Page 12 of A Rogue Cowboy's Kiss

Tori cocked her head, then gave a slow nod. “That might explain the weird vibe I’m getting from him.”

“Right!” Bella threw her hands up. “I wasn’t imagining it, was I?”

“No.” Tori paused. “You think he’s undressing you with his very hot mind?”

“I think he is,” Piper said. “You can feel the heat rolling off him. He can’t take his gaze off her.”

“I did see him check out your ass,” Tori said.

“Oh, God. He didnot.” Bella put her hands on her butt in defense of her curves. “There has never been a romantic spark. Ever.”

“I think he’s had a change of heart,” Piper said. “How do you feel about that?”

Bella leaned back against the cold metal wall, her mind whirling. “No.” The response was automatic. “Absolutely not.”

“That’s an emphatic no.” Tori nodded with understanding. “Just Falcon, or any man?”

“Any, but especially him.”

“Why especially him?” Keira was leaning against one of the shelves, playing with a carrot.

Bella looked around at the women huddled in the cold freezer with her. She didn’t know them that well. They were best friends with Maddie, who had married Bella’s brother, so she’d gotten to know them, but they weren’t her people, not really, as much as she wanted them to be.

They didn’t know her past. All the shadows that Bella could never escape. She knew they wouldn’t betray her to the press,leak a story for a few bucks, but the habit of never trusting anyone outside her family was so deep.

She realized then as she stood in that freezer that she couldn’t let them in. She didn’t know how. Not really. So she shrugged, suddenly wanting to shrink into the cold metal behind her.

Tori’s face softened. “It’s okay, Bella. We all have secrets. We all have pasts that make us wish we had a magic eraser so we could simply make it vanish.”

Piper smiled. “You guys all know mine. It’s such a relief not to be hiding anymore.”

Bella could imagine it was. And a magic eraser? Damn. She would give up all her billions to be able to use that on her past. Not on her Hart family, though. She’d keep every vivid memory she had before she’d give up her family, which she’d gotten because of her past.

Le sigh.

Keira put her arm around Bella and kissed her cheek, a gesture so sweet that Bella suddenly wanted to cry. “You don’t need to tell us anything, Bella. But if you don’t want Falcon to stay at your house, tell him.”

Tori nodded. “Boundaries, girl. You can make them all pretty and fancy, like red silk rope with pretty tassels and some diamonds sprinkled in there, but they’re still boundaries and you’re still in charge of who you let in.”

“If he’s wanting to stay at your place so you can shoulder his manly issues, then you don’t need to do that either,” Piper said. “You just don’t.”

“Right?” Keira rolled her eyes. “He just shows up suddenly in your life and wants a couch? Who does that?”

“I did that,” Tori said. “I totally did that to you. And you let me sleep there.”

Keira grinned. “Yes, but you didn’t bring an overload of testosterone into my house. You brought bestie energy. Totally different.”

“Right?” Tori raised her brows at Bella. “Want me to ask for your couch tonight? And then you can just tell him that girls trump boys, and he’s not invited.”

“Oh! I’ll stay too,” Keira said.

“I’m not staying at her house,” Piper said. “I have a hot ball of testosterone waiting for me tonight. I love you guys, but I can’t give up a night of that deliciousness.”

“See?” Tori said. “This is why I’ll never date again. One whiff of that aftershave and boom, a girl forgets everything that makes her strong, powerful, and badass.”

Bella felt her tension ebbing as she listened to the three women banter. They were so funny, so nice, and two of them were as committed to being single as she was. She took a breath. Maybe these were her people. Maybe she could become besties with them. Right? Maybe? She wasn’t so broken, was she?

The door suddenly opened, and Meg popped her head in. “Wow. There are a lot of women in here.” She grinned. “Bella, I’m hitting the road. I want to get back to the ranch tonight.”

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