Page 16 of Montana's Bravest

He leans toward me. With a cunning stare, he turns the table. “Well, how about that stunner you’ve been fretting about in your head?”

I narrow my gaze as he grins victoriously.

“She’s taken. She has a daughter,” I say. “I saw it on her cell. Grace’s Daycare.”

“You know that could mean many things, right?”

“Come on, Mark. You don’t have to hope on my account.”

“You need someone. You’rethe typewho needs someone.”

I frown at his remark. “I’m what?”

“You’re the needy type.”

“No, I’m not!”

Mark leans back. “Imagine this, if that bar manager was your girlfriend…”

“She’s married.”

“Humor me here, man. If that bar manager was your girlfriend, and you loved her and she loved you, would you have done what you did on top of the Mountain Hotel?”

“What did I do?” I pretend to have no knowledge of the event.

“Huh. Mr. Bourne has lost his memory?”

Without hesitation I answer, “I would do it—girlfriend or no girlfriend. It was a child’s life. Anything else would be secondary.”

Mark maintains his gaze on me, silently asking,are you sure?

The first answer that comes to you isn’t always the best answer, I know.

I angle my face toward the bar entrance, replaying the moment she strode out of the bar. Her sexy hips swayed as she gave me a last glance. And her tiny waist—what would I sacrifice to be able to hold it as I draw her close? She wasn’t the usual type of woman who would capture my attention, let alone leave a mark on my heart.

My past girlfriends were usually super blonde, wide-eyed and skinny, like Sienna. Not that I worshipped my first teenage crush to the point that I sought a companion who resembled her. It just happened that I kept falling for the same kind of girls.

The fallen angel was different in every way. She has slick caramel hair, and her eyes actually remind me of another old crush—Taylor Swift—although there’s more power packed behind her eyes than any woman I’ve seen. Her shoulders were broad, and she was more than firm—she’s taut, I know it because my hand was holding her. She was wearing a short skirt, revealing her long and slender legs. They’re not as muscly as herupper body, but I’m sure they were made for walking a hard road if not climbing mountains.

Most of all, she has captivated me like no other has. I still can’t pinpoint what it is, but the more I try to forget her, the more I seek the vision of her.

“I’m not interested in starting anything,” I say dismally.

“Afraid of her breaking your heart?” Mark gives me a look, which to me says, ‘so you admit there’s a chance of you two getting together.’

My last girlfriend cheating, it hurt, but my heart was never broken as there was no love involved. As a matter of fact, I question whether love had ever been the reason for any of my relationships. I had them because I wanted to feel normal. It was my way of burying my regrets and hurt that came from losing Jack. But as I’ve learned, relationships aren’t meant to fill a gap, they’re meant to build you up—and I don’t have even the foundation to do it.

I sigh. “Nah. I just don’t want to hope.”

“You’ve said that word twice now.Hope. Why are you afraid of hope?”

If it was her waiting for me to come home, would I risk my life so readily as I’d done on the top of the Mountain Hotel?

Fucking Mark! Why did he put me in this position?

“Evening, gents,” Ivy greets us, saving me from having to answer my partner.

“Mrs. Forbes,” Mark stands up. She has come to our table with one of her advisors, Charlie Travis, a guy from Britain who claimed that he was the father of Calamity Jane in his past life. He moved to Montana when he was fifteen and he’s been a U.S. citizen ever since.

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