Victoria cringed, making him feel like an ass.He always seemed to screw up around her.
“Well, I’m not.When someone tells you something often enough, you start to believe it.”
“Like being unattractive.”
She cringed again.“Yes.”
“But you’re not.”
Victoria looked away.“Nothing you can say will make me feel better about myself right now, so why even try?”
“Because I don’t want you to hurt.”
“Well, you should have thought about that before you took away the only home I’ve ever had or wanted.”
He stayed crouched down in front of her.They hadn’t talked about her ranch in months.He didn’t want it, and frankly, he never really had it.
“Tell me again what you see when you see your future.”
“Now, nothing.I’ll go back to the city and work, and maybe after a while, meet other people.”
His stomach turned.“That’s not what you told me before?”
“Oh, you mean the fairy tale?”She laughed bitterly.“Yeah, that doesn’t happen for people like me, and I’m okay with it,” she said with a shrug.“Or I will be eventually.”
Cole sat down beside her and gripped her hand when she tried to pull away from him.
“Tell me what the hell happened.You were fine this morning when I left.”
Victoria hesitated.Did she want to embarrass herself by informing him she eavesdropped?“I heard you.”
“Heard me where?”
“At the feed store.”
Cole shook his head.“I’m still not understanding.What did you hear?”
“You talked about always getting what you wanted.”
“Go on,” he said, still not understanding.
“Y-you told Brownie I wasn’t much to look at, but I’d make sturdy babies.”
A look of understanding came over his face before anger darkened it.He stood abruptly, took a few steps away, and turned.He stared at her for a long moment as he ran a hand over the back of his head in frustration.
“You don’t trust me at all, do you?”
Victoria’s head snapped up.Why the hell was he mad?
“Victoria, I was talking about a heifer I bought from a neighbor.”
Victoria’s teeth bit into her lip, and then her chin lowered.
“Look at me.”
She shook her head.
“I said, look at me,” he demanded.
