she was furious with herself. She’d wanted sex with Valentine and he’d given it to her . . . and then some. She had no business acting like a lovesick idiot. She was an adult woman. An adult woman who could have a night of passion with a man and not fall to pieces over just the thought of him leaving.
But when she found him baking cookies in the kitchen with her floral apron tied around his waist, she realized it hadn’t just been a night of passion she’d spent with Valentine. It had been a month of fighting and talking and sharing secrets and insecurities . . . a month of becoming friends. It was their friendship she would mourn more than anything.
The longer he stayed, the more she would miss him.
“Hi, Miss Reba!”
She glanced over to see Ty sitting at the counter eating a cookie. But Ty completely disappeared when Valentine turned and his gaze locked with hers.
A slow, sensual smiled tipped up the corners of his mouth. “Hey, Rapunzel.”
Just two words, and she melted. She knew she would’ve walked straight into his arms and begged him to stay if Ty hadn’t interrupted.
“Well, it looks like you were right, Val.” Ty got to his feet. “It looks like there’s no need for me to stay when you already have Miss Reba all tied up in a neat little bow.” He popped the last of the cookie into his mouth before he picked up his cowboy hat. “It’s been a pleasure, Miss Reba.” With a tip of his hat, he walked out of the kitchen.
The melty feeling evaporated as Reba turned to Valentine. “Tied up in a neat little bow?”
“Those are his words, not mine.”
“But you told him to leave.”
His eyebrows lifted. “You want him to stay? I thought you made your choice last night.”
Anger rose up inside her and she welcomed it with open arms. It felt so much better than weak desperation or helpless self-pity. “I made my choice? And just what choice would that be?”
He looked confused. “Uhh . . . I thought last night that I’d . . .”
“Won me? Well, let me tell you something, Mr. Sterling, I’m nobody’s woman.” She patted her chest. “I’m my own woman. And I won’t have two idiots treating me like I’m a trophy in some male ego competition. Is that what last night was to you? A competition to show Ty and Mike and all of your Double Diamond bad boys that heartbreaker Valentine Sterling can get any woman he wants? Especially the fat owner of the Dixon Boardinghouse.”
His eyes narrowed. “It wasn’t like that, and you know it. And stop calling yourself fat.”
“Why? Because that word bothers you? Does it make you feel uncool? Poor confused Valentine who loves to bake, but avoids carbs. Who rents a slick sports car to drive in a town filled with bumpy roads. Who won’t be photographed unless his glasses are off and his cool author persona is on. All to prove that he’s not that fat kid who got bullied anymore.” She knew she was being brutal, but she couldn’t seem to stop herself. “Which is why you don’t belong with me. I’m not cool. I’m just a simple country girl who loves carbs, drives a beat-up old pickup, and lives in a small town boardinghouse that will soon be bankrupt.”
He stared at her in confusion. “What’s going on, Reba? What happened to the happy woman I woke up with this morning?” He reached for her. But she knew if he touched her, she’d crumble and return to the same desperate pathetic girl she’d become when she found out about Billy Bob’s betrayal. She refused to become that girl again. Dixon women were made of stouter stuff.
She stepped away from him and spoke the truth. “She realized the mistake she made.”
He froze and something that looked a lot like hurt entered his eyes. “You think last night was a mistake?”
“Wasn’t it?”
“Not to me.”
“Then what was it to you?”
It took him a long time to answer. And for one blissful moment, she thought he might give her what she was hoping for. Instead, he gave her nothing. “Last night was . . . special.”
It was the same words Billy Bob had used. He’d told her that their summer together had been “special.” Just not special enough to last forever. And Reba realized that was exactly what she kept looking for—a man to love her forever.
It was time to stop looking