Page 58 of Some Cowboys Fight for Love

He’d get over her eventually. He might never forgive her, but he’d find someone to make him happy. And that thought made her sick to her stomach. Daniel deserved happiness. He deserved to find someone who could see how amazing he was and who wouldn’t get tied up in the darkness of her past.

She heaved a sigh. “It’s fine, Sophia.I’mfine. He came out to check on me with all this stuff with my dad going on. And… one thing led to another.” It was the best lie she could come up with despite hurting more than she could have ever prepared herself for.

Giving Sophia one last weary smile, she settled back on her bed. “It’s getting late. I’m going to turn in.” She was going to need all the rest she could get if she was going to have to deal with Cayden tomorrow.

Sophia gave her one more fleeting look of concern before getting to her feet and leaving the room.

25

Daniel

Daniel massaged his forehead. The glare of his computer was only adding to his growing headache. He needed to finish his preparatory work before classes started. The admissions office had told him he could wait until spring to begin, but fall courses started in a couple of days and he’d wanted to dive in.

No one knew his reasons.

Namely, needing to stay busy because of the issues revolving around Aria.

It was like an itch he couldn’t scratch. Daniel couldn’t explain it, but something didn’t add up. Aria wasn’t acting herself when she was with that Cayden guy. But when Daniel had brought her up to Mateo and Sophia, they’d said that she had made her decision.

Even her cousins seemed surprised by her choice. Mateo was a really good judge of character, and if he thought something felt off, then Daniel was willing to believe him.

Daniel shook his head and pushed away from the kitchen table with a groan. He rubbed his temples as he got to his feet and headed for the refrigerator. He needed some ibuprofen if he was going to get rid of the pounding in his head.

While Aria had said that she was interested in Cayden, Daniel refused to accept it. He wasn’t giving up. He couldn’t.

Right now, he was willing to bide his time as he attempted to figure out what was going on.

Aria had refused his calls, but he’d expected as much. As long as Aria didn’t take off and move back to Georgia, Daniel felt he had a chance. But he had to get her alone.

That was going to be difficult based on what he’d heard from Mateo. Cayden was obsessive. He didn’t like Aria going anywhere without him.

He grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge and twisted the cap off before gulping down nearly half of its contents. Wiping his mouth with the back of his hand, he gave another look at the computer. Every time he sat down to get some work done, he thought about her.

Aria was the reason he even got a chance at this opportunity. Even his brothers had been surprised and impressed by her initiative. It made his temper tantrum all the more embarrassing when he thought back on it.

A sigh released from his chest and he tossed back another several swallows of the beverage in his hand. He owed it to Aria to be there for her even when she didn’t want him there. Right now, she wasn’t willing to come to him and ask for help, but he had to believe that, eventually, she would.

Charlie entered the kitchen and stopped short. Her eyes locked with his and she offered him a sympathetic smile. “I heard about Aria.”

He stiffened. “What are you talking about?” He hadn’t told anyone in this house about his budding relationship with Aria.He’d only admitted to it with Mateo and Sophia because they’d been involved so much with her father’s court hearing. He’d hated the pity he read in their eyes, but seeing a similar expression on his sister’s face made it even worse.

She pulled out a chair at the table and sat down. “Isabelle said you were dating.”

Daniel scoffed. “I wasn’t dating her.”

Charlie snorted. “Really? Because according to Izzie, Aria and you were having dinner every single night and spending almost every waking hour together.”

“That doesn’t mean we were dating,” he huffed. “Maybe Aria was simply being nice.”

The look of disbelief on his sister’s face made it perfectly clear where she stood. Slowly, she shook her head. “Believe what you want, but from what I heard, you two had it bad for each other.”

He rolled his eyes and turned his back on her. He didn’t need sympathy or pity or whatever it was she wanted to give him right now. He needed a plan.

“For what it’s worth, Izzie thinks that Aria is really struggling. She doesn’t come out of her room very much anymore.”

He stilled, the muscles in his shoulders going so taut that it would hurt for him to shift any of his weight to look at her. Aria wasn’t happy? Well, she wasn’t exactly happy before they’d started dating. He could blame her change in demeanor on what they’d found together, but he wasn’t that full of himself.

“Anyway, Izzie said that Aria only comes out of her room at mealtime or when Cayden stops by. And she doesn’t seem to be acting like herself when he’s around. It’s like she’s playing a part…”

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