Page 11 of The Cowboy's Surprise Return

“I’m not sorry,” she whispered.

He blinked, forcing himself to break the connection. She gave him a flirtatious wink and walked away.

She was leaving him wanting once again.

It was a marvelous view, though, the Wranglers enhancing the curves of her hips and high waist. He wondered what color her underwear was tonight, and if he’d ever get a chance to see it.

Cole gave himself a shake. Wow. He really needed to get out of her orbit before he roared back into his old ways, wild and without a thought to consequences.

She’d warned him she was a flirt. This was a game that meant nothing to her. She didn’t wanthim.

But he wanted her. He wanted to call out and ask how her knee was. Kiss her again. Hold her.

He lost sight of her in the thick crowd, then moments later she reappeared off to the side, near the gift table by the doors. As she circulated she would often reach out, touching someone’s arm, offering a quick word and a laugh. Everyone adored her. Lots of men’s gazes trailed after her.

Cole struggled with a rush of adrenaline and an urge to fight, protect and start staking claims.

Jackie, now wearing her coat near the exit, glanced over her shoulder, giving him a private smile. It hit him like a cow butting her head into his solar plexus. He needed to be close to Jackie. Now.

He lifted a foot to start after her when a small voice inside his head warned, “Don’t do it. This isn’t why you came home.”

Cole halted in his tracks. Sure, he felt a primal urge to rest a hand on Jackie’s hip and tell all the other men in the room she was his. But that was no excuse to repeat past mistakes. Just because he wanted to find out what was going on in that beautiful, cheerful woman’s mind… No excuse. She deserved better, and he was moving on, changing his life.

Starting right now.

* * *

Jackie stood outside the barn, gulping a blast of frosty January air. What on earth kind of game was she playing?

She’d been jealous of Daisy-Mae, and then Violet, for flirting with Cole, and she had no right to be. One kiss did not mean a thing to a man like Cole Wylder, and she’d be wise to remember that.

Plus she hadrejectedhim.

He wasn’t looking to start a family or even date right now, so it didn’t matter what she’d felt when they’d kissed last night, or when he’d turned around and bumped into her minutes ago. She could practically still feel the burn of his hands on her body. The way their eyes had locked, the way she’d become all too aware of everything to do with the handsome man.

The kiss had been a mistake.

Cole Wylder was not a keeper.

Jackie leaned against the cold wooden barn, undecided on what to do. Should she stay out here a bit longer to collect herself, then go back inside and dance and pretend she was loving the reception for Brant and April? Or should she leave?

If she went home, she could curl up with her tablet and binge read on the couch, with Goose nestled beside her. If she went inside the barn she could get another slice of Maria’s apple pie, which was pretty darn good, too.

But going inside could lead her toward another poor decision. Another kiss. Another step into something that would surely be unhealthy.

Home it was.

JackieLynn Moorhouse was done drooling over Cole Wylder.

Again.

* * *

Cole stepped out from under the glow of the entrance light, allowing his eyes to adjust to the semidarkness. He scanned the grassy parking area behind the barn, scarcely noticing the music wafting through the night air. Almost immediately, he spotted a figure moving through the shadows.

He cupped his hands around his mouth and shouted, “Jackie!”

She spun around, and he could’ve sworn her face lit up before she schooled her expression. Then again, it was pretty dark, and his mind could be playing tricks on him.

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