Free Bound to Be a Groom by Megan Mulry

one of the grooms brought out another pair of quarter horses in need of exercise. They were skittish and excitable. Anna watched quietly as Sebastian dismounted and traded the reins of the horse he’d been riding for the more frantic of the two. Isabella was right after all: he was powerfully handsome. He rubbed his big, strong hand against the horse’s satiny chestnut coat, following the contours of the quivering muscles along the beast’s neck. The memory of that strong hand making its way up her inner thigh had Anna biting her lip in confusion. Her body had responded with thrilling ease to Sebastian’s touch—even now, the mere sight of him across the corral had her shifting from one foot to another in agitation—but her feelings for Pia were so much more.
    “I’ll take your silence as a yes, then,” Isabella said. “You are still attached to Pia in your heart.”
    “It’s complicated. I never dreamt—”
    Isabella’s bark of a laugh startled the two new horses. She raised her hand and called her apology to Javi and Sebastian for the disruption. Without turning back to face Anna, she continued speaking. “That’s precisely what I was saying. I never meant that you should dream of, oh, I don’t know, impossibilities.” She paused to collect her thoughts then tilted her head to look at Anna directly. “But there’s nothing wrong with dreaming that certain things are indeed possible . The world is ours, don’t you see? Whether princess or peasant, it is a moment in history when we may reach—” Isabella stopped suddenly. “I’m sorry. I become as excited as those horses when I think about all the possibilities. And Javi does not exclude me. That is the wonder of it all. We talk about everything and dream together. Of how the world is changing. Of grand political movements.” Her voice went a bit lower. “And of how best to show our love for one another.”
    Anna nodded. “It is a lovely marriage you have.”
    Isabella stomped her booted foot. “That is not at all what I was driving at and you know it. Do you love him? Or are you still in love with Pia? At least be honest with yourself—even if you are not inclined to be honest with me.”
    “Oh, Bell.” The warm summer air licked at Anna’s bare shoulders, reminding her of a lover’s touch. She wasn’t sure she knew the truth of her own feelings. “I honestly don’t know. I do love Pia. But I don’t need to choose—”
    “What?” Isabella screeched.
    “Sebastian is willing to give me—”
    Isabella’s head spun so quickly her parasol whipped around, and she startled the horses again. “Sorry! Sorry!” she called to Javi and Sebastian.
    Javi winked at them and called to his wife in a low drawl, “Perhaps you should take your important plotting and wild gesturing into the gardens, my love.”
    “Very well, my lord,” she replied with mock obedience, then slipped her arm through Anna’s and led her toward the extensive gardens on the far side of the castle.
    They strolled in silence for many minutes, and Anna dreaded she was going to have to endure some sort of examination as a result of admitting the nature of her arrangement with Sebastian and Pia.
    When they were deep into the gardens, behind a tall trellis of climbing roses, Anna let herself relax and be lulled into believing they were taking a quiet stroll, free of perceptive best friends and their pesky inquisitions.
    Alas.
    Isabella turned on her heel, retracted her parasol with a quick click , and speared the tip into the ground. “Anna!”
    “What?”
    “I can’t believe I thought you were the one who was being taken advantage of in the library on my wedding day! Poor Sebastian.”
    “What do you mean by ‘Poor Sebastian’?”
    “I mean, you are using him .”
    Anna stood her ground and met Isabella head-on. “Are we going to be that honest? Truly?”
    “Why not?” Isabella challenged.
    “Very well then. Are you not using Javi? Did your marriage not allow you