Page 44 of Runaway Bride For The Rancher

“I’m confused. I don’t know what to think. I…” he stuttered, and he ran out of words.

I felt the shock run through my spine. I swallowed hard in anticipation. We were both angry, but the atmosphere changed in a split second. I could tell he was thinking of the same thing I was thinking about.

His gaze fell on my lips and then back on my eye. How we went from yelling to almost kissing is what I couldn’t explain, but it happened.

When we kissed, I wasn’t sure if it was me or him who initiated it. We both sighed into it immediately.

He grabbed me by my waist with both hands and clutched me tight to himself. I felt the passion in the kiss. I grabbed his hair and released it at intervals.

Ben was about to lift me and let my leg wrap around his waist.

“Oh! I’m sorry!” One of the ranch workers who stumbled on us said. He was shocked, so he ran off.

We stopped kissing immediately. I cleared my throat and wiped the excess saliva off my lips.

Ben sighed and made steps to walk away. I held his arms, and he stopped.

“I don’t like this uncertainty flying around us. I don’t want to be the side piece that kisses you and gets ignored by you at the same time. I want to know what this is.”

I poured my heart out, hoping he would have answers for me. I knew what I expected to hear.

He sighed. “What do you want me to say?” He asked.

The question made me feel stupid. I wasn’t going to force him to do what he didn’t want to, but I wanted to be sure of where we stood.

“Tell me where we stand. Where do we stand?” I asked.

“In the ranch, in the barn.” He replied sarcastically with a straight face.

He was trying to avoid the part where he had to make a decision.

I smirked. I was annoyed already. It felt to me like I was forcing him. “

Will you tell me or not?” I kept a straight face.

“Tell you what? What do you want me to say, Olivia?” He raised his voice.

“What are we doing? What do you want with me? What do you take me for? I deserve to know.” I raised my voice, too. It got heated again.

“There’s nothing to say here.” He retorted in the same tone.

“Wow! We kissed and you left me alone on the ranch last night. Today we just kissed again, and you tell me there’s nothing to say?” I asked rhetorically and scoffed.

“If it’s a relationship you’re asking about, I can’t give it to you. I’m not the right person to give you that now.” He burst out these words that froze me. “

I’m sorry.” He topped it and walked away.

I stood there, shocked to my bones.

Tears welled up in my eyes as I watched Ben's retreating figure, disappearing into the distance. His words echoed in my mind, a painful refrain that I couldn’t escape. "If it’s a relationship you’re asking about, I can’t give it to you right now.” he had said, and just like that, part of me retracted.

I stood there, frozen, in the barn, oblivious to the things happening around me. The noise the animals made seemeddistant, drowned out by the turmoil in my heart. I felt a crushing weight on my chest; a heaviness that threatened to suffocate me.

It wasn’t like I wanted to rush into anything real soon, but I felt his response had no future in sight.

We laughed together and shared kisses, and I sometimes dreamt of a future that included both of us. I’d convinced myself that it wouldn’t end like this. I was willing to give it a try.

But now, all those dreams lay shattered at my feet.

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