Page 43 of The Fake Girlfriend's Billionaire Match
“Yeah. I’m good. H-h-how about you?”
It struck Bear as interesting that Bandit wasn’t stuttering as much. Most of the time, it correlated to how nervous he was. Whatever was going on must be okay.
Bear crossed the room and sat in his recliner. “I’m okay too. It’s getting a little crowded around here. A few more kids, and we’ll be back to spilling drinks in laps and elbowing ribs in no time.”
Bandit laughed. “I kinda missed that.”
“Me too. Reagan’s six months along.”
“Give her a hug and a k-k-kiss from me. Tell her I think she’ll be a great mom. I miss everyone.”
“We’ve missed you this year. It sure isn’t the same.”
“Yeah, a-a-ain’t no one roping me into doing things.”
Chuckling, Bear shook his head. “That’s for sure.”
The line was quiet a moment, and Bear debated whether to tell Bandit what he was in the middle of. “You got a second?”
“I have more than one for you.” Bandit paused. “W-w-what’s going on?”
Bear sat forward, raked his hand through his hair, and spilled his guts. By the time he was done with his tale, he felt a hundred pounds lighter. He didn’t realize how much he needed to tell someone.
Bandit whistled. “S-s-sounds like quite the predicament. Do you th-th-think she has feelings for you?”
With the way Winnie kissed Bear? He thought she did, maybe. “I don’t know. I mean, it seems so, but she’s got this dream. Remember when I told Angela about mine? I don’t want to do that to her.”
“Maybe it wouldn’t be the same. You should probably talk to her.”
That was the easy way to do things, and again, putting his heart out there, risking ano…his chest tightened to the point he couldn’t breathe just thinking about it. “I know I should, but…I can’t. I just can’t, and I don’t know how to climb over that mountain.”
Bandit was quiet a moment. “Well, until y-y-you can, you need to let her go. It’s not fair to her to ask her to choose you when you don’t trust her enough to even ask. I’ll say this, though…if you do l-l-love her, figure it out quick because if she’s half the woman you think she is, she’s worth the risk.”
That was a lot to chew. Bear sighed. “Yeah, seems I’ve got plenty to think on.”
“Sounds like it.” Someone in the background called Bandit’s name. “Uh, hey, I don’t m-m-mean to cut this short, but my grandfather has people over. I need to go.”
“It’s all right. Thanks for the advice.”
They exchanged goodbyes and ended the call. Bear sat there a second, mulling over his conversation with his best friend. There was plenty of wisdom in what he was saying. Bear just needed to figure out how to apply it. If he could.
He stood, slipping his phone back into his pocket, and walked to the door. Just as he stepped out, Winnie was turning the corner. He could just as easily see her holding a baby instead of a puppy. The thought made him ache. If he couldn’t even trust her with his heart, he had no business even thinking about things like that.
“Hey, he did great,” she said, handing the puppy to Bear. “He’s a funny little thing. Full of vim and vigor too. Little guy loves to run.”
Bear scratched the puppy behind the ear. “I just have to figure out a name.”
“You have a horse named Spur. You could name him Boots.” She grinned. “You don’t have to. It’s just a silly suggestion.”
“Actually, I like that.” He looked down at the puppy. “What do you think of Boots?”
The puppy yipped at him and licked his face.
Winnie shrugged. “Seems like a yes to me.”
Bear nodded, putting his arm around her, and kissed her. “Then I guess he’s got a name.”
“This has been more fun than I’ve ever had. The smallest gift tradition is just cute and fun. Although, the puppy wasn’t exactly the smallest gift because of flight availability and Josiah’s trip to Amarillo.” She snuggled against Bear. “Plus, hiding a puppy for a day was hard enough.”
