Quentin knew he did not own the clothes required to go riding, so he went out to purchase some. Then he picked up some tickets to a football game to tempt his best friend into forgiving him.

He called Donavan, and he picked up on the first ring. "Yeah!"

"Hey, what are you doing Sunday?"

"Why?" Donavan asked.

"Because I thought if you weren't too busy. We could grab lunch at Bill's Stadium."

"You want to go football game with me?"

"If you want to go, that is?"

"Aren't you too busy nowadays?"

"Come on, Donavan. Are you in or out?"

"In. What time is the game?"

"One o'clock, you can meet me at where I'm staying," Quentin offered, "and we'll drive over from there."

"Pick me up at my place," Donavan told him.

It didn't make sense, to stop at Donavan's first was out of the way but Quentin didn't want to argue with him. "Okay, fine. I'll do that then."

"Good. It's settled. So... how are things going with your new... development."

Quentin immediately felt himself smile thinking of Billie. "Couldn't be better."

"So, she'd told you she loves you?"

"Sort of," Quentin admitted.

"Sort of?" Donavan repeated.

"Well, I have no doubt that's how she feels. She just hasn't said those words to me exactly."

"Uh-huh," Donavan said.

"What?" Quentin asked.

"Nothing. It just sounds like this girl is playing you, is all. You're a guy who wears his heart on his sleeve. There's no way she could be in doubt about how you feel, so what's her hesitation? Is there someone else?"

"Oh no! Definitely not. She dated this one guy but he was a real loser. He hurt her really bad. Truthfully, it's that jerk's fault I've got to work so hard at getting her to trust me."

"Really?"

"Yeah, if he showed a little more concern about her feelings and everything she was going through I doubt she would have left him. She was that in love with him. His loss, my gain, is the way I look at it."

"Sounds like she is making you pay for his sins."

"It's not like that? She's been hurt. It's going to take a while before I can build up that trust, is all."

"If she really cared about you, she wouldn't make you jump through hoops because of what some 'other' guy did."

"Hey, we've all been through crap. Just count yourself lucky that it's never happened to you."

"Yeah, it's a real blessing. Good luck trying to earn something you should already have. Sounds like you two are off to a great start. You're in love with her. Her not admitting she's in love with you. Makes you wonder what holds her back, she must really not trust you."

Quentin was trying hard not to be annoyed with Donavan's pessimism. "It'll be fine, you'll see. I'll talk to you later."

"Yeah. Later."

Quentin hung up the phone and frowned. He knew Billie has trust issues, but surely by now, she must realize that she can trust him. Didn't' she? This thought plagued him for the rest of the morning as he didn't have an answer.

He met Billie at her apartment. He thought to bring it up but she appeared to be in such a great mood, he didn't want to ruin it by discussing his own insecurities.

Billy was already dressed in jeans, boots, a tee shirt, and a soft leather jacket. She looked so soft and huggable. He too was dressed in jeans, sneakers, a slim-fit tee, and a hoodie. They both looked so casual if people didn't know them, they look like a normal average couple, instead of two billionaires about to pick up Billie's Goddaughter so she can ride the pony purchased for her as a birthday present.

"You okay?" Billie asked as she drove them to pick up Isabelle at home. He was surprised when she led him over to an SUV.

"I'm good," he told her. "No issues here."

"No back seat," Billie explained pointing to her Spider's interior. "I keep this around to go places with Isabelle."

Quentin looked in the back seat and saw the car seat already installed. Billie owned a car just to cart Isabelle around? "Makes sense," he told her and she smiled.

Isabelle was super excited to see them both. She sat in the back seat and sang songs all the way to the stables. Sometimes Billie would join in and Quentin would have loved to but he wasn't up to date on his kid songs.

"So, are you going to get married?" Isabelle asked, still wanting that baby to play with.

Quentin was going to jump in with, "Maybe? Someday?"

When Billie said, "That's grown-up stuff. Okay, Isabelle. No more talk about that today."

"Okay," Isabelle easily agreed.

"Thank you!" Billie told her and they exchanged smiles through the rearview mirror.

Quentin knew Billie didn't want to talk about it with him but he wondered at the speed at which she shut down little Isabelle.

They arrived at the stable and Quentin was asked if he ever rode before to which he admitted he had not. This seemed to surprise Billie.

"Not all rich people are into horses you know?" Quentin chided.

"We'll need you to sign this waiver," the stable hand said, pushing a paper at Quentin that he briefly read and felt even more nervous with every sentence he absorbed.

Basically, he was agreeing that should this much larger, much more powerful animal decide, for some reason, he didn't want Quentin on his back anymore and threw him off leading Quentin to become physically harmed or dead, it was not the stables fault.

Quentin signed and went to find Billie and Isabelle who were already fitted in helmets and Billie was showing Isabelle the proper way to brush down her horse.

He stood a moment and just watched the two of them together. They were so close and it was obvious how much they loved one another. An image of Billie and he bringing their own child to ride flashed before his eyes, and brought a smile to his lips.

"There you are?" Billie said spotting him. "Nervous?" she asked.

"A little?" he admitted.

"Well, if we move out to the coral, they'll bring our horses out to us."

"Okay," Quentin followed Billie out, while she held Isabelle's hand.

They brought out Isabelle's pony which she named Buttercup. Then Billie's horse which he discovered she named Bob and then he got introduced to his horse, Napoleon.

"Napoleon?" Quentin questioned the stable hand. "Don't you have any more, Bob's back there?"

Billie giggled at him and took his arm. "You'll be fine."

