Dark Horse: Bad Boy Cowboy Romance Read Free Page A

fault that he hadn't fully planned out a huge, majestic proposal for me - and didn't it say enough that he'd proposed in the first place?
    It had been romantic, I reassured myself, even if it wasn't quite what I'd imagined when I used to daydream about my proposal as a little girl. And I knew that Marsden loved me, even if the man was completely hopeless at planning.
    In front of me, I could see the little old ladies opening their mouths to ask further questions, and I quickly pulled my eyes up to scan the crowd for someone I hadn't said hello to yet. I was okay with telling these women the broad gist of my proposal, but I knew that I'd need to start lying if they started probing into the little details, and I was sure to end up hopelessly entangling myself in my own web of lies.
    Fortunately, just as Dorothy started to ask a question, I heard the loud, unmistakable laugh of my future husband, and cut the little old lady off. "Excuse me," I said politely, grasping the woman's wrinkled little claw in both of my hands, "but I need to go check in with Marsden for a moment. If you'll excuse me?"
    "Why, of course, of course," Dorothy answered quickly, beaming back at me. "Oh, young love! So adorable, so romantic!"
    The other ladies nodded and murmured their agreement as I stepped away. I made sure that several taller gentlemen blocked their view of me before I rolled my eyes.
    Ah, the demands of high society! I had made careful small talk with old women like Dorothy, Helen, and others since I was barely old enough to walk on my own, and I could do it in my sleep, but I still sometimes had to sigh at how ridiculous it could feel.
    To the elegantly dressed and composed men and women around me, everything was wonderful, every occasion was civilized, and every event happened perfectly. The idea of a proposal that was ill-conceived and executed in a stumbling, clumsy manner by a man already more than half drunk would be unimaginable to these ladies.
    That wasn't how high society functioned, after all.
    And, no matter how I might feel at times, I was most definitely a member of high society. After all, the Monteclaires had been a part of Virginia nobility since before there even was a Virginia, for heaven's sake! We'd always contributed to charity, shown our faces at every high society gala and event, and, in the last hundred years, we'd never failed to enter a horse in the Virginia Derby.
    Even now, with our family finances in ruins and little of our legacy left in my name and possession, we still had a horse here. My own horse, Merlot, whom I'd trained exhaustively for this. I had high hopes that I might go home with a ribbon, or maybe even some prize money.
    The race would be beginning soon, I knew. But until it started, I needed to continue making small talk as I moved around the room of notables in the VIP box, overlooking the track with its plate glass floor-to-ceiling windows. I had to show them that, no matter my family's current financial situation, the Monteclaires were still keeping up all of their proud Virginia traditions.
    From ahead of me, I heard Marsden let out another loud laugh. The man's laugh was unmistakable, sounding a bit like a braying horse himself. I slipped in between two elderly white-haired gentlemen with matching monocles and three-piece suits, and spotted him, standing near the bar.
    Marsden looked to be in animated conversation with two other men standing near him, and he slapped at his knee with one hand as I stepped up to him. "-and that's when I realized that the horses were out in the pasture!" he chortled out, laughing so hard his words were hard to make out. "And instead, the stables were filled with cows!"
    The other men laughed along with Marsden at the punchline, although not nearly as hard as my future husband to be seemed to be laughing. Clearly, they weren't as deep into the free booze as Marsden.
    I stepped up, rubbing my hand along Marsden's upper arm to let him know that I was present. "Hi