Page 78 of Parading the Cowboy Billionaire (Bluegrass Ranch 4)

As he looked into his own pair of dark eyes, he could see the text from Mariah Barker. He wasn’t sure how to label her, though he’d like to say she was his girlfriend. They’d been out several times this summer, but he’d never kissed her.

They went to her work events and held hands, talked, and laughed. He knew the women she sat by at work, and they knew him. To everyone outside the relationship, Lawrence and Mariah were a couple, and they’d been dating since June.

To Lawrence, though, who lived inside the relationship, he knew they were one-hundred percentnotdating.

Though Mariah acted interested, Lawrence could no longer decide what was pretend for her and what wasn’t.

Thus, he sighed again as he picked up his razor. He trimmed his beard, his unrest growing by the second. When he finished, he rinsed his face and splashed on aftershave so his skin wouldn’t break out in tiny bumps. He seemed to be just one shade below the rest of his brothers.

His skin was fairer, and he had to wear sunscreen when he went outside. He’d learned through some recent painful encounters to spray it on every time, no matter what.

He still had the dark hair, though his wasn’t nearly black like Spur’s or Duke’s. He’d definitely inherited more of the feminine qualities from his mother, and he turned away from his reflection at the thought of her.

Lawrence had struggled the most out of all the brothers to talk to women. Even in high school, girls had scared him, and somewhere along the line, Mom had decided it was her life’s mission to set Lawrence up with every woman she deemed pretty—and Mom literally thought every woman was pretty.

He’d gone on several of her blind dates, but she wanted to dish with him afterward. She wanted all the details, down to exact lines said during conversations. If Lawrence didn’t like one of her choices, she’d demand to know why.

After a while, Lawrence’s embarrassment over being set up by his mother became too much, and he’d told her he didn’t want her to keep doing so. They’d argued, of course. Everything with Mom was an argument.

As Lawrence went back across the hall to his bedroom, he told himself he wasn’t being fair. Mom had come a long way this year, and he knew he needed to get down the lane and make his peace with her. She’d been trying hard, sending out memes and links to articles she thought he’d like. She had not invited him to come to the house where she and Daddy now lived out their retirement from full-time work at Bluegrass Ranch.

Daddy had recovered well from his hip replacement surgery last year, and he came out into the Chappell stables almost every day. He cleaned equipment and brushed down horses for anyone who wanted him to. He’d been back on a horse in the past month, and only Lawrence knew.

If Mom knew… Lawrence chuckled as he shook his head. He dressed in his pressed and clean clothes, his mind moving forward too fast for him to keep up. No matter what else was in his head, he kept coming back to one thing: He needed to end things with Mariah.

The Summer Smash had concluded three weeks ago, and once upon a time, they’d agreed to keep their relationship “professional” until the inaugural race at Bluegrass had finished. She’d been the marketing executive assigned to the ranch, and Lawrence could admit she’d done an amazing job. Everyone thought so, and even Cayden—perfect, polished, and expects-perfection-and-polish-in-return—said he’d definitely use her again.

“I’m tired of being used, though,” he muttered as he bent to put on the pair of cowboy boots Mariah had actually bought for him. A rush of humiliation pulled through him, and he stalled in the movement to dress himself the way she wanted him to.

“You’re such an idiot.” He stood up, bootless, and strode out of the bedroom. Duke had finally moved into the homestead too, and his bedroom sat just down the hall from Lawrence’s. He went that way and banged on the door. “Duke,” he called. “I need your help.”

“Comin’.” A few seconds later, Duke opened the door, his headset still on. “Sorry.” He reached up and took it off. “They’re in the middle of a share,” he said. “I have to be muted and off-camera, but the professor could come back on any second.” He’d started taking some classes in ranch management just about a week ago, and Lawrence did like listening to him talk about it.

Duke was always so animated. He did tend to talk too much, but he also had the ability to know when he’d let his mouth run away from him, something Conrad and Ian didn’t possess.

“It won’t take long,” Lawrence said. “I just need a yes or no answer.”

“Okay, shoot.” Duke glanced over his shoulder and then focused his full attention on Lawrence.

“Say the woman you’ve been going out with starts making excuses for why she can’t see you if the two of you aren’t going to a work party. For her. A work party forher.” He cleared his throat. “Then she’s available, and by the stars in heaven, you better be available too.”

Duke started to narrow his eyes, but Lawrence plowed forward. “She says your boots make you look dirty, and she actually buys you a new pair. She texts you what she’s wearing and makes suggestions for what you should wear. She doesn’t let you come pick her up, but she arranges a meeting place so you can arrive at the party together. You haven’t kissed her, but it’s been months of this.”

“I know where this is going.”

Lawrence was sure he did. Duke went out with a lot of women, and he had no problem getting random strangers to come sit by him at weddings, dance with him, or attend any number of family parties and events with a simple smile and a cocked eyebrow.

“Should you break up with her?” Lawrence asked.

“The real question is: Are you even dating this woman?” Duke put both eyebrows up, the question clear.

“Let’s say you thought you were. She might even think you are.”

“Yes,” Duke said. “If it’s yes or no, Larry, it’s yes.”

Despite the nickname he hated, Lawrence nodded, his gaze suddenly finding something so much more interesting to look at over Duke’s shoulder. “Yeah, I think so too. Thanks.” He turned and started back to his bedroom, his heart heavy and his feet feeling like wooden blocks he could barely lift.

“And don’t wear those boots,” Duke said. “Be who you are, Lawrence.”

---