“You said you were speaking at a conference?”
Pippa was much more comfortable talking about work. “I’m a relationship advisor. I’ve written a few self-help books—”
“For heaven’s sake!” Betty whistled through her teeth. “You’re an author? We have a celebrity right here in Colton. Wait until my friends hear about this. They’re going to be lining up at your door wanting advice.”
Not so sure that was a great idea, considering she already had paparazzi sneaking onto the property, Pippa laughed. “I’m not a celebrity, not by a long shot.”
“What was I thinking. You don’t want anyone disturbing your honeymoon. You wouldn’t believe how many women envy you right now. The Jericho cowboys are like gold around these parts. Money, good looks, gentleman…a woman won’t find that just anywhere. More iced tea?”
“No, thank you.”
“You and Roman must stay for dinner. And likewise, if there’s anything you ever need, just holler, That’s what neighbors are for. You’ll find that southern hospitality is alive and well here in this tiny ol’ town.”
Pippa moistened her lips, a little shy about asking a stranger—a near stranger—for a favor. “There is something you could do for me that I’d forever be grateful for.”
“What’s that, hun?”
“I hear you’re a great cook.”
Betty’s cheeks flushed. “That’s the rumor.”
“I’m a little ashamed to admit this, but I can barely boil water. Growing up, my mom always did the cooking. It wasn’t that I wasn’t interested, I guess I just never took the initiative. If you could show me some basics, just so I could get started, I wouldn’t know how to thank you enough.”
“Pippa, it would be an honor. Besides my family, there’s nothing I love more than being in the kitchen. I know it’s a bit traditional for a modern woman like yourself, but it’s always been relaxing for me.”
“I’m starting to realize maybe I’ve been too modern. Living out here in the country, away from fast food and shops at every corner, I’m realizing I’m not the greatest pick for a wife.”
“Don’t worry. Something tells me Roman ain’t in this for what you serve up in the kitchen anyway.” She smiled.
“Oh…” If he was in it just for the sex, what would happen when it wasn’t new any longer? She gave herself a swift internal kick. What was she thinking? Wasn’t this a temporary situation anyway?
“Let me tell you something about Roman. He didn’t marry his first wife for love. Teddy knew it. I knew it. But she lied and told him she was pregnant.” Betty flicked at a napkin in the holder.
“She lied about being pregnant?”
Betty nodded. “He forgave her for the lie, but he wanted a family and she had no interest once she had that ring on her finger. Boy was she something. She had a wonderful husband. A wonderful life and she flushed it down the sink like dishwater. He never was the same after that.”
“Do you think he still loves her?” Pippa’s stomach twisted.
“Oh no. But betrayal changes a man. He seemed to wrap himself in a protective layer, but I knew when the right one came along he’d cave, like most men do. Honey, he’s a loyal one. The best. Please don’t hurt him. He deserves happiness.”
Pippa nodded. “I’d never hurt him.”
Standing, Betty motioned for Pippa to follow. “Your first cooking lesson starts now. Chicken and noodles, corn on the cob and a pie for dessert.”
“I hope I’m up for this.” Pippa stood and swiped her hands down her shirt. Little did Betty know, but Pippa was referring to more than cooking. And hours later while Pippa was in the passenger seat of Roman’s truck, she was still thinking over Betty’s words.
Pippa had no intention of hurting her husband. But what were his intentions? Just as he’d done with wife number one, he’d married Pippa not out of love, but lust. Was this his pattern?
“What did you think of Ted and Betty?” he asked.
She looked at him across the buckle seat. His features were lit up by the dashboard light. “They’re wonderful people.”
“They certainly seemed to have taken a liking to you, just as I knew they would.” He smiled. “Now tell me about this Chicago trip you mentioned earlier.”
“I have a conference in two days. Sal wants me to fly in tomorrow, stay for a day, then I can come home.”
He gave her a side-glance. “I can’t say I’m happy that you’re leaving, but I know you’ll come back. You referred to this place as your home.” His smile grew.
“Yeah, I guess I did. Although I’ve only been here a short time, I’m starting to feel adjusted. Now I anticipate officially meeting your brothers and hope they like me.”
“Trust me, they’re in a hurry to meet you too, but I don’t want them scaring you off. Sometimes they lack a filter. It’s a Jericho flaw.”
“I’m sure they’re amazing, just like you.”
“No one is amazing like me.” He winked.
“Roman Jericho, don’t allow that ego to get out of hand.” She playfully pinched him on the arm.
“I’m only teasing. They’re not half bad. I tolerate them.” There was that teasing smile again.
