Taylor’s chest swelled with righteous anger and she tucked her chin as she narrowed her gaze. “And manners have completely escaped yours.”
He clamped his mouth shut and turned back to his mother, effectively cutting the Deans from the conversation. “When do you get out of here? I’m ready to take you home.”
Elizabeth shook her head and motioned toward her chest. “It’s not going to be fast. I had surgery, but they want to run some more tests. They said something about getting out of here this afternoon, but…” She smiled, her fatigue finally showing in the soft shadows under her eyes and the slight downturn of her lips even when she tried hiding it.
“That doesn’t work. I’ll get you a private nurse and see if they can move the testing up.” Roman patted her hand and resettled the hat on his head, continuing to ignore the Deans as he strode from the room. Apparently, money gave him the right to do whatever he wanted – even speed up the healing process.
“I’m so sorry. I don’t even know how to argue with him. It’s been so long.” Elizabeth turned apologetic eyes toward Taylor and her father. She seemed to linger a little longer than necessary on Taylor’s face.
“It’s fine. I don’t care. It’s not a big deal. He’s like a stranger anyway, right? It’s been so long.” Taylor gritted her teeth at the blatant lie and the ongoing rambling. He wasn’t a stranger. He still made her nerves hyperaware. She couldn’t help noticing everything about him.
Everything.
All she wanted was to forget him. Taylor blinked back frustrated tears and turned to the treats still half-stacked on the foot of her father’s bed. She moved them one at a time to the side table, arranging them just so. “Ahem, I’ll send my file over this evening. I didn’t realize the time had passed so quickly. I should be at the office. I’m sure Lily is going out of her mind with preparations for the carnival.” She crossed the room to the sink, tore down some paper towels, and dampened them with cool water.
Back by the bed, she wiped up some spilled crumbs on the table and grabbed stray saran wrap from the cupcakes Lily had sent.
She looked around for the garbage, suddenly desperate to get out of there before Roman returned. She couldn’t be in the same room as him. It just wasn’t going to happen. Hopefully he’d be busy for quite a while since he was fighting against a disaster that money couldn’t fix. He couldn’t just maneuver the doctors around and the emergency procedures taking place.
Taylor returned to her father’s bedside, her heels clicking on the flooring as she walked. Did she sound nervous or too clicky? Maybe she was reading too much into the situation. He didn’t even really care who she was. That much was obvious. She could adopt the same attitude. Maybe the situation wasn’t uncomfortable. Maybe she’d just made it more than it was.
She could take that power back. She had to take some of it back before she felt like she had lost a handle on everything.
If nothing else, she’d at least survived her first encounter with him after the broken wedding and disappearance. Too bad she hadn’t been able to find her courage then and chase him to the ends of the earth and make him answer.
Just when she had him in the same room together, she’d lost her chance to get closure.
How many nights had she lain awake rehearsing all the different ways she’d tell him off? How many times had she dreamt he’d come back into her life and she’d be happy, married, and obviously much better off without him?
More times than she could count. But she didn’t need to think about that.
She shook her head and adjusted her dad’s blankets and sheets around him, smiling as if she wasn’t frustrated and embarrassed on the inside. “Get up those stairs so we can get you home.”
He studied her face, his own sad smile struggling to give her confidence and reassurances. “Don’t let him bug you.”
Overly bright, Taylor backed up and surveyed her work as she spoke, “I’m not bothered. My future is in good hands. By this time next year, I’ll hopefully be expecting my first child, close to celebrating Christmas, and my first-year wedding anniversary.” She jerked her chin up and down as if that would make her wishes so.
“Are you still covering me for the competition?” Dad reached for his water cup with the long white straw beside the almost-full plate of cupcakes. He sipped it, wrinkling his nose at the now-lukewarm drink.
Torn between running from there as fast as she could before Roman returned and wanting to make sure her dad was comfortable; Taylor shot a glance at the sink. Five steps across the room. That was nothing. Fill the water. Less than thirty seconds. Five steps back. She could do that.
