Winning the Cowboy Billionaire - Emmy Eugene Page 0,51
nothing to do with her. He hadn’t given her all the details about what was happening next door, but she knew enough to know he was stressed about it.
She pulled on a pair of black gloves to protect her hands from the polish and got to work. She hated the smell of the silver polish, because someone had thought it was a good idea to try to mask the metallic stink of it with oranges. All that did was produce two scents that had no business being together.
Olli scrubbed and wiped, growing sweaty with the workout it took to clean up months’ worth of work. “I’m never going to let it get this bad again,” she said, expecting Spur to respond.
He didn’t, and Olli glanced over to the packaging station. He’d cleared it already, and he was wiping it down with an antibacterial wipe. She left the first station, which she’d just finished and joined him. “Wow,” she said. “You’re efficient.”
He barely looked at her, and Olli felt like the ground beneath her feet might disappear. “Is everything okay?”
“Just fine,” he said, moving away from her. He definitely wasn’t fine. In the past, he’d never just come in and said nothing. He always kissed her hello, and he always had something to tell her from that day.
“You’re the one who said it didn’t matter what anyone thought of our relationship,” she said. “As long as we were honest with each other.”
“Yep.”
“You’re not being honest with me.”
Spur froze, only his eyes lifting to hers. “You’ve got to be kidding me.”
“You’re not fine,” she said, a tingle moving down her arms. “You’re upset.”
“Yeah, I’m upset.” He straightened, his dark eyes blazing with black fire. “You’re the one who hasn’t been honest with me.”
Olli frowned and cocked her head. “What are you talking about?” Her brain was so full of all the things she’d researched about Renlund United. She knew where the stores were, and how many there were. She knew how long Frank had been CEO, and she knew how they’d been founded out of a tiny town in Texas.
“I’m talking about how you told me that website where people put up dates they need? You know, for weddings and parties and stuff? You told me it was for creepers, that women shouldn’t be on that site.”
Olli said nothing, because she knew where this was going. “I only—”
“Guess who comes right up when you search in Dreasmville?” he said over her. “Olivia Blasted Hudson.” He held up his phone. “Looking for a man with the perfect nose for a couple of hours.” He read in a sarcastic voice. “Blaine told me. Blaine, Olli.” He shook his head, his mouth pressed into a thin line.
“Why was Blaine on the site?” she asked, which totally wasn’t the right question.
“He was investigating it for a friend,” he said, his voice raw now. “By the way, he contacted you, and he’ll be here next Wednesday, as you asked him to be.” Spur threw down the antibacterial wipe. “Maybe he can be your fake boyfriend for a couple of weeks.” He glared at her as he strode by her. She turned, dumbfounded, and watched as he walked out of the perfumery without another word.
Olli flinched when the door swung closed, the slam loud and nearly deafening. “What just happened?” She looked at the half-clean perfumery, sure Spur would come back. When she’d overheard his half of a conversation with his mother, he’d chased after her.
Her mind racing as fast as her pulse, she peeled the gloves from her hands and tossed them onto the nearest table. Then she went after Spur.
Outside, the sun hung low in the sky, but Olli didn’t need to look west. She faced east, wondering if Spur had driven or walked to her place. He’d done both in the past, and she hadn’t heard his truck.
In the distance, she saw a horse galloping away from her, and she knew how he’d gotten there. “Spur!” she yelled, but he was way too far away to hear her. Desperation filled her, and she looked toward the house.
She went that way, because she needed car keys to get to Bluegrass Ranch, and they currently sat in a little basket on her kitchen counter. She retrieved them, her confidence and courage still strong. They stuck with her as she navigated the roads between her land and the ranch.
By the time she made it through the gates over there and had turned the wrong direction down not just