“Betty told me about your ex-wife, how she lied.” She noticed that his knuckles turned white as he squeezed the steering wheel. She could understand why this was a sensitive subject.
He shrugged. “She was all about lying. I never really knew who she was.”
Pippa’s heart flipped. “Do we ever really know anyone until they show us their faults?”
“I just wish her faults could have been something more acceptable. Leaving her clothes scattered on the floor. Not cleaning up after herself. Eating with her mouth open. Working too much. But no, she liked to sleep with other men.” He scraped his palm down his jaw. “That’s not a fault. That’s a personality flaw.”
She reached over and laid her hand on his thigh, feeling it flex under her fingers. “Just so you know, it was her defect, not yours.”
He continued to stare ahead. “You were good with Brie today. Uma would have sent Brie walking back home and gone back to sleep.”
“Well, I’m not Uma, and cheating isn’t who I am. I don’t know a lot about kids, haven’t spent much time around them, but I had fun with Brie.”
“I always thought by now I’d have a few, but I guess it wasn’t in the cards.”
“You talk as if your life is over. Many people are having kids later in life now.”
“True, but we have a certain plan for our existence and when it takes an unexpected detour, sometimes it can send us way down a road we don’t want to be on. Enough about me. You never have spoken about your last relationship.”
“Because there isn’t much to talk about. We were two different people with different wants. To be perfectly honest, different down to the foods we liked to our sex drives. I was clocking in at sixty and he was in low gear at six. A woman realizes something isn’t right when she’s using her sex toy more than she’s having sex with her partner.”
He squinted and shifted, readjusting himself behind his zipper. “Sorry, sweetheart, but I got an image of you and that toy and it’s bittersweet.” His jaw tightened.
She laughed. “Then you should really get a kick out of knowing I brought it with me.” She wagged her brows.
Some of his tan faded and he swallowed loudly. “I hope you didn’t think you’d need it. My speedometer doesn’t go under fifty. Although, I think you’re going to have to show me how that little friend of yours works.”
“That can be arranged.” Her inner thighs throbbed with the idea of masturbating in front of Roman. Although she’d never done such a thing in front of any man, she felt comfortable enough with him that she wanted to explore new pleasures. For the first time in her life she’d found someone who had a matching libido. Things could get very interesting between them.
CHAPTER TWELVE
ROMAN PULLED THE ear buds from his ears and continued brushing the mare until she
was shiny, then dropped the brush into the bucket. He felt a wrench in his chest. Pippa left last night for Chicago and he missed her—a lot more than he would have imagined.
After he’d dropped her off at the airport, he came home and sat in front of the TV until late. He’d started for the bed when he decided he didn’t want to sleep there alone. He wouldn’t have Pippa’s soft body to comfort him.
“I’ve got it bad, don’t I, Molly?”
The horse reared her head back as if in agreement.
“Can you blame me, girl? She’s come in and taken me by storm.”
Molly pawed the ground.
“Now don’t be jealous. You know you’ll always be my number one girl.” He patted her on the neck and dropped the brush into the bucket
Damn. When did he get so whipped? He was supposed to be a rough and tough cowboy who didn’t have deep, engrained emotions. When it came to Pippa, he was an overprotective, sappy son-of-a-gun. If he didn’t know any better, he was starting to believe he was falling in love.
But it wasn’t possible.
Not in less than a month. Who fell in love with someone that fast?
Who the hell married someone after six hours of meeting them? I did.
Their relationship wasn’t the traditional type, but they had a connection that couldn’t be ignored. He didn’t want to.
He stuck the mare back into the stall, then headed outside to the fenced area where mama sheep and her lamb were waiting. He laughed. “You didn’t think I would forget you, did you?” Roman reached into his pocket and took out a small, plastic baggie that was filled with lettuce. He took two wedges out and gave each of the animals one. They munched on the vegetable and he nuzzled the lamb behind the ear.
“I see you’re still treating those animals better than humans.”
Roman’s body stiffened—and not in a good way. He crushed the lettuce in his palm, slowly turning on his heel, hoping he was only imagining the sound of a voice from the past. But there she was, in flesh and blood.
“Hello, there, cowboy. Long time no see.” Uma tilted her hip and the hem of her shorts lifted high, exposing more tanned skin.
Roman wished he could deny her beauty—and her sex appeal. Tall, dark hair, dark eyes, and a body that could make a man sweat—but Roman had been there and done that, and the shine had dulled. Especially knowing how many men she’d allowed to polish her diamond. He gave his head a quick shake. “What are you doing here?”