Roman wouldn’t be back by then. There was no way.
She held out her hand. “I’ll get you fresh water.” He handed it over without complaint. One of Dad’s least favorite things was warm water. He was pretty laid back about things, but the few details he cared about, he could acknowledge they meant more to him than he wanted to admit.
Cold drinking water was one of them.
Taylor closed the distance to the sink. Come on. Come on. The water from the faucet was warm. She cranked the knob toward cold and stuck her finger under the stream of water. Seriously, come on.
She counted the seconds in her head as they passed. What should have been thirty seconds turned into sixty, then ninety and finally at one-hundred-twenty-three, she got cold water.
Shoving the cup under the running water, Taylor took a shaky breath. Come on. Come on.
No matter what, she couldn’t let him get to her. She had to convince him – and herself – that she didn’t need him. She’d moved on since he left. Him leaving was the best thing that could have happened. She could convince herself of that. She just had to do it in the next few seconds so she could convince him, too.
But the still torn up part of her cried in the back of her mind, hurtling images of what could have been to the forefront.
The water spilled around her fingers and Taylor blinked as she realized she’d lost track of time.
Thinking of him.
Losing track of anything wasn’t an option. She controlled everything.
The sooner she convinced Roman of her happiness, the sooner she’d be able to move on herself. Or so she would continue pretending.
She was almost done. She could escape. Snapping the lid into place on Dad’s cup, she grabbed a new straw from the container by the window and moved back to hand him the fresh drink. Glancing at Elizabeth, Taylor motioned toward the cup by her. “Would you like some?” She didn’t want to be rude. Her mom hadn’t done much for the girls, but she’d taught them manners.
Elizabeth shook her head, waving an elegantly aged hand toward the door. “No, dear, thank you.”
Nodding, Taylor glanced once more at her dad and then back to Elizabeth. “I’ll get the information packets to you guys tonight. Let me know what you think and if you think it’s going to be easy to match or not.”
“I’m sure it’s not going to be hard at all.” Elizabeth laughed; the sound cut short as Roman walked back into the room.
“Any matchmaker who says the match is hard doesn’t have confidence in their skills. Who’s the client? I bet I could get them matched by this weekend.” Roman returned to stand at the foot of his mother’s bed, folding his arms as he glared at Taylor.
There was no way she was going to tell him she was the client. There was no way she was going to tell him anything. He’d have her matched to someone, she had no doubt. But what if she wanted him and that just made her madder and more pathetic?
No. Roman couldn’t know anything about what she was doing. Thank goodness, she’d secured a promise of discretion from both Elizabeth and her dad.
That promise didn’t leave her heart feeling safe. Not with Roman back in town.
Chapter 5
Roman
Shooting a quick glance between the three in the hospital room, Roman narrowed his eyes. He couldn’t believe he had ever been comfortable without a hat. As it was,
he reached up and adjusted it on his crown to pull the brim back a little bit, but not too much.
Roman cleared his throat and stepped further into the room. “I’m serious. Who are you talking about?” They were talking about a client or a possible client and Roman couldn’t figure out why his mom was discussing the client with the Deans. “Whose client is it?” He motioned between his mom and Mr. Dean. “Is it one you might have to share or something?” He wasn’t sure how things worked in Mistletoe since he’d been gone for so long. He’d never had to share anything since he had the lion’s share of the clients in Europe.
Everyone wanted the best. He was the best. Case closed with a waiting list he couldn’t adequately describe.
Mom and Mr. Dean looked at each and then at Taylor. What, they were keeping secrets from Roman? Apparently, a secret Taylor knew.
For some reason, that set Roman on edge. He couldn’t get past the fact that he was there in Mistletoe not more than three minutes and he already ran into his ex-fiancée and her father. And yet, it couldn’t be in a neutral place like on the street or anything benign like that. No, that wasn’t Roman’s luck.
