Page 55 of The Cowboy and the Bombshell
“You’re… you’re not?” I was totally lost.
“No. I’m asking you if you’d come to Austin. To be with me.”
I froze, my mouth falling open. There was no way this was real. No way he could be seriously asking me to go with him to Texas. My mind could not seem to latch on to one of the many thoughts swirling around like a cyclone long enough to respond.
Finally, I found my voice. “Texas? You want me to go to Texas?”
“Yes, Penelope,” he smiled, still looking unsure. “I think that what we have is worth pursuing. I think you are incredible and smart, driven, kind, and absolutely beautiful. I’m asking if you think enough of me to give us a shot.”
“Stone,” I said, still in shock, but recovering enough to contemplate some of the implications of what he was asking. “I can’t just move to Texas.”
“Why not?” He seemed to genuinely not understand.
“For one, I have a life in New York. My mother is there. My job.”
“You can get a marketing job in Austin, Penelope. Hell, you could probably do your current job there. I’d talk to Harold and he could-”
“No, Stone.”
He froze, frowning again. “No?”
“No, I don’t want you to talk to your father about getting me a job.” I couldn’t help the anger that was welling up inside me. “That is exactly the type of thing I have been trying to avoid. The nepotism. That’s the type of crap that Constance and Toddrick are trying to pull. I want to make my way on my own merit, not because of who I’m sleeping with!” I whispered the last part, looking around franticly to make sure no one heard.
“Penelope, it wouldn’t be that way.”
“Stone, it would be exactly that way. You, of all people, should understand not wanting to have your success tied to someone else.” I could tell by the way his shoulders hunched he did understand. “And what about my mother? My life in New York? I’m going to be getting promoted to VP of Marketing, and that means I am going to be in New York.”
“You might not get it,” he said, trying to be helpful but only pissing me off more.
“Well, thank you for the stellar vote of confidence.”
“Damn it, Penelope. That’s not what I meant. Fuck,” Stone ran his hands through his hair in frustration. “I’m tryin’ to tell you that I wanna be with you. Doesn’t that mean anythin’ to ya’?” His accent was in full force as he let the one emotion he was comfortable with surface. His anger. This was the Stone I had met all those months ago.
Well, I was not the same meek little flower to be trampled all over. Not anymore.
“Yes, Stone, it does. It means a great deal. But wanting to be with me doesn’t mean that you get to uproot my entire life and have me make all the sacrifices. Relationships are supposed to be give and take.”
“Penelope, you know why I can’t live in New York,” he ground out.
“Yes, Stone. I know. Because you blame the entire city of New York for the fact that your parents aren’t together. Well, guess what? At least you still have both parents. At least you have a father who is still doing everything he can to try and earn your love. Some of us no longer have that option, and it gets pretty aggravating watching you throw a temper tantrum every time his name is mentioned,Mr. Montgomery.”
Stone looked like I had slapped him, jerking back in his chair and staring at me. I paused, my chest heaving from my rant. How had things turned so bad so quickly?
“Look,” I said when I had regained some of my composure. “I think we both have some things to consider. I think I’ll walk back to the office.” Tossing my napkin on the table, I stood, Stone rising at the same time like the good southern gentleman he was raised to be. Damn him and his charming manners.
“Penelope, wait. Just - just let me drive you back. We can talk on the way.” He reached for my arm as I stepped away from the table, but I moved out of his reach.
“No, thank you. I prefer to walk. I need to be alone for a bit.” Shouldering my bag, I moved to the exit. “Thank you for lunch.” I left him standing in the middle of the restaurant and didn’t look back.
I stomped my way up the street, headed back toward the office, and tried to replay the conversation we had just had. What a disaster. But surely he had to see that a relationship couldn’t involve one person making all the sacrifices and the other making none. I couldn’t just pack up my life and move to Austin…could I? I considered the possibility as I chewed frantically on my lip.
I mean, what was really keeping me in New York? My work? Stone was probably right; no matter what I did, Toddrick was likely going to get the VP position. So, really, why couldn’t I work in Texas? The weather alone was a bonus, seeing as East Coast winters had never been my favorite.
And my mom, well, she was hoping to retire sometime. Why not sooner rather than later? She could come with me, or find a place somewhere else, like Florida, maybe, where she could spend her days looking after herself for a change. And the bills would follow us wherever we went, so that wasn’t an issue either.
I moved down Las Vegas Boulevard, my heart stuttering when I passed the Eiffel Tower, remembering the magic of our first date and everything that had followed. Stone had been nothing but sweet and considerate the entire time, to me at least, and every day we spent together I saw more and more of the kind and generous person he was under all his gruff and grouchy.
How could I have let my temper get away from me like I did? Stone put himself on the line, and I threw it back in his face. As I walked up the long drive that led toThe Alamo, I resolved to apologize as soon as he returned to the office. Maybe I would arrange dinner to be delivered to the Summerlin house tonight. We could sit on the back deck, looking over the hills, and I would tell him that I had thought it over and, while I wasn’t sure what I was going to do, we could at least discuss it like the civil adults we were.
