Page 31 of A Texas Hero

“But it also doesn’t sound like me at all,” she said. “I don’t use words like ‘cease and desist.’ He’s going to wonder if it’s actually me.”

The phone pinged almost immediately:

Who is this? Zoey? Why are you talking all weird?

“See? I told you!” Zoey’s palms went up.

“That is fine,” Archer said. “We gave him the message. Now we hope he understands.”

The phone was still in hands when it pinged again:

WTF. I just want to get together so you can tell me what I did wrong.

Interesting. Archer showed it to Zoey and her lower lip quivered.

“What did he do wrong?” Archer asked, curiosity getting the best of him.

“Nothing. I feel bad for him. He wanted to get married and I—”

“What did you say?” He couldn’t have heard right. “Married?”

“Yes, he suggested we get married but…we’re not a match.” She shook her head.

Archer scratched his temple. “I’m sorry, I misunderstood. I thought you had dated this man a short time, but this was a long-term relationship?”

Zoey shook her head and her curls bounced. “Nope. I only dated him a month, which is why I was so shocked.”

Archer cursed in Italian.

“We’re going to have to find a better way to discourage him.”

“Do you have any ideas?”

Archer’s only idea was to make the man think Zoey was seeing someone else. But if he ramped up his stalker behavior, he’d discover there wasn’t really anyone new in her life, other than her new employee.

“Wait,” Archer said. “I’ve got it.”

Zoey smiled. “Yeah?”

“It might help if he believed you were at least interested in someone else,” he said. “Not that you necessarily need to be dating anyone, but simply make him think that there’s interest. It might discourage him enough to realize you’re not marriage material.”

“Okay, yeah. I could do that. I don’t have to give him a name.”

He handed Zoey the phone and her thumbs flew across the screen.

“There!” She finished, then showed Archer the phone.

Archer read the text.

Listen, there’s someone else. We’re not dating or anything, but I just can’t get married when I have these kinds of intense feelings for another man. I hope you understand. Also, he’s Italian. I’m so sorry, but you need to move on.

“That’s…that’s good.”

Archer swallowed around the golf ball in his throat. She’d gone ahead and decided to use him in a small way, just as they’d talked about before. The whole fake boyfriend angle.

“Except for apologizing. No need to apologize. Just be direct.”

She held her arms out, stretching to the sky. “Thank you! This feels so…freeing. Telling the truth—there’s nothing like it.”