No. Roman had to run into Taylor and her father at the hospital in the same room as his mother. Flooded with worry about her health and on edge with Taylor right there, Roman couldn’t get his thoughts to make sense.
He couldn’t think with her dark red hair not even touched with age. Her bright green eyes could have been the Atlantic Ocean. He wanted to punch someone with how unfair it was that she hadn’t aged a bit and he’d gone through divorce and everything else.
He didn’t have the guts to look at her left hand. He didn’t want to picture her married and with a family. Not right then. Roman had been imagining Taylor’s life ever since the night he’d left her. He’d pictured her in all kinds of scenarios.
No one from home had told Roman about Taylor and he’d never asked.
He never even Googled her to get information. In that arena of his life, his self-control was unmatched. As long as he denied himself a crumb of info, then he could maintain his self-discipline and not look for anything. As long as he could hold himself back from looking even a little bit, then he could fool himself into believing that he didn’t care.
Roman could do it. He’d done it all those years already. So, he kept his eyes up from her hand and hoped she wouldn’t raise her hand above neck level.
His mom took a deep breath. “Well, we haven’t actually signed the paperwork or anything with this client. As soon as we do, we’ll let you know.” She reached delicately for a half-eaten cupcake on a napkin at her table. She nibbled the brown frosting, avoiding Roman’s eyes as well as the Deans’.
“We? Are you working with the Deans now?” Roman furrowed his brow, dipping the bill of his hat down as he looked at his mother. Was she crazy? Brock and Roman’s other brothers had reported repeatedly that the Wilsons and Deans were in a feud almost as infamous as the one in Bailey, just over the hills in Clearwater County.
Every time Roman had asked why, they’d dropped the topic. Of course, he knew why. It was because of him and the fact that he’d left Taylor at the altar.
He hadn’t forgiven himself for that move, why did he think that her family would either? Ever loyal, his family would side with him, no matter how wrong they believed him to be. Roman didn’t have to be home to feel their disappointment. Nope, that emotion could cross oceans all on its own.
Taylor pressed her full lips together, casting her eyes around the room, anywhere but at him. Roman had to believe that he’d done the best thing for her. Maybe not the best thing for both of them, but the best thing for her. She looked happy and successful and beautiful as ever.
He’d been put together in France. He’d had control over every aspect of his life and there were no questions on what he was doing when or what his goals were. But ever since he’d gotten off the plane in Butte, he’d been different. He’d felt different.
Montana had her hooks in Roman and he really wanted to run as fast as he could back to Europe. But a part of him he didn’t want to acknowledge whispered he’d been waiting for a long time to come back home. He couldn’t waste the opportunity to find his own happiness.
That’s what he was there to find – his happiness. He could find anything around the world, except love. For some reason, Roman couldn’t help thinking he had to come back to Mistletoe to find what would complete him.
He couldn’t let Taylor take his goals from him. Not that she seemed to care anything about him. Time had helped cure her from the loss of what they had. She most likely hadn’t missed him at all. Been mad at the inconvenience and change in her precious plans, maybe even embarrassed that she was stood up. But overall, she couldn’t have missed him that much. Not when she looked as good as she did.
Real love wasn’t something you could move on from.
He’d proven that. Undeniably, though, it was a blow to his pride that he’d loved her more than she’d loved him. Expected? Yes. Hoped for? No.
“It’s not that the Wilsons and Deans are working together, per se.” Mr. Dean spoke up, pulling Roman’s attention toward him. He grinned and glanced at Elizabeth. “We’ve been participating in the Mistletoe Matchmaking Christmas Competition for more than three decades. We can’t work together, if we want to compete. That’s a tradition we can’t give up.”
“Friendly competition is healthy for business and the town.” Mom rubbed her left shoulder, wincing as she curled her shoulders forward.
Roman sighed, dropping his hands to his sides. “You’re not in any condition to compete this year. And talking about sharing a client doesn’t inspire a competitive spirit.” He wasn’t sure what Mr. Dean was up to, but Roman would have to keep his eye on the man. Mr. Dean’s charm alone was enough to make a son worry about his single mother around the older man.
