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Sweetie glanced at her. “Us?”
Cloe nodded. “I’m staying in Wilder. I can’t leave Mama, Daddy, and Mimi when they’re about to lose everything.”
“They will never lose everything. They’ll always have us.” Sweetie set the swing to swaying. “And what about you and Rome?”
“There is no me and Rome. There never was. It was all a business proposition. The only reason we were together was for him to get the land and me to save the house. Now that Corbin has started foreclosure proceedings, there’s no reason for us to stay married.”
Sweetie smiled sadly. “That certainly makes sense if you and Rome were just business partners. But I don’t think that’s what you were, Cloe. I think you were much more to each other. Even before you got married.”
“There was nothing between me and Rome before we got married.”
“My wedding pictures say differently. There was something between you two even then. A spark of interest. Physical attraction. Whatever you want to call it. Photographs don’t lie.”
“Maybe we just felt comfortable with each other.”
Sweetie stopped pushing the swing and her gaze pinned her. “Just how comfortable did you get with Rome?” When Cloe’s cheeks heated, her eyes widened. “You had sex?”
“It didn’t mean anything. It was just something that happened.”
“It just happened? You don’t ever let things just happen. You plan out everything. You didn’t have sex with Brandon until you’d been dating for close to two years.”
It was the truth. She’d planned out the night she’d had sex with Brandon from birth control to the thread count of the sheets. But with Rome, she hadn’t thought about anything . . . but being in his arms. He had that kind of power over her. The kind that completely obliterated logical, levelheaded plans.
Tears welled in her eyes again. This time, she didn’t try to stop them. “I fell in love with him, Sweetie. I knew he couldn’t love me back—didn’t want to love me back—and I still fell in love with him.”
“Oh, Clo.” Sweetie pulled her into her arms and held her close. “I know. Believe me, I know. I didn’t want to fall for Decker either. We were the complete opposites—lived in completely different towns. Not to mention, he was Jace’s cousin. But love isn’t something you can plan. It just happens. Are you sure Rome doesn’t feel the same way?”
Cloe nodded her head against Sweetie’s shoulder. “After his mama and first wife left him, he doesn’t believe in love anymore.”
“He doesn’t believe or he’s just scared?”
“Both.”
Sweetie huffed. “Men! I swear they can take an extremely simple thing and make it complicated.”
Cloe lifted her head and wiped at her cheeks. “And we don’t?”
Sweetie laughed. “Point taken. But with love, it’s usually the guy who has all the fears.” She sent Cloe a look. “And it’s usually us that have to get them over those fears.”
Cloe wished it were that simple. “He doesn’t love me, Sweetie. I could feel him starting to pull away from me as soon as we started getting too serious.”
“Maybe he wasn’t just worried about you getting hurt, Cloe. Maybe he was also worried about himself.”
Sweetie’s words reminded her of the words Rome had spoken to her right before they’d made love the first time. I wasn’t avoiding you to save you, Cloe. I was avoiding you to save myself. What if Sweetie was right? What if his avoidance hadn’t been because Cloe was getting too close? It was because he was?
She shook her head. “It still doesn’t matter. If Rome’s not willing to give love a chance, it could never work between us.”
Sweetie sighed and pulled her back into her arms. “I’m so sorry, Cloe. I wish you had never married Rome.”
Cloe could have easily stayed in her sister’s arms and wallowed in self-pity. But she knew that wouldn’t do her any good. She might not be the most beautiful or talented Holiday sister, but she had always been the most practical.
She sat up. “You know what? I’m not sorry I married Rome. I learned so much while living on the Remington Ranch. I learned I’m not a city girl. I’m a country girl. I love drafty houses with big porches and gardens filled with bright flowers and a barn filled with animals. Even if we lose the ranch, I’m going to find me and Mama, Daddy, and Mimi a house just like that. It might not be exactly like this one, or Rome’s, but I can still make it a home.”
That was the most important thing she’d learned from marrying Rome.
A house is only a home when you fill it with love.
The Holidays would always have plenty of that.
