Page 28 of A Rogue Cowboy's Kiss

She nodded. “By buying a catering business and continuing to cook?”

“Only you can answer that.”

“I don’t know. I’m just…I feel like I’m standing in front of a huge, cement wall, and I can’t see what’s on the other side, or how to get around it, or even whether I want to.”

He studied her. “What’s one thing you’ve always wanted to do, but have never done?”

She rolled her eyes. “A lot of things.”

“Name five—No!” He held up his hand. “Name something that you’d be too scared to ever do.”

She didn’t hesitate. “Sky diving. Parachuting. I don’t know why people think that’s fun to do?”

He grinned. ‘Let’s go skydiving today.”

“What? No.” She sat back. “Absolutely not. No chance.”

He raised his brows. “I’m certified. You can tandem jump with me.”

“I don’t want to. And aren’t you supposed to be keeping me alive, not risking my life?”

“What I’m trying to do is help you find your path, so that maybe eventually, you’ll be ready to move back home, marry me, and have a family.”

She stared at him. “Really?”

“Just kidding. I’d never be that underhanded.” His face was deadpan, and she didn’t know if he was serious or not. “If you’re scared, the best way to break it is to walk right into the fear and out the other side. So do the scariest thing you can think of, and nothing else will feel so scary ever again.” Falcon held out his hand. “Come with me. Trust me.”

She looked at his outstretched hand. This man had been through hell for twenty years. He knew about fear. He knew about loss. He knew about all the things that haunted her. “Is that what you did? Walked into your fear?”

“Again and again and again.” He paused. “Including a few minutes ago when I agreed to be your bodyguard.”

She looked at him, and saw the truth in his eyes.

“You’re not a wimp, Bella. You’ve just forgotten your strength for too long.” He wiggled his fingers at her. “Come fly with me, Bella.”

She didn’t want to. At all.

But she also didn’t want to keep living the way she was living. She didn’t want to walk into that event tonight and buy a catering business because she was too scared to try something else, something new, something that she hadn’t even thought of yet.

Maybe Falcon still was her knight in shining armor.

Not because he was going to rescue her.

But because he was going to make her rescue herself. “Fine,” she said. “But I reserve the right to back out at any time.”

He flashed her a grin. “I saw the perfect place yesterday. It’s pretty close.”

Of course it was nearby. Less time for her to talk herself out of it.

Falcon caught her chin and lifted her face to his. “Don’t look so scared, Bella. The one person I’d give my life for is you, so you can trust that I’ll keep you safe. I swear it.”

She felt the truth of his words, and she believed him.

On a whim, she leaned in and kissed his cheek. “Thank you. I’ll be ready in five minutes.”

She turned and bolted for her room before she could be tempted to kiss him again.

And again.

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