Page 42 of Pretend To Be My Cowboy
“It’s really that important that you have a wedding date, huh?”
He nodded. “I know it sounds ridiculous, but…” He sighed. “My family has a lot of expectations.”
There was that tug again in her chest. “I’m sure there are plenty of girls in this town who’d love to go with you. Why me?”
He shrugged and glanced away, so clearly uncomfortable.
Well, too bad. If she was going to do this, she needed to understand why. She had to hear with her own ears why pretending to date her was the better option. Maybe she needed him to spell it out for her why they couldn’t be more. No more daydreaming about what ifs.
She’d go into this with her eyes wide open.
Even as she thought it, she blinked in surprise.
Wait a second… Was she actually considering this?
He cleared his throat and finally dragged his gaze back to hers. “There are women I could ask. My family has a laundry list of potential dates, in fact.” He shot her a wry grin but she couldn’t quite return it.
A laundry list of single, no doubt beautiful women. How nice for him.
She threw her hands out wide. “And yet you want to settle for little ol’ me?”
His grin fell flat and his gaze sharpened. “Emma, I didn’t mean—”
“I’m kidding. Just kidding,” she mumbled, heat creeping into her cheeks. She wasn’t fishing for compliments, and she didn’t need to hear his consolation speech.
He hesitated and Myrtle chose that moment to snort so loudly they both started to laugh, and the tension eased by several notches.
She shot the pig a sidelong glance.Thank you, Myrtle.
She liked to think the pig’s head bob was an ‘I got you, girl’ but in reality Myrtle was probably just scrounging for more scraps.
Nash ran a hand over his face and for a moment she saw his exhaustion. He was at the end of a long day of hard work—and he’d even thrown in hosting duties to boot.
“I’m doing a terrible job of explaining myself,” he said as he stubbed the toe of his boot into the dirt. His gaze followed the movement and she had a moment to stare at that ridiculously handsome face of his.
His jaw was darkened by a five o’clock shadow and the area around his eyes was tight with tension.
She reached out and touched his arm, and his gaze snapped up.
She smiled. “You’re not doing a terrible job. I’m just trying to understand.”
He nodded, his Adam’s apple bobbing as he swallowed. “I love living in Aspire,” he said slowly. “I’ve always loved it here, and I’ve never dreamt of leaving.”
Emma waited patiently for him to continue, her heart thudding painfully with each word he spoke.
What must it be like to live somewhere you love so much? Her gaze took in the spectacular view behind him.
What must it feel like to belong to a place like this?
You belong here.
His earlier words came back to her like a blow to the chest, just like the first time he’d said it. It was ridiculous but those words had felt like destiny, like...like the answer to her prayer.
“But as much as I love Aspire,” he continued, his tone thoughtful. “There are some aspects to small-town life that drive me nuts.”
“Like what?”
“Like everyone knowing my business,” he said on an exhale. “Like the responsibility that comes with living up to a legacy name. Our family helped to build this town, and we’re all involved in the community. My aunts and uncles, my parents, the cousins who didn’t move away.”
