A Cowboy Billionaire Country Star Fake Marriage (Brookside Ranch Brothers Book 3)
Page 14
But the longer he was gone, the more she began to think about what her life would be like if they stayed together, and the more she longed for him.
Her life with Phoenix was exciting; it was full of compassion, deep conversations, laughter, and stability. Not to mention, his parents had welcomed her with open arms, and she felt such affection from them after just one meeting, she already knew she was addicted.
Phoenix would always be there for her, she could feel it in her gut, and she loved him. She loved Phoenix in a way she didn't think was possible. It was so deep and so fulfilling, she knew she could no longer imagine life without him.
How she would deal with his life on the road remained to be seen, but she would do anything to make it work. She knew that now.
Now, if only Phoenix were home for her to share all of her insights with.
Three days after Phoenix ditched his show in California, he finally came home.
Miranda was laying in her bed when she saw the lights from his car flash through her window. Without a second thought, she leaped out of bed and ran to the front door. She pulled it open and ran down the walkway to meet him there.
She threw her arms around him and jumped up. He caught her and squeezed her tightly, both relishing the feeling of being back together.
"Where have you been?” she asked.
"Just wait,” he said, smiling warmly at her and raising a hand. “I’ve been doing a lot of thinking.”
"Phoenix, where have you been?” she asked again, happy to see him but unable to keep the words from coming out. “Jonathan called asking me where you were, and he said you left your show and—”
"You were right,” he said, cutting her off in the sweetest way possible.
"About what?” she asked, sinking into his embrace.
Phoenix took a moment to be silent and take her all in. She instantly settled, feeling comforted to be near him again, no matter where he had been. She knew now she didn’t want to be away from him—and whether that was a purposeful lesson on his behalf or not, she was grateful for it.
When Phoenix pulled away, his gentle expression turned pensive, and he said, "You were right about feeling nervous about Rachel, and that's entirely my fault.”
Miranda’s heart sank. "You still love her?”
Phoenix shook his head. "Just the opposite,” he said. “Look, this is going to sound bad at first, but just hear me out, okay?”
She swallowed. "Okay.”
"I left the show because I needed to see you,” he said.
"And then you were gone for three days?” she asked.
He watched her carefully and said, "I went to Wyoming.”
“Because?” she said, forcing the word out.
"I went to see Rachel,” he confirmed.
She set her jaw. That’s why he left? That’s where he went? To see Rachel? Seriously?
"Ah,” she snorted, raising her brows. “So, you went to hurt me.”
He gave a soft laugh, and Miranda gave a deep frown. "Sorry, you'll have to excuse me for not finding this as hilarious as you do.”
“I don’t find it hilarious,” he said. “You’re just so cute, and I love you so much.”
She brightened and looked up at him. “Then why did you go?”
“I went because I needed to prove to myself that I was done with that life—with carrying around all of that resentment and that hope. And then I saw her, and you know what I felt?”
"What?” she asked breathless.
"Nothing,” he said, and Miranda instantly settled.
He felt nothing, she repeated in her mind. He saw her, and he felt nothing.
“I don't love her, Miranda,” he said with a smile. His voice was confident and relieved. “I don't hate her either, because she doesn't mean anything to me anymore.”
He pulled the chain off of his neck, breaking the silver clasp and tossing the ring onto the ground beneath them. He looked down at it and then up at her. He shrugged and said, “And I don't wear the ring because I'm still in love with Rachel. I wear it to remind myself not to be so stupid in the future. I don't want to take something I love for granted ever again. And do you know the only thing I thought about when I was on the plane? Ditching my show? Driving to Wyoming?”
She smiled and shook her head, but she had a good idea of what his answer might be.
"I thought about you because you're the only thing that matters,” he said, squeezing her hand. “All I wanted to do was get home to you and see you and hold you and tell you that you are the love of my life, and I don't want to spend another day without you.”
"Are you sure?” she asked, but she knew he had already won her over. She wanted to be with Phoenix. She already felt giddy at the thought of a forever with him.
He nodded. “I made my peace with the past.”
She raised a brow. “Even with Hunter?”
"Yeah..." he paused. "Hunter, too. We talked."
"You talked?” she repeated in surprise.
He smiled. "I told him about you and how crazy I am about you. We shook hands and…that's it, Miranda. It's over.”
"So...”
"I don't want to hold anything back from you,” he said genuinely. “I did a lot of thinking on the road. You told me that you were worried about traveling, about being on the road, and I get it. Believe me, I completely get it. And all I kept coming back to is that I want to be with you, no matter what. So, I talked to Adam, and we reworked the tour.”
She blinked in surprise. “You…did?”
"I won't do the world tour,” he grinned. “I told them no. Can you believe it, Miranda? I told them no!” Phoenix began to laugh. He looked so free and so happy that Miranda couldn’t help but laugh along with him.
“At least, I won't do it the way they want me to,” he said. “We agreed to do two weeks on and two weeks off. I'll always be back at the ranch, and we'll be able to focus on the youth program. I told them this was more important than music, and I don't want to burn myself out like I did last time and tour for years on end. It's not good for me. Not good for my soul, my health, my heart.”
She couldn’t help herself or the tears of joy that fell from her eyes as she watched the beautiful man in front of her staring at her.
“Seriously?” she said happily. “You did all of that for me?”
"The ranch is our home,” he said. “And I want to be home. The only question is if you want to be home with me?”
“Yes,” she said excitedly. “Always.”
“Then let’s go home,” he said, nodding up to the ranch.
Want more Cowboy Billionaires? CLICK HERE for the next book in this series called “A Cowboy Billionaire Secret Baby”!
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About the Author
Hanna Hart is a passionate sweet clean contemporary romance author who has found the love for writing since the age of 6.
Hanna lives in the beautiful Santa Cruz California with her loving husband, two children and dog Milo. Other then dreaming up of extremely sweet & romantic stories, Hanna enjoys spending time with her family, going to the beach, cooking great food, travelling the world, and getting a lot of exercise.
Hanna’s purpose is to delivery very sweet romantic stories to her readers that will touch their hearts in a very meaningful taking them to another place that will positively impact their life.
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