"Easy for you to say. You're riding Bob." He was instructed on the right way to get into the saddle. How to hold the reins. How to spur the horse on and how to make him stop.

Each time he pulled on the reins the horse would whip his head back and try to bite Quentin's foot. "You're certain this is safe?" he asked Billie who trotted up effortlessly next to him.

"Look at Isabelle. Her horse is just as big to her as yours is to you. It's all about confidence. The horse has to trust you aren't going to do anything stupid that would cause it to become harmed."

"Yeah, and how worried is he about harming me?" Quentin asked as Napoleon took another nip at his toes.

"Not much, but if you're in control they respond to that and you won't have a problem getting him to do what you're asking him to do.

"Says the girl riding Bob," Quentin complained. He tried to spur Napoleon on but the horse ignored him until the stable hand gave the horse a light slap on its rump and it got moving.

Isabelle set the pace upfront with her pony which was led by a handler as she walked around a wooded path.

Quentin and Billie rode side by side behind them.

They were winding along the path and Quentin found he was enjoying himself. Napoleon had stopped fighting him and seemed to happily keep up with Billie's horse.

"I think he finally trusts me," Quentin said with pride.

"You've finally relaxed," Billie told him. "They can feel the tension. They know when they have a new rider on their back. That's why they gave you Napoleon because he's older and doesn't get uppity when a new rider tries to tighten the reins."

"Huh?" Quentin said wondering if there was a lesson to learn in that. Perhaps to get Billie to trust him he had to loosen up a bit. Maybe she could sense his distress and it only made her more careful. Was he really comparing Billie to a horse?

"You okay? You seem distracted?" Billie asked.

"I'm just being stupid, I guess. Certain concerns are getting to me."

"Concerns?" Billie asked turning to him.

"About you and me. Sometimes I wonder if..."

There was a snap of a twig off-road and Quentin turned to see a photographer hiding in the brush. His horse reared up when the flash went off. Billie grabbed for the reins and got the horse under control but it spooked Isabelle's pony and Buttercup ripped free from the handler.

Isabelle was tossed from the pony and landed on the ground. Billie was off her horse in a flash. Running to the little girl. Isabelle was lying on the ground crying holding her arm.

"Ooo, ooo, ooo. It's okay, Chiquita. I got you," Billie said carefully sliding the girl into her arms. "Where does it hurt?"

"My arm," Isabelle cried. "It hurts real bad."

"Okay, hold on."

Quentin was at Billie's side. He slipped off her coat and noticed her arm was already beginning to swell. "It's either broken or sprained," he informed Billie. "We have to get her to the hospital."

Quentin picked Isabelle up. Billie got back into the saddle. Quentin handed the little girl up to her. "Go," he told her I'll catch up, don't wait on me. Just get back to the stables and get her help."

Billie nodded and spurred her horse on and got Isabelle back to the stables as quickly as she possibly could. She explained briefly what took place and they said the ambulance was already called. The handler radioed the incident in before Billie had arrived.

They got into the ambulance and were rushed to the nearest Children's Hospital.

"I'm scared," Isabelle said meekly.

"It's okay, baby. I'm going to be here with you the entire time, okay," Billie promised and Isabelle nodded.

It took some time for the x-rays to be taken and for them to be informed of what was to happen next.

"Ms. Dupree?" The doctor entered the room. "I'm Dr. Gabris. We got some good news. It looks like it's just a minor fracture. She will need a cast but the bone should heal on its own. It doesn't look like she'll need surgery to repair it."

"Oh, thank God!" Billie said, relieved. "That's good news little one."

"I don't want a cast," Isabelle said holding her arm against her chest protectively.

The doctor came down to Isabelle's level. "Not even if it's a hot pink color? We can decorate it with some unicorn stickers? I promise you it won't hurt at all and when we take it off, you'll be as good as new."

"Really?" Isabelle said with huge eyes filled with unshed tears.

"I promise," the woman told her.

Isabelle took a deep breath and nodded her head in agreement.

"That's a good girl. You ready to come with me and get that arm fixed up?"

Isabelle nodded again but she looked so frightened.

"Can I come with her?" Billie asked.

"Not while we cast the arm but it won't take long. She'll be back before you know it."

"Okay. I'll be right here when you get back, okay?" Billie said to Isabelle. The little girl gave Billie a hug around her neck but bravely let go so the doctor could take her away in a wheelchair.

Billie used this time to call Elena and Carlos. They were so upset but Billie reassured them it was only a minor fracture. They expected it to heal in a few weeks. They said they were on their way, but Billie convinced them to stay there, citing that everything would be done and taken care of before they even reached the hospital.

"I'll bring her home."

"Okay," Carlos agreed.

Billie felt so bad. She couldn't imagine how worried they must be. She hung up the phone and saw Quentin standing in the doorway.

"How is she?" Quentin asked entering the room.

"How did you get back here?" Billie wondered.

"I have a little pull around here," Quentin said.

"What? How?"

Quentin didn't get a chance to answer Billie's questions as the doctor had returned with Isabelle her arm in a hot pink cast. Isabelle was holding onto a sheet of unicorn stickers.

"She said she wanted your help putting them on," the doctor said smiling. "She was a real trooper."

"There's my brave little girl," Billie said kneeling in front of Isabelle. "Love the color of that cast but I think it could use some glitter. What do you think?"

Isabelle nodded excitedly.

"Thank you," Billie said looking up at the doctor, but the woman looked distracted. Billie looked back and saw Quentin wearing a similar expression.

"Quentin?" the doctor asked, dumbfound.

Quentin gave the her an awkward smile. "Calista. How've you been?"