The Cowboy's Bride Bet - Holly Rayner Page 0,13

but then shook his head. “Oh, I forgot… mystery woman.”

“Yeah.” I sighed, shrinking inside of myself. “I should probably take off.”

“I didn’t mean to…” He started.

“No, it’s not you,” I assured him. “It’s just that I need to get to bed. I was planning on heading out tomorrow morning.”

“Oh.” He frowned. “Of course. At least let me walk you to your door.”

“I’d like that.” I offered a soft smile.

As we drank our little plastic cups of beer and walked back across the street, I thought about how much I’d enjoyed Connor’s company. He wasn’t at all like the guys I was used to dating. I tended to gravitate towards men with beards, thinking that lush facial hair was a symbol of manliness… but my exes were also the types that did yoga and spoken-word poetry slams on the weekends.

Connor was mostly clean-shaven, but for the five-o’clock shadow, and it was obvious he was more masculine than any guy I’d ever gone out with. This was the kind of man who could hunt and kill his own dinner. This was the kind of man who used to charge into a ring with a thousand pounds of pissed-off bull to protect the guy riding it.

Too bad I didn’t have a guy like him looking out for me back home.

“I… worked at a pawn shop.” I kicked a rock across the parking lot, not knowing why I felt the sudden need to open up to him. “I always had this dream of one day opening my own antique store. I thought working there, I’d get valuable experience, learn how to appraise old items and restore them.”

“What happened?” Connor frowned.

“It’s complicated.” I swallowed hard. “I’d been there for two years, and I was good at my job. But I was oblivious to a lot of things, and…”

I stopped myself, realizing that I couldn’t very well tell this random stranger that I’d accidentally discovered that my boss had been laundering money for the mob.

“It turned out that it wasn’t worth all the extra hours I was putting in,” I said instead. “I realized it was time for me to reevaluate what I wanted to do with my life, so here I am. Wow, it’s warm under these lights.” I took off my jacket and folded it over my arm, turning to face him.

Connor nodded, his brows pinched together as he processed my words. I wasn’t sure if he bought it, but to my great relief, he shrugged and held out his hand, offering to carry my jacket for me. I obliged, even though we were almost back to the motel.

“I can tell there’s a lot you’re still not saying.” Connor finally broke the silence as we reached the door to my motel room. “And that’s okay. It’s nobody’s business whatcha got going on. But I want you to know that if you’re in real trouble, you could tell me.”

Looking up into those warm blue eyes, I felt more vulnerable than I’d ever been in my life. I’d been alternating between hiding and recklessly charging ahead, constantly putting up walls to protect myself.

Maybe I was just tired. Maybe this intense need to trust someone was just the result of too much stress. But somehow, it felt like something else.

“That’s nice of you.” My voice cracked as I forced a smile. “I’ll be okay. Just a little bump in the road on this journey called life.”

I gave myself a mental pat on the back as we reached the door to my motel room. Lying was the right move. The last thing you need is to complicate things by sucking some poor guy into this mess.

“Well, I’m glad your journey brought you through Greenwater.” The kindness in his tone made me feel guilty for lying. “I think this is the most fun I’ve had on a date in a long time.”

“Was this a date?” I jiggled the door handle, unlocked it, then stepped inside the dark room and turned on the light.

“I hope so.” He leaned one arm on the doorframe. “If it wasn’t, then it wouldn’t be appropriate to kiss you goodnight.”

Oh, this guy is slick.

I bit my lip as I leaned on the doorjamb and looked up at him.

“So…” His gaze met mine. “Was it a date or not?”

Reaching up to grab the collar of his shirt, I stood on my tiptoes. Connor bowed his head to meet me halfway, our lips clashing together in a gentle battle that took my breath away.

He softly held my