Unexpected Hero

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Unexpected Hero Page 20

by Barbara Ankrum

“Don’t say ‘I told you so.’”

  “Hey.” She grabbed Becca’s fingers and squeezed. “I just hate that Steven hurt you like that.” She added another more descriptive word under her breath.

  Until today, Lana had kept her opinions about Steven to herself, mostly, but Becca knew he wasn’t at the top of her list, as potential husbands went. And now Lana was having a hard time hiding her relief that Steven wouldn’t be part of any future she and Becca shared.

  “Thanks.” Becca leaned forward. “But you do understand there’s a problem here now, right?”

  “Not exactly.” Her friend finished the scone with a final flourish and brushed the crumbs off her hands, which Milo vacuumed up. “Which problem are we talking about?”

  “The wedding! This is Lilah and Graham. I love them both. And I suppose Steven does, too—if he’s even capable of such a thing. But we can’t just not show up to their rehearsal dinner tonight and wedding tomorrow because we’ve broken up. And we can’t ruin their big day by openly despising each other. We’re in their wedding party.”

  “What did he-who-shall-no-longer-be-named say about said dilemma?”

  “He agreed that we should both go and…pretend we’re still a couple. He’d probably planned the timing of all of this before he dropped the bomb on me. He probably planned it down to the minute so he could slink off without our friends knowing.”

  “Sneaky. So you pretend. For the weekend. And the next day, you kick the bastard out on the street where he belongs.”

  “He’s already gone. He left last night after our breakup. Probably staying with her.” Anger rose in her again. Deep down, she’d known things had been shaky between them for a while. Was it her fault somehow, that he’d gone to someone else? Had she not been supportive enough of his career? Understanding enough of his time away? Maybe it had been her pushing for a wedding date. Maybe she’d just been too busy planning her future to admit what was right in front of her.

  Those thoughts had no sooner formed in her mind than she rejected them. No. She would not take the blame for his infidelity. That was his choice and she refused to take responsibility for it. He could have been honest. He could have just told her he was having doubts. Then, at least they could have discussed things before he jumped into bed with another woman to torpedo their relationship. But talking things out wasn’t really his style. Maybe it wasn’t hers either.

  “We can pretend,” she told Lana. “Apparently, that’s what we’ve been doing for a while. It’s just…doing it in front of Nio.”

  “Sure you can.” She popped the last piece of cantaloupe in her mouth. “After all, you’ve pretended all these years that you didn’t still love him. Right?”

  Becca gaped at her. “I’m…I was engaged to Steven, which clearly means I am not in love with Nio Reyes. I let go of him the day he walked away from me without a word.”

  She tilted a disbelieving look at Becca.

  “Well, okay. After a while. But I’ve been over him for years. And years.” She gathered some scone crumbs and licked them off her finger.

  “If you say so. Wait. What if he’s married? Did you see a ring?”

  Was there? “That’s totally beside the point. I’m not interested. Period.” And I was too mesmerized by his chest to notice. She stared down at her nails.

  “But how did he look?”

  Her mind drifted back to the sight of him, all briny and wet from the ocean, looking…the way he looked. But ten years older. Ten years better. “Good,” she admitted. “Okay, great.” At Lana’s wicked grin, she added, “Like James freaking Bond walking out of the water, okay? Not that it matters.”

  Lana’s grin grew. “Oh, it matters.”

  Just thinking about him now made her feel illicit. Guilty. Was it wrong that she could have such thoughts the day after losing the jerk she thought she was going to marry?

  Hell no.

  But tears welled in her eyes all the same.

  Nio had been the son of her parents’ gardener; forbidden fruit to a girl so far out of his sphere they practically lived in different universes. But the irony of it all? None of that had mattered to her. He’d existed separately from all that. He was smart and kind and he’d never made her feel what other boys did, as if her father’s money mattered. They’d built a friendship from the ground up and what bloomed had been as solid as an oak.

  And her father, who swam in the upper echelon of moneyed Laguna and made no bones about controlling where and with whom his daughter mingled, was proven right when he’d said she couldn’t count on a boy like Nio. Her parents had sent her to the best private schools, imposed hawk-like supervision and nearly strangled her with expectations. All for naught. She’d fallen for Nio anyway. He was a few years older, had gone to a local public school and came from the wrong side of town. But oh. How she had thought she loved him.

  Maybe his “unsuitability” had been part of his appeal at first. A rebellion. But he’d become so much more than that. Then he’d just disappeared from her life without so much as a text.

  So…forgive him for that inexplicable abandonment all those years ago? She shook her head. Despite the dog wisdom that Milo had attempted to impart, she’d be a fool to open herself up to that kind of hurt again. But that didn’t mean she didn’t want to know the answer to one question: why?

  Find out what happens next…

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  You’ll love the next book in the Barbara Ankrum’s bestselling series….

  The Canadays of Montana

  The Canaday clan is like so many modern families today: blended, flawed and full of love for each other. The series follows the Canaday sisters—Olivia, Kate and Eve—strong yet vulnerable women who have careers and challenges that most of us face as they search for balance in their lives.

  Book 1: A Cowboy to Remember

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  Book 2: Choose Me, Cowboy

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  Book 3: The Christmas Wish

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  Book 4: A Cowboy to Keep

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  About the Author

  Barbara Ankrum has a thing for the West and has written both historical and contemporary romances, all set in that magical place. Twice nominated for RWA’s RITA Award, her bestselling books are emotional, sexy rides with a touch of humor. Barbara’s married and raised two children in Southern California, which, in her mind, makes her a native Westerner. Visit Barbara on Facebook and Twitter@BarbaraAnkrum

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