Page 42 of Her Cowboy Christmas
The world doubles again, but not because of the crowd this time.It’s the old doubling.Me now and me then, the lines between them blurring until I don’t know where to put my hands.
“Gonna tell me you’re married?”he asks, smirking when I don’t answer fast enough.“No?Not surprised.Guys don’t usually sign up for damaged goods.I mean, you couldn’t even read a menu.Remember that?Spaz city.”
Heat crawls up my neck, settling hot behind my eyes.It’s reflex, the way my body prepares for humiliation.I blink hard, furious with myself for giving him even that.
It would be so easy to fold.To shrink back into the old shape and let his ugly words pour over my head like paint you can’t scrub off.
Except… I have a different life now.
And a warm hand that slid a hot chocolate into my grip ten minutes ago because he noticed I needed one without me asking.
I have someone who looks at me like I’m his sun.
A shadow falls over us, big enough to make Robert step back.An arm slides around my waist, firm and sure, pulling me into a chest I know by feel.I breathe in wind and pine and Cole.
“Everything okay here?”he asks mildly.
Robert’s smirk wavers a bit.He takes in Cole’s height like it’s a problem to solve, then glances at his square jaw and unsmiling blue eyes.
“We were just catching up.”
“Sounded more like you were being rude to my girlfriend.”Cole’s tone stays even, a low rumble with steel in it.
I swear I can feel the exact moment Tanner decides to be a jerk anyway.“Oh, your girlfriend.”He lets out a laugh that’s meant to be cutting.“Congrats, man.That’s… charitable of you.I mean, no one wants her.Not even her own family.”
His words sting, and I can feel myself shrinking.
What will Cole think?Are Robert’s words making him doubt me?Doubt our relationship?
Cole’s arm tightens around my shoulders, but I’m too afraid to look up at him, worried about what I’ll see on his face.
“Try that sentence again,” Cole growls.
Robert snorts.“Listen, whatever floats your boat.I’ve never been a chubby chaser, but if that’s what you want.I’m sure she’s desperate for the attention.Hell, I bet it didn’t even take that long to get her into bed, huh?Blair here is so stupid that?—”
Robert doesn’t finish that sentence before Cole punches him in the face.
I gasp, stumbling back a step, and watch as Cole grabs Robert’s coat lapels, stopping him from falling into the crowd.
“I think it’s time for you to leave,” Cole snarls, his voice low and deadly.
Robert holds his ground for a second longer than he should, while I hold my breath, wondering what he’ll do.He isn’t brave.He never was.He’s mean, which is different.Mean requires cover to thrive.Here, now, with the music and the lights and Cole’s body angled between us, mean slinks.
“Fuck you,” Robert spits at us, his eyes filled with venom.“Enjoy the pity date, Benson.”
With those final words, he pivots and disappears into the crowd.I watch him go, my whole body numb.That all too familiar fight-or-flight response is raging inside me, and I feel like that lonely little kid all over again.I don’t breathe until he’s gone.
“Thank you,” I whisper to Cole.
My body trembles, and I know it’s not from the cold.I struggle to hold back the memories from school, to take a deep breath and stay in the present, but it’s hard.
I stare around at all the happy families and couples and wonder if I’ll ever have that.
What must Cole think of me now?Surely he’ll think I’m damaged goods, just like everyone else, just like my classmates and my family.
I can’t focus on that right now.I have a job to do.Just focus on the bank, focus on the numbers.
I take a deep breath and make my way back to the booth in silence.It takes a moment, but I hear Cole’s soft steps behind me as we take our places behind the table.
