Page 79 of Breaking the Cowboy's Rules

She felt she’d cut that line permanently.

Ben Ballantyne’s eyes glowed and he rubbed his hands together.

“But as a teen I admired your spirit and grit and fire. You rode a horse like Athena hell-bent on victory in war, and I never got you out of my mind. Meeting up with you again has been a gift I never imagined, but I’m too selfish to give you up. You are as much a part of me as my family, Three Trees, Montana, and Marietta, and no matter where I go, I want to have you by my side.”

Langston trembled and wiped at the tears steadily tracking down her cheeks.

Bowen pulled out a black velvet box from his pocket, and Langston squeaked.

“Langston Dandelion Carr, would you do me the honor of becoming my wife?”

“Dandelion!” Langston was outraged, and Bowen laughed. Actually laughed. Langston touched his mouth. “You don’t do that so much.”

“With you, I seem to laugh a lot.”

Bowen flipped open the box. Langston gasped.

“You bought a ring?”

“I’m asking you to marry me. It’s a pretty standard part of the proposal process.”

She gaped at him. “For real? Bowen, be serious. Is this real?”

“Who the hell proposes for fake?”

“Ummm…”

“Don’t answer that,” Bowen said and pulled Langston into his arms and kissed her.

“Is that a yes?” someone from the back shouted out.

There was cheering and then Bowen held up Langston’s left hand like she’d just won a boxing championship round. And on her left ring finger she now wore a stunning and dramatic ring with a large, glittering diamond solitaire set in platinum with smaller diamonds glittering around the band.

Nico could barely see through her tears. She wanted to congratulate the happy couples, but she wasn’t sure even she was that strong.

“Who’s next?” Ben Ballantyne asked taking a deep draw of his beer. “Who needs Netflix when I got these boys with their crazy schemes?”

Ben looked so happy he was practically levitating out of his camp chair, and his three daughters sat holding each other’s hands tightly like they were afraid someone was going to drag them apart. Then she saw Bodhi’s mom’s gaze shift.

Heart in her throat, she realized Bodhi had dropped to one knee in front of her. He held both her hands.

“What are you doing?” she asked, stunned. He didn’t have to do this. Beck had proposed and been accepted, and as icing on the cake, Bowen had too, and it seemed real to her. Real, like she wanted more than anything, but she, Nico Steel, was a fake.

“Nico…”

“Bodhi,” she whispered, tears blinding her, but she didn’t want to let go of him, not one second faster than she had to. He was everything she never knew she wanted, and she wished, wished, wished she could say yes and keep pretending. Keep improving the rest of her life.

Could she?

No. Bodhi deserved real. Bodhi deserved a woman he could trust.

“Your plan worked,” she whispered. “You don’t need to do this part.”

“New plan.” His face was set in fierce determination like he’d looked this afternoon when he’d ridden a bucking bronc to the championship.

She shook her head. “You already won.” Ben wasn’t budging, not with Beck and Ashni and Bowen and Lang getting engaged. Bodhi didn’t need to do his part. He deserved a woman who wasn’t mired in dirt and scandal and questionable loyalty and morals.

He didn’t even know her real name.

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