Page 81 of Cowboy’s Christmas Baker

“It was nice of Valerie to bring you over,” Harrison said. “She surprised me tonight with her know-how.”

“Valerie’s full of surprises,” Mal said fondly.

There was an awkward pause, the first since he’d come downstairs.

Mal decided to bite the bullet.

“Did she make you uncomfortable?” she asked. “With that thing she said?”

“What thing?” Harrison asked, looking genuinely confused.

Mal felt her cheeks heat, and she dropped her eyes to her plate. She might feel like a fool again. But she wasn’t going to give up now.

“About a ring,” she said softly.

“Oh, that,” Harrison said. “Why would that make me uncomfortable?”

Mal lifted her eyes to his, waiting.

“Does it make you uncomfortable?” he asked softly, after a moment.

“Not even a little bit,” she told him, setting her chin. “I want a family. I always have. But I know it’s not what you want.”

“What makes you think that?” he asked, his brow lowered like he was angry.

“You told me yourself,” she said.

“When?” he demanded.

She blinked at him, completely thrown.

“One of the first times we chatted online,” she said, rallying. “We were talking about Penny, and about how you could never find anyone to take her place. You told me you would never remarry. You said you had sworn off women.”

“Oh,” Harrison said. “Yeah. I guess I did say that.”

Mal nodded.

“But that was before I got to know you,” he added quietly.

Her heart squeezed, wishing it could be true.

“I could never take Penny’s place,” she said.

“I would never ask you to,” he said right away. “You have your own place in my heart. And in Katie’s too.”

“We barely know each other,” Mal said, trying to gather her feelings.

“That’s not true, Mallory,” Harrison said gently. “We know each other very well. Better than most people on their hundredth date. We got to know each other before we ever even thought about dating. We’ve seen each other in our darkest, lowest moments.”

Her eyes found his again.

He was right. In some ways, he knew her better than her friends. She had told him things she couldn’t bear to add to anyone else’s burden.

And he had always understood.

“We’ve been there for each other,” she acknowledged.

“Good days and bad,” he said with a crooked smile.