Page 34 of The Fake Girlfriend's Billionaire Match
Nodding, he shrugged. “Yeah. I should have known better.”
“How could you be responsible for the way she treated you?”
“Because I ignored red flags big enough to cover a football field. My family still doesn’t know about Vegas. We’d just won the lottery, and it was seconds before I met Angela. For six months, we were inseparable.” He paused, swallowing down the shame he felt. “The ink was literally barely dry on the marriage certificate before her lawyer boyfriend was shaking me down for alimony. I found out later she’d known about the money all along. She’d been a temp at the lawyer’s office where we set everything up after we won. As soon as we left the wedding chapel, she handed me the divorce papers, demanding half of everything I had.”
“Alimony?”
“I was so blind and stupid. She cried at breaking a nail. Literally cried. Looking back, I should have been wiser. Smarter.” His heart didn’t break with that realization any longer. Mostly, it made him angry with himself. “Of course, I hired a better lawyer. Two million dollars later, she was gone without a dime and the marriage was annulled.”
“I’m so sorry. That had to feel awful. I’ll definitely punch her in the nose if I ever see. That’s just not even a question anymore.”
Laughing, Bear sat up with his back against the headboard and picked up the bowl of soup in one hand and the spoon in the other. “It was my fault. If anyone deserves a broken nose, it’s me.”
“I don’t think so. You loved someone.”
He shrugged. “Maybe, but I definitely let her live in my head for far too long.” And he was done giving her his life. She may have had to walk away without any of his money, but she’d gone on with her life. What had Bear done? Moped, pined, and ached for someone who used him? He’d created a prison with her as the guard.
A glaring first sign with Angela should have been her cackling like a goose when he told her he was buying the ranch. When she realized he was serious, she was dumbfounded as to why anyone would want to live in the middle of nowhere. Only idiots did that.
She’d spit on his dream, which was why he couldn’t do that to anyone else. That was why he supported Winnie like he did. If her dream had been too far-fetched, a word of caution might have been in order, but not laughing at it.
The bed moved, and he lifted his head to find Winnie sitting next to him. “Well, we’re friends now. I’m not the greatest at standing up for myself, but I’m a tiger when it comes to people I care about. Anyone tries that again, and the mild-mannered Winnie you know will show claws.”
With as fierce as she sounded, he believed it. “I think I’d like to see that.” He smirked, though her words echoed in his ears.We’re friends now.Was that all they were? It’s all they could be if he cared about her. Despite that, his heart stung from the words.
Laughing, she combed her fingers through his hair and palmed his cheek. “You’re a great guy. One day, someone is going to love you like you’ve never been loved before.”
He didn’t want to be loved by someone. He wanted to be loved by her.
Why did he have to be sick? This was the part in the story where the guy kissed the girl, but not when he had bronchitis and the flu. There was also the matter of her future restaurant she’d be starting in the new year. His timing stank liked roadkill skunk.
When he was no longer a danger to her health, he’d take advantage of their deal. He’d kiss her, hold her, and send her on her way. He’d put his whole heart into it. It would hurt to let her go. Hurt worse than anything he’d experienced with Angela. The difference this time was that Winnie was worth the pain.
Chapter 24
Sitting in Gabby and Wyatt’s kitchen, Winnie boxed a pie and set it atop one that was already boxed. Wyatt and Gabby were doing things a little different this year. Instead of a simple farmer’s market, they were having a Christmas festival. In order to prepare for it, she’d made quite a few pies, and they were all working on getting them ready.
With Bear on the mend, Winnie felt a little less tied to the house. He’d been grounded to his room until Christmas Eve, which was the day after tomorrow, and even then, he’d be taking it easy.
Molly took a bite of the pie Gabby had cooked especially for her and groaned. “I love you, Gabby.”
“You love my pie.” Gabby laughed.
“This is true, but I love you too.”
Rolling her eyes, Gabby said, “I only made it so the other pies were safe.” She bumped shoulders with Winnie as she boxed a pie. “If I didn’t, I would have needed a muzzle on her.”
“Hey, of the vices I could have, pie seems to be relatively tame.” Molly set her fork down, wrote the type of pie on a sticker, and then slapped it onto a box.
Wyatt stopped behind Gabby, planting a kiss on her head. “I love you.” With that, he went on his way.
The small token of affection warmed Winnie’s heart. This whole family seemed to realize what they had and cherished it. “That was sweet.”
Blushing, Gabby grinned. “He does that a few times a day. I absolutely adore it.”
Winnie wanted that. And in the last couple of days, there was desperation attached to it with only one person who could ease the ache. Learning that Angela had married Bear to snake his money away broke her heart. How could she have done that to him? He would have done anything for her, and she threw him away like it was nothing. He’d thought Winnie was kidding, but she wasn’t. Angela deserved a good punch to the nose.
“Are you still thinking about opening a restaurant?” asked Carrie Anne.
