Page 38 of The Rancher's Fake Fiancée

He didn’t respond at first.

“Is that what you thought would happen? I was such an airhead that I didn’t know my own mind?”

“I didn’t think you were an airhead.”

“You just didn’t think…period.”

“Well I should have known better when I saw you settling in with a local bachelor.”

“He is a very sweet friend. Nothing more.”

“Well it’s only natural that you would want to date. Enjoy the single life. Being tied down to a child is not for the faint-hearted.”

“I never imagined it was being tied down. Having a child, having a family, is the most important thing there is. I realized that when I saw you with Emmie, and then my siblings with their children. They are the lucky ones.”

“You think so?”

“Absolutely. You never had reason to doubt that. But it really makes no sense to discuss these things now. You chose to move on in another direction and so did I. People need to get over it.”

“You moved on. You are dating.”

“If you aren’t, it isn’t because you don’t have the opportunity. All those females in Red Cliffs must be drooling now that you’re free. You have your pick of the group.”

“I don’t want a pick of the group. I prefer being a one-woman man.”

“I can understand that. I’m the same.”

Cole looked at her with a steady green gaze. “So what happened to us?”

That question made her pause. “You didn’t call. And you stopped the flowers. So that meant something had changed which was that you didn’t want to get serious…something changed your mind. I didn’t need a building to fall on me to get that message. And that is fine. People change.”

“Did you change?”

She wasn’t going to be the bad guy in this scenario. “I didn’t change until you did.”

Cole didn’t care for that. “I didn’t change.”

“Well one of us had to because you stopped, and I stopped. You did it first.”

She stood in frustration and glared at him. He stood also. “So you didn’t want to stop and I didn’t really want to stop but I thought you did.”

“And I thought you did so I did.”

“Assigning blame will get us nowhere.”

“I think we need to admit we made a mistake. We misjudged each other. Think we can do that?”

She looked at him with a wariness remaining. “We admit that we made a mistake? In stopping seeing each other?”

“That’s a beginning. I’m game if you are.”

“Fine. I can agree to that.”

“And we both made a mistake in not talking it out right away when doubt or a problem came up. We need to talk.”

She nodded. “That is always the best path to take if a couple really does care about the other.”

Cole moved forward, his hand outstretched. She looked at it for a long moment. Then her hand met his in what she thought would be a handshake. But he pulled her closer, his lips placing a kiss on her fingers as they curled over his. She hadn’t expected that.

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