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But she didn’t have to let him know that.
“I’ll move out tomorrow. There’s no need to come up with a story to tell everyone. According to Mimi, everyone in town knows why we got married and are taking bets on when we’re getting a divorce. I guess Mrs. Stokes had this week.” She forced a laugh, but it came out sounding nothing like a laugh. “After all her relationships and marriages, the woman obviously knows when two people aren’t going to work.”
She waited for him to say something. But he didn’t say a word. He just stared straight ahead with one hand on the steering wheel and the other fisted on the console between them. She knew he was struggling to find words that would make her feel better. That broke her heart even more.
“It’s fine, Rome. My family will be fine and I’m fine. I know you thought I was getting too attached. But I never thought it was more than it was. I knew this was only a business proposition. Yes, we might have crossed a line we shouldn’t have crossed, but we’re adults. There was no harm done.”
Again, he didn’t say a word. And she was completely out of them. So she joined him in the silence and stared out the windshield.
When they got back to the house, she didn’t wait for him to open her door. As soon as he finished pulling into the garage, she got out and went inside. Casey and Sam had already gone to bed. She made her way up the stairs to her room. Behind her, she could hear the clicks of Rome’s boots. Why the sound seemed so lonely, she didn’t know. She hesitated by her door. She didn’t know what she hoped for . . . a word . . . a touch . . . any sign that something about what they’d shared had been real.
But all she got was the sound of Rome walking past her.
Chapter Eighteen
“Fiona Stokes is claiming she won the betting pool.” Melba shifted the overweight pug in her arms. “But as I have pointed out repeatedly, nothing is official until the divorce papers are signed and that takes at least ninety days. It took Jep and me an entire year. Of course, he fought over everything. Cloe doesn’t seem like the fighting kind.”
At Melba’s words, the heartache Rome had been struggling with for the last few days came back with a vengeance. No, Cloe wasn’t the fighting kind. She certainly hadn’t fought for him. She hadn’t shed one tear or given one damn about leaving him.
All the way back from Houston, a glimmer of hope had remained in his heart—hope that what he had with Cloe was more than just a business arrangement. Then he had walked into the house and overheard her words to her grandmother and that hope had died a quick death.
I don’t love Rome.
He had thought he’d been hurt when Emily left. It didn’t compare to what he’d felt when he heard Cloe speak those words. But he’d gotten through two women he loved leaving him. He’d get through this.
He poured himself another shot of tequila and downed it while Melba set the pug on the bar. The fat pug waddled over to Rome and enthusiastically licked him in the face.
“Would you look at that,” Melba said. “Buck Owens loves you already. And did I mention that he’s smart as a whip and completely housebroke?”
Rome scratched the dog’s ears. “Did I mention that I don’t want another dog?”
She sighed. “Okay. I’ll let you off the hook this time, but only because you’re obviously upset over losing—”
“I’m not upset over losing Cloe Holiday!” he snapped much more harshly than he’d intended.
Buck Owens cowered and hurried back to Melba who was looking at Rome as if he’d just sprouted horns. “I wasn’t going to say Cloe,” she said. “I was going to say the Holiday Ranch. The entire town has known all along why you two got married. You two couldn’t be a more unlikely couple.” She paused and studied him intently. “But maybe we’ve all been wrong.”
“You weren’t wrong. Cloe and I are complete opposites. The only reason I married her was for her family’s ranch.”
“Bullshit!”
Rome glanced up to see Casey standing there with the same scowl he’d been wearing for the last two days. After Cloe left, Casey had refused to talk to him. Obviously, the silent treatment was over.
“You might have only married her to get her land, but losing the land isn’t why you’re sitting here drinking tequila. You screwed up and you know it. Instead of stopping her and telling her how you feel, you let her walk out the door and didn’t do a damn thing to stop her. And she wanted you to. Her eyes were begging you to.”
“She wasn’t begging me for anything but to let her leave without some big scene.” Rome glanced around at the people who had stopped talking and were obviously listening in. “And speaking of making a scene.”
Casey shook his head. “You learned so well from Daddy. Remingtons shouldn’t make big scenes. We have our family name to uphold. If bad things happen, we should just grin and bear it.” He forced a laugh. “And look where that got us. Three lonely bachelors living miserably together.”
“If you don’t like living with me and Daddy, you can always move out.”
“After what you did to Cloe, I’m damn well thinking about it. But before I go, I’m going to knock some sense into that stubborn head of yours. There are times to make scenes, Rome. And one of those times is when the woman you love walks out the door.”
“I don’t love Cloe.” He poured another shot of tequila and downed it. The burning helped him accept the lie.
“The hell you don’t. I saw you two together. I always questioned your love for Emily. But I never questioned your love for Cloe.”
“It certainly looked like love to me.” Mrs. Stokes stepped up to the bar. “And believe me, after all my relationships, I know love when I see it.” She waved at the bartender. “Give me my usual, Smithy.”