“I’m fine.” Roman’s mom breathed as she closed her eyes. “Actually…” She raised pain-filled eyes to Roman. “Can you call my nurse? I don’t feel very well.”
“Of course.” He stepped forward, thrusting his finger at the bright red call button protruding from the eggshell colored wall lit up with more LED lighting similar to the hallway. When the nurse responded overhead, Roman barked, “My mom is in pain. I need someone in here now.”
“Yes, sir.” There were no questions. Why would there be? Roman could buy that hospital a hundred times over and still have money left over to buy the town. With all the money he’d sent home, he couldn’t figure out why his mother wasn’t in a private suite somewhere with a private doctor and multiple nurses hovering over her.
His mom waved her fingers but didn’t put up too much of a fight as she let her son take her fingers in his. “It’s okay, Mom. We’ll get this taken care of.” He glanced at Mr. Dean and… was Taylor flushed? The pink in her cheeks should have clashed with the auburn in her hair, but instead, it just complemented her green eyes further and high-lighted the smoothness of her skin.
Blast it all. Taylor should be covered in wrinkles and gray hair. Heavier from having children.
His children.
No. Roman shook his head, pressing his fingers to his forehead. He was tired. Jet lag was brutal. There was no way he actually believed she should have had his children.
Except… he did.
“I don’t think we need to worry about the competition right now. With my father’s hip in recovery and your mother’s heart condition, I don’t think it’s necessary to follow through with the competition this year.” Taylor’s chest rose and fell with a deep breath.
Another thing Roman didn’t appreciate noticing. He wasn’t going to sit there and ogle her.
He turned back to his mom, studying her to gauge her conditions.
Sadness drew Mom’s almond shaped eyes downward as she dragged in a ragged breath to try to speak. “We haven’t missed a year yet, though. Everyone looks forward to it. The entire town relies on it.”
Roman gritted his teeth as he cons
idered what his mother was saying. Her pale skin and red-rimmed eyes scared him. Roman had never seen his mother weak and the fact that she was getting older – true, she was only in her upper fifties – was just then slapping him in the face. He’d been able to escape the realization from across the Atlantic.
He moved to sit on the edge of the hospital bed and took her hand in his. “Does the competition really mean that much to you?”
She nodded, weakly squeezing his fingers. “It does. We get a huge influx of new clients every year because of this competition. We can’t miss out on it.”
Growling under his breath, Roman stared at her another minute and then nodded. “Fine. We’ll do it. I’ll run the Wilson end. We’ll win.” He wasn’t cocky, he was confident. He had no doubt in his skills. He would do what he needed to do to win. Then he’d fix his own life. His return home could have two goals, instead of just one.
Taylor scoffed, huffing as she stared at him agape. “You’re joking, right? You’re not going to win. You haven’t been here in years. You have no idea what the rules are, how to match or anything else.” Taylor shook her head, turning to Roman’s mom. “You can’t be serious in letting him take over. I…” Her chest heaved and she shot an exasperated glance at her father. “I need to get going. I’ll make sure someone comes to get you when you’re released.” She leaned over and kissed him on the cheek, revealing the soft curve in her waist and the graceful slope of her ankle.
Neither of which amused Roman in the least.
“Actually, Roman, that would work well for you to take over for me. The other boys are still finishing up the summer rush of applicants and, as you know, we have a huge demand and waitlist on the European market.” Elizabeth nodded at him, but turned her eyes toward Taylor’s retreating back.
Taylor whirled around, her eyes flashing like backlit emeralds. “I can’t partner with him. That would require he stick around, and we all know his track record on that one.” Her arms akimbo and her jaw tight, Taylor resembled a red-haired siren standing in righteous indignation. There was a pain hiding behind her anger and that’s when Roman saw it.
Matched With Her Cowboy Billionaire Ex-Fiance Page 4