Summer Love_ A Steamy Small Town Romance Anthology - Piper Rayne Page 0,180

lied about his friends going in on a ranch with him.

Instead, she’d surprised the hell out of him by lighting up like a Christmas tree.

When he’d said he was halfway in love with her…that was his second lie.

He was all the way in love.

“You know, I had a choice to make. I could’ve hired an attorney, and I could’ve been embroiled in a bitter and angry divorce, fighting Bradley for half of our net worth, or I could walk away and focus on my new reality. I’m a smart, resourceful, creative woman, so I chose to move forward and build my future on my own terms.”

“If it helps at all, I believe he loved you. At least in the only way a guy like him can.”

“And what way is that?”

“Just my take, but he liked to badmouth his parents, talk about how he’d never become like them. But I think he was afraid he couldn’t become like them.”

“You know, it’s funny you say that, because he was the only one in his family to choose a different path.”

“And he failed. He didn’t become a Major League ball player, and he didn’t know if he’d make it as an agent. But once he started making the money, he—”

“Became his parents. The house in the Hamptons, the sense of entitlement, the affair.”

“And if she hadn’t become pregnant, he might never have left you.”

“He’s already become his dad.” She shook her head. “I never understood why his mom stayed married. Her husband’s affairs ruined her, just like Bradley ruined me.”

“No, he didn’t. He hurt you. He betrayed you. But you’re still Quinn Ellison. You’re still the same woman who dreamed of living on a ranch, who gets excited just by walking into a store that sells pretty wallpaper. You’re still the same woman who loves making other people happy. And if you let that fucker take away even one square inch of the landscape that’s you, you’re doing yourself and the world a tremendous injustice.”

Shifting in his seat, he framed her face with his hands, surprised when she let him, when she gazed up at him with those beautiful blue eyes. “You couldn’t see this coming because his character had never been tested before. So, Quinn, you’re not broken. Your judgment’s fine. And, even if you do get burned again, nothing will ever destroy you, break you, or ruin you. Because you’re the strongest woman I know. You’re perfect, and if you don’t let him fuck things up for you, you’re going to live every single one of your dreams.”

Hopefully, with me at your side.

Chapter Three

Being with Matteo made her feel strong, sexy, vibrant…beautiful.

It was intoxicating.

And it made her want to shed her bitterness and become the woman he imagined her to be. Not some distant day in the future. But right now.

After an exhausting day at the Design Expo in Chicago, they’d come back to the hotel and collapsed in a booth in the lobby restaurant.

Now, finished with dinner, he pushed his plate away. “What a crazy day.”

“Can I get you two anything else?” the waiter asked. “A nightcap? We’re known for our White Russians.”

“I’ll pass,” Matteo said. “Just the check, please.”

The young man set the leather billfold down. “Have a great night.”

As Matteo signed the bill, she said, “You know you can drink around me, right?”

He batted a hand dismissively. “When it comes to booze, I can take it or leave it.”

It was common knowledge that she didn’t drink alcohol, but she never wanted people to feel uncomfortable around her. “Okay, but just so you know I don’t have a problem with people drinking or getting drunk. It’s just a personal thing. But, yeah, today was crazy. Expos are like that. The good thing is you figured out what you like.”

“When I said modern, I didn’t know it meant bleak.”

She laughed, remembering his reaction to a white, oval bathtub in an all-white bathroom, a silver mirror the only break in color and texture. They’d seen living rooms with nothing but a couch, a plant, and one modern art piece on a wall, the rest of the space empty and clean. In that one, he’d cocked his head and asked, “Should we come back when they’re finished setting up?”

“That bathtub felt like a punishment,” he said. “‘Go to your room, strip off your garments, and you’ll be dunked in the bleached water.’”

She laughed. “I can totally see that.” Turns out, he liked rustic with a modern edge.

So do I.

This is going to