asked, looking up at me.

Again I felt the intense connection. I wanted to tug down the hem of my tank top, so that it tucked into my low-slung jeans. Even my shoulders felt too exposed. I hadn’t really thought jeans and a tank top were all that sexy, certainly nothing like the skirts I usually wore, but in Shay’s gaze I felt exposed.

I watched as he confidently mounted his horse, turning it toward mine. I had to get him to like me, trust me. Tell me things. Now was not the time to turn back into ‘fraidy-cat Serena.

His eyebrows lowered as he caught my stare. “What?”

Then I blurted out, “I’m sorry, I know I sort of invited myself.”

God, ‘fraidy-cat Serena was an idiot.

“No problem,” he said. “I would’ve invited you anyway.”

As I turned to look at him, his eyes were perfectly aligned with mine. It should be illegal for guys to have eyes like his.

Assertive, Serena, assertive.

I flashed him a wicked grin Kori liked to use at times such as this. “Yeah. I know.”

We rode in silence, enjoying the warm sun and the cool shadows. When I’d instigated this date/outing/whatever (I don’t think we should try to label it), I’d hoped I could get him to talk about his relationship with Kori. Why she went to go see him in Golden. What she needed to work out with him. But I didn’t know how to start that conversation. And he certainly wasn’t volunteering any information.