Page 61 of Some Cowboys Fight for Love

When he stopped by in the evenings to eat dinner with her, one look was all it took and she knew if he’d had a good day or a bad one.

Today must have gone well, because he was smiling.

It was more of a smirk—one she’d give anything to wipe from his face. He didn’t deserve to be happy. He deserved to pay for all the turmoil he caused in her life.

She scowled at her food, wishing she had a way of making that a reality, but she couldn’t think of a single thing.

“What’s your problem?” Cayden snapped.

She jumped and glanced up at him.

Now, he wasn’t in a good mood. Great. She should really learn how to hide her disgust from him if she wanted to be left alone. When she didn’t respond right away, he threw his fork down with force, rattling the dishes on the table.

Aria jumped and lowered her eyes to her plate. “I’m just… bored.” It might not be the reason for her sour mood, but there was a degree of truth in it. Before Cayden had arrived and kicked her world on its axis, she’d been planning on going to the animal hospital in town to see about that receptionist job. By now, they might have already filled it. There was nothing holding her here. At any given second, Cayden could twist her arm and force her into leaving.

For now, he’d been accommodating—well, as accommodating as a controlling jerk could be. He hadn’t insisted on them leaving to go back to Georgia. Not yet. She had no intention of ever leaving Copper Creek. This was her home now.

But if he wanted something, Cayden would get it. He knew exactly what buttons to push.

“If you’re so bored, then we should go out.” Cayden smiled warmly at her and reached for her hand. His warm touch enveloped her and she had to stifle a shiver.

Just the thought of going on a date with the man made her skin crawl. She had zero interest in spending time with him other than the obligatory dinners they’d started. But what could she say? Anything other than absolute enthusiasm would likely trigger him. The Cayden before her was reminiscent of the man she’d thought she’d fallen in love with. There were only a handful of moments when his darker side came to the surface.

The lines were getting blurred. She was getting swept back into the mentality that maybe this was best for her.

Aria shut her eyes against those thoughts.

No. Cayden was anything but a good man. He was blackmailing her into being with him, for heaven’s sake.

His hand tightened on hers almost painfully and she was forced to open her eyes to look at him. That soft smile was still on his face, but the venom in his eyes had risen to the surface. It was strange, to say the least—seeing a man who was able to get her anything but still be a villain at the same time. “I’ll get you a new outfit and we can go dancing.”

She attempted to pull her hand from his grasp, but his hold on her was firm and she wasn’t about to anger him by yanking with all her strength.

When she didn’t comment back, he must have taken her silence as acquiescence. He gave her a short nod and turned back to his meal.

Cayden filled the void of silence with mundane chatter about his job, but Aria wasn’t interested. Her thoughts were swept away to a handsome man whose arms could completely encompass her. His bright eyes and even brighter smile—when he chose to share it with her. Aria’s stomach roiled at the thoughtof never enjoying his touch again, of never being the cause of his happiness.

“Are you listening to me?” Cayden snapped.

She glanced up at him. “Hmm? Yeah. Something about a charity gala being held in New York.”

“You’re coming with me.”

Her whole body stiffened and her hand gripped her fork tighter. “What if I’m busy?”

He arched a brow—one that was both snark and disdain. “What could possibly be more important than a charity gala hosted by my company? I thought you lived for this sort of thing.”

She did. She loved going to events like the one he described if only she could go with someone else—anyone else.

Aria forced a tight smile and gritted out, “I still freelance. And I was thinking about getting a job in town.”

His eyes darkened.

That was the wrong thing to say. It was almost as if Cayden had been happily ignoring the fact that she’d told him she wasn’t willing to leave this town. Maybe he’d thought she would change her mind. Well, he was wrong. The only way she would change her mind was under dire circumstances.

Looking at him now, she wasn’t so sure that they weren’t heading there like a rocket to the moon.

Aria cleared her throat. “There is a receptionist job at the animal clinic in town. I thought I could put my computer skills to use.”

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