Page 99 of Pretend To Be My Cowboy
He took a hesitant step back. “We’ll talk later?”
Her lips pressed together in a thin line but after a second she gave a jerky nod.
“Nash!”
They both heard someone calling his name and he winced, heading away from her. He looked back at Emma—the woman he loved. The woman he hoped he could convince to stay. “Later,” he promised. “We’re going to talk later.”
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We’re going to talk later.
His words hung in the air even after he walked away.
Emma slumped against the wall with a sigh.
There’s nothing left to say.That was what she should have said. He hadn’t made her any promises, and if anything, he’d told her right from the start how this would end. She couldn’t pretend to be surprised now to find out that he only liked her as a friend.
And that was what he’d been about to say. She could see it in the sympathy that warmed his eyes. It was honest affection he felt for her, but then...it always was, wasn’t it?
You’re such a good woman, Emma, but I just don’t feel that way about you.
You’ll make some lucky man a wonderful wife some day, Emma, but…
But...
There was always abut.
Because she fell for the wrong guys, a fact even Lizzy couldn’t deny.
The tears that had been threatening for the past hour finally trickled down her cheeks until she swiped them away with an irritated sigh.
This whole ruse had gone on for too long. She felt bone tired and weary in a way that had nothing to do with her sleepless night and everything to do with the Donahue family.
Okay, fine, Nash.
Although that altercation with Patrick hadn’t exactly left her feeling heartened either. All it had done was make her doubt everything she thought she knew.
Namely, her decision to sell the property. Her words to Patrick had felt right coming out. It was the O’Sullivan property. It belonged to them. Toher.For a second there she’d actually found strength in her family name, in the inheritance and the daughters that her father had left behind.
She had six sisters, a ranch that was too good to be true, and in a town that felt more like home to her than Chicago ever had. So why was she so intent on getting her sisters to sign off on selling?
What if she decided to keep it instead?
The thought made her head spin and she shut her eyes. That confrontation with Patrick, followed by the look she’d seen in Nash’s gaze…
She couldn’t make any decisions. Not here. Not now.
Pushing away from the wall, she headed outside. What she needed was fresh air. Maybe then she could get her head on straight long enough to remember what she was doing here and why she couldn’t stay.
She threw open the doors and nearly collided with Cody. The younger Swanson brother was toting Chloe on one hip while Corbin rode atop his shoulders with a grin, pretending to control Cody with reins like he was a horse.
“Oh!” She laughed at the sight of the smiling but harried uncle. “Sorry, I didn’t realize there was a horse show going on out here.”
Cody laughed as Corbin informed her, “I’m training my new pony for the rodeo.”
“Oh, I see.” She eyed Chloe who clung to his front. “And are you a pony too?”
“Of course not,” she said with a giggle. “I’m grooming the horses.”
