Page 170 of Her Boss, Her Rancher: Sunrise On The Ranch

He put his head down and nodded. “Do you have a place,Francesca?”

Hearing her real name fall from his lips stymied her. She prayed for strength. “I don’t know what I’ll do, but I have to go back to San Francisco. I can’t hide away any longer. I have to make some hard decisions.”

He nodded again. “I’m only concerned for Sienna’s sake,” he said, unable to hide his bitterness. “I’d like to say goodbye to her.”

A lump formed in her throat. “Of course.”

She stared at him for a long while. He refused to meet her eyes. There was nothing left between them, and it hurt like hell to admit it. “I’m terribly sorry,” she repeated. “Goodbye, Jared.”

He said nothing as she walked out of the room.

A loud crashing sound startled her. It was glass breaking against a wall. Jared’s vivid curses reached her ears.

She cringed but kept on walking, putting one foot in front of the other, feeling just as shattered as the lamp Jared had just destroyed.

Bella glanced out the study window at her father’s mansion. The day was gloomy and gray, matching her mood. Christmas was three days away, but she wished like crazy it would be over already. She put on a happy face for Sienna, making a big deal about her “gampa’s” Christmas tree, all snowy white and flushed with beautifully wrapped presents underneath.

She’d agreed to spend the holidays with her father and that they’d mutually try to patch up their differences. After that, she intended to find a place of her own.

Poor Sienna was confused. She’d settled in nicely at the ranch and though they’d only lived there a few weeks she still mentioned “Tared” often.

And it broke Bella’s heart.

She still remembered Jared’s near tearful goodbye to Sienna. He’d given her her Christmas gift early, a stuffed toy palomino horse with a thick golden mane and a saddle. Sienna slept with the darn thing at night.

Now they were back in Pacific Heights, yet her heart was in Texas with a handsome rancher with dark blond hair and incredible blue eyes.

“How’re you doing?” Yvonne said, coming into the room.

“I’m...okay.”

Yvonne glanced at the papers strewed around her desk. “You’re still at it? I’m glad to see you haven’t given up on your dream.”

“Thanks, Yvonne.” They’d had a nice long conversation the other day and cleared the air. Yvonne wasn’t a threat to her, as Bella had once believed. She was in her corner, and Bella found she’d been overly hard on her father’s wife over the years. She’d apologized, hoping it was enough. Yvonne had a good heart. “I’d go crazy if I didn’t have something to do right now.”

“Marco says tomorrow he’s taking you out to look for a place to lease...for your restaurant.”

“Yes, he is. He’s actually being quite good about it. But I doubt we’ll have much luck, being so close to the holiday and all. People have other things on their mind.” Now that her trust fund was available to her, she had the resources to pursue her dream.

“I can see that you do.”

“I do. It’s just that... I’m not sure of anything anymore. I’ve been going over my recipes and all. But am I ready to open up my own restaurant? I doubt it.”

“You’re hurting, Francesca.”

“Yes.” She wasn’t going to deny it. Yvonne now knew everything. “It was hopeless from the start, but I can’t deny my feelings. I’m in love.”

“Nothing’s hopeless when there’s love involved.”

She shrugged. “Jared was furious with me. He practically kicked me out of his house.”

“After you broke up with him.”

“I know. I did. But...but...”

“You know you can try to speak to him. See if he’s cooled down yet.”

“No, I can’t. He’s not a good fit for me. I need stability in my life. I need a man I can count on. I told you about the incident with Jared taking Sienna on that horse. It shaved years off my life seeing Sienna so frightened. No, Jared and I are too different. We want different things in life.”