Liar!
Fuck.
He did expect to be the only man in Brooke’s life.
He liked being the man Brooke loved. He didn’t want to see her pour out her affection for someone else. He didn’t want to lose what they shared.
He didn’t want to lose her. Ever.
She could be yours if you stepped up.
How would that work?
He couldn’t take her away from school. Long distance would only make things harder.
He and Kristi were a good match. She was here and understood the demands on his time.
So would Brooke!
He tried not to let Kristi see how all this affected him, but her eyes narrowed and flared with anger again.
He had plans with Kristi. He needed someone present and connected to the people around him. Someone who could handlethe high stress and very public role. Kristi was that person. Everyone loved her. They loved her with him.
Being with Brooke would be complicated. It would create gossip. He didn’t care what people said about him, but he’d care if it hurt Brooke.
With Kristi, he didn’t have to worry about that. She knew how to play the public game and she loved it.
Brooke was too private. She’d support him, of course. She’d do anything for him. He just didn’t think she’d be comfortable in that role.
You sure about that?
Right now his thoughts and feelings were all over the place.
And Kristi wasn’t helping. Probably because they hadn’t seen much of each other lately. That was his fault because he’d taken on a very demanding case that needed his undivided attention.
If he was stalling her on the whole marriage thing, it was only because he wasn’t ready to take that major step into the next part of his life.
He’d seen his father’s marriage to Cody’s mom break and how it hardened his father and made him bitter and distrustful. Cody wanted to be sure his marriage would withstand the tough times.
Kristi always supported him. She took upsets, date cancellations, and him either rushing through sex because he was tired or not showing up at all when she wanted him to stay at her place in favor of getting a good night’s sleep at home. But lately she’d been passive-aggressively dropping comments about all of it, letting her unhappiness show.
Again, he took the blame. Work, the board, the ranch, other obligations kept him busy. None of that was going to change.
Was it too much for her to handle in the long run? He wondered about that all the time.
So he’d wait and see, because he really did want to get married and have a family.
When the time was right, he’d be happy to buy the ring and propose, knowing he was walking into the life he wanted.
Just not yet.
They had plenty of time.
Kristi kept a fake smile on her lips for everyone around them to see so no one knew they were fighting. Again. “You do expect her to adore you and only you forever, and you know it. What man wouldn’t like to be worshipped by a beautiful young woman?” She put her hand to his cheek and made him look at her. “You have me, honey. I love you. We have a good thing and it’ll only get better. Don’t ruin it by trying to hold on toherwhen you really don’t want her.”
What if I do?
She softened her tone and stepped closer. “If it’s more attention you need, I’m more than willing to give it to you.” She pressed close and trailed her fingers down his neck to rest on his chest. She shifted slightly and rubbed her breasts against him. “Spend more time with me and less with your cases and the ranch and I will give you everything you need,” she purred.
