Cindy pressedher nails into her clenched fist. He didn’t like her. She should have sent him a more recent picture. If she’d taken a more accurate photo, maybe he wouldn’t be so shocked. She’d put on a bit of weight since the photos had been taken, but surely not enough to make him turn her away. Or maybe he didn’t like curvy women. That was the only reasonable explanation for his sudden change ofheart.
“I know I’ve gained a few pounds, but I didn’t intend to deceive you,” she said. “You seemed like such a nice man. I didn’t think you’d be so obsessed with myappearance.”
“I’m not fixated on looks,” he said. “Trust me, you look dammed good, but I wasn’t joking. My sister-in-law set this whole thing up. She’s a bit crazy right now because she’s been having a rough pregnancy. Honest to God, she’s the person you’ve beentalkingto.”
“You’re not kidding?” sheasked.
“No.” Hesighed.
“I thought I was coming here to get married,” she said. “I left my job, my friends, and my family behind to be with you. I drove all the way from Virginiaforyou.”
Not really. Her motivation to hide was what drove her to sign up for the online dating site. They’d promised to find her the perfect husband. They’d advertised that seventy-five percent of their matches had ended in marriage. And what better way to hide from her past than to marry a cowboy on a remote ranch inMontana?
“If you need a place to stay for a bit, we have room,” he said. “But you can’t stay for more than a few days. We have a bed and breakfast and a new group of guests are coming in the day afterValentine’sDay.”
“That’s a week away,”shesaid.
“Yep. So you have a week to figure things out. I’ll make sure Madison and my brothers take care of you while you’re here. It’s the least we can do considering thecircumstances.”
As he smiled, a dimple appeared on his cheek. Shaggy brown hair hung down to partially obscure his hazel eyes. He looked just like his picture. Tan, strong, ripped. His arms flexed under the weight of the metal contraption he had flung over his shoulder. Even though snow covered the ground, he wore a black T-shirt and jeans. How he wasn’t freezing his butt off wasbeyondher.
When she looked up, she caught him openly assessing her too. She dropped her gaze but couldn’t stop a smile from spreading acrossherface.
He cleared his throat. “I need to get back to work, but let me put this away and I’ll walk you over to theB&B.”
“Okay,”shesaid.
As he strode toward the huge red barn, she admired the way his jeans clung to his butt. A rush of heat flooded her face. Too bad the whole thing had been a hoax. But how could she be mad at Madison when she was also lying? What were the chances that she’d end up withanotherliar?
She sighed. She never used to lie. But over the past year, telling the truth had become a liability. She couldn’t afford to have anyone discover her secret. At least Drew wasn’t kicking her off of his property. She’d have a week to come up with a new plan and she was nothing if not resourceful. But the thought of running again made her stomach ache. The stress of constantly looking over her shoulder was getting to be too much. Eventually the past would catch up to her. It was only a matteroftime.
“Let’s get you set up,” Drew said. “Can I get your luggage fromthecar?”
“Yes,thankyou.”
At least he was being a gentleman about everything. It wasn’t his fault that his sister-in-law had decided to find a woman for him. Interesting, considering he was the kind of man who should be surrounded by hot women. Maybe there was something inherently wrong with him that shecouldn’tsee.
She shrugged. Oh well, she wouldn’t get the chance to get to know him anyway. Everything she’d thought she’d known about him had been a lie. Well, some of it had to be true. He was clearly a cowboy and he did live on the ranch, so it wasn’t all fabricated. But was he really as sweet as he seemed to be when she’d talked to himonline?
Ugh, but you didn’t talk to him at all.She’d have to keep remembering that for all intents and purposes, he was a completestranger.
As they trudged through the snow, she inhaled the crisp mountain air. It smelled so much cleaner than the air in LA. She’d lived up in the Hollywood hills above a dense layer of smog, but the air had always seemed to carry the scent of frantic desperation. She knew thefeelingwell.
Drew hauled her heavy luggage out of the back seat of the car as if it were lighter than air. His arms rippled with strength as he hoisted the bag into his arms. Her heart fluttered for a moment. Too bad their online relationship wasn’t real. She’d love to have him lift her into his arms and carry her like that. She’d never been so jealous of an inanimate object inherlife.
The trip to the bed and breakfast didn’t take more than a couple of minutes. When they reached the porch, Drew stomped hisboots.
“Madison will have a fit if you track any mud into the house,”hesaid.
“Okay.” She pounded her feet on the wood until every last drop of snowfelloff.
He opened the door and waited for her to pass. As she stepped into the foyer, her breath caught in her throat. It was just as beautiful as the pictures Madison had sent. At least there was some truth in theirexchanges.
“I don’t know which room Madison wants to put you in, so I’ll just pick one,” he said. “She’s probably hidinganyway.”
“Hiding?”
Was Madison afraid of what Drew would do to her? He didn’t seem like a violent man, but some men were particularly good at hiding it until it wastoolate.
