Page 16 of The Rancher's Cinderella Bride

They paused when a waiter came to take their orders and as soon as he left, Justin leaned forward again. “I intended us to go together,” he added.

“You didn’t ask me,” she said. Justin wore a scowl and his jaw was clamped shut. She knew he was angry, but her peace of mind and her freedom were at stake so she had to end this.

“I’ve accepted Gabe’s invitation and I’m going with him. I’m not ready for a commitment to you. No one has listened to me. Not you, not my parents and not yours.”

“Dammit, Megan. You’re ruining everything. You’re throwing away a future to go out with a wild, party-loving cowboy who will toss you aside in no time.”

Their waiter came and Justin became silent while their drinks were placed on the table with their sandwiches.

“You’re tossing aside all plans of us marrying, aren’t you?” he asked.

“Yes, I am. We’re not in love.”

“Our parents want us to marry. We fit together. We’re the same social circle, the same background. It would be perfect. You know I want a political career and you would be an asset.”

“Thank you, Justin. But you’ll be happier if you marry someone you love, a person you’re thrilled to be with and you can’t wait to come home to.”

“I’ve been honest with you and I’ve told you what I want and what my family wants. I’ve told you what’s in it for us and it’s a lot of money and opportunities. My dad wants us to marry and he wants a grandchild. I’ll get a partnership in the firm after you and I are married a year.”

She studied Justin while he talked and her gratitude to Gabe for the fake engagement soared with every word.

“I’m so sorry to cut you out of a partnership, but you could go to work for someone besides your father. You’re sharp and a good, successful attorney who will do well wherever you are. You don’t have to work for your dad to be successful.”

“I’ll move up faster with my dad.”

She could see she was getting nowhere with him. Hurtful as it might be, she had to be frank. “Justin, I’m going out with Gabe Callahan. You and I are finished even discussing this.” She fumbled for her wallet. “I’ll buy the dinners—”

“Dammit, Megan. I’ll get our damn sandwiches. You’re making a big mistake. You keep dating Gabe Callahan and we’re through,” he said.

“I understand that,” she answered and his face flushed. She stood and he came to his feet, too. “Goodbye, Justin, and good luck.”

“Gabe Callahan will not marry you, so don’t count on that. He’s not marrying anyone.”

“I know that.”

She turned and was out the door in seconds. She took a deep breath as she hurried to her car, eager to get away. She was finally free of Justin. She wanted to grab Gabe and hug him for being the catalyst that got her out of the sticky situation.

Once she got home, she went to her bedroom, grabbed the brown teddy bear and danced around her room with it. “I’m free.”

Saturday night she would get engaged to Gabe, a silly fake engagement, but it would be exactly what she needed to make this breakup last. Up till now her life had been filled with doing what other people wanted her to do. From now on, she’d do what she wanted to do for herself. Starting with her makeover. And then she’d get engaged to Gabe and move into his house.

It was finally happening. Living her own life.

Amid her elation, she had one disturbing thought: Could she really do it? Live under the same roof with Gabe without ending up in bed with him?

Four

Gabe tried to keep his mind on business the next day, but it was difficult. He kept thinking about Meg, remembering when she had suddenly straddled him, sat on his lap and kissed him. The kiss had made him feel as if he would burst into flames, had set his heart pounding so hard he’d thought she could hear each beat.

He couldn’t resist teasing her sometimes, because it was fun and because he knew it annoyed her. But she did the same thing back to him in her own way. She kissed him until he lost all rational thought.

How did she do that?

All he knew was that he wanted her in his bed, but each time he thought that, his conscience tore at him. She was his childhood best friend who trusted him completely and she had come to him for help, not for seduction. He could not seduce her.

“Damn,” he said aloud. From the minute she told him what she wanted, he had known she was going to drag him into trouble with her plea for a fake engagement. And it was only going to get worse, because this weekend she was moving in with him.

He dreaded all of it. He wouldn’t back out of his agreement to help, despite the fact that she complicated his life more with each passing minute. And if he wasn’t careful, he might end up with a real engagement instead of a fake one, and he was not ready for that.

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