“Oh now, Ro. Is that any way to greet somebody with our history?” she practically cooed the words.
“Yes, in fact, it is.”
She sashayed her way to him, her smile widening and those hips shifting like a pendulum. “I heard the news. I guess congratulations are in order.” She placed her hands on hips, the ring on her left hand glinting.
“You couldn’t have sent that by text? Social media? Carrier pigeon?”
“Not when you refused to give me your number and blocked me from Facebook,” she whined. “What a naughty boy you’ve been.”
“That should have told you something,” he growled. He brushed passed her, pulled off his gloves and tossed them onto the workbench. He turned and she was beside him again, so close that he got a whiff of vanilla.
“I can’t say that I expected any woman would sink her claws into you. Took me long enough.”
“And it took a lie.” He narrowed his gaze, old wounds being stripped of their scabs.
She squinted as if he’d hurt her feelings, but she recovered fast. “I didn’t lie,” she snapped.
“Come on, Uma, isn’t it time you stopped with the games?”
She blew out a long breath. “You still can’t be heartbroken over the past, honey. I was too young for kids. We should have enjoyed each other before we were strapped down.”
“Too young to keep your legs closed too, apparently.”
“I’m not here to argue, Ro.”
“Then why are you here?”
She stepped closer until they were toe-to-toe, and she played with the top button of his shirt. It came undone. “I’m not ashamed to admit that when I heard about your marriage, I was jealous.”
“What does your fiancé’ think of this revelation? Or maybe he doesn’t mind your extracurricular activities.”
“Donny understands that a bird needs to fly.” She slipped the tip of her fingers inside of his shirt, rubbing his chest, skimming her nails over his nipples.
He backed up and her hand dropped to her side. “Then Donny’s an idiot.”
She smirked. “No, the idiot was you, letting me go. I was the best thing that happened to you.”
He chuckled. “Don’t flatter yourself.”
“Oh and you think this Pippa Wilder is better for you?” She sniffed loudly. “She ain’t a country girl, love.”
“Is that why you’re here, to give me relationship advice?”
“No.” She stomped forward, wrapped her arms around his neck and before he could respond, she pressed her lips against his, rolling the tip of her tongue along the seam as she cupped his zipper. His cock jerked, but his brain overpowered any feeling and he stayed flaccid. Her large breasts pressed against his chest, firm and swollen, but nothing like Pippa’s soft body that seemed to mold with his palms. He reached up and grabbed Uma’s shoulders, giving her a gentle push as he stepped back, swiping the back of his hand across his lips as if he could wipe away the kiss.
“Damn it, Uma! What the fuck was that for?”
“Ro, admit the truth. You still love me.” She stamped a cowgirl boot, sending up a cloud of dust from the barn floor.
“But it’s not true. I was over you the second I watched you leave Second Chances.”
“I’ve changed though. Please.”
“Don’t lower yourself. It’s over. It’s been over.”
She came up behind him, sliding her arms around his waist, pressing her breasts into his back. “I still love you. I still want you. I can make you happy.”
He shook his head. “Come on, stop. I couldn’t make you happy, couldn’t satisfy you. And apparently that new fiancé can’t either. I’d say the defect is in you, sweetheart.”
She pulled away. He turned in time to see bitterness spread over her delicate features. “How dare you speak to me like this! Who the hell are you? A dried up rodeo star who was so desperate that he married a woman he met in Vegas.” She laughed. “Yeah, you two can tell the media anything you like, can make up a romantic story of love and soul mates, but I know the truth. I know she wasn’t in the picture until the day you met her.” Her nose wrinkled.
“Ah, there’s the Uma that I know. Good to see that she’s back.” He chuckled.
“Fuck you, Roman!”
“No, thank you. You’ve already done enough of that.”
She took a step back. “You’re going to regret this, I promise.”
“I did. The second I said ‘I do’ to you.” Cold fire raced through his veins. All of the hurt she’d caused, all of the betrayal, washed away. “You need to leave now,” he demanded.
Her face softened, desperation marred her lovely face, making her ugly. “Oh come on, Ro. Are you sure I can’t entertain you with a sample of the past?” She slid open her thighs slightly, walked her fingers slowly from one knee to the hem of her shorts, dipping her fingers inside one leg. What was meant as a power seduction only made him sick.
“I’m very sure. Now leave.”
With a groan, she crossed the hay strewn floor, stopping beside him. “The offer won’t stand for long.”
“Well, consider it null and void as of right now.”
With a huff, she marched out of the barn. A few seconds later, he heard the slamming of the door and the low hum of the engine of her car as she drove down the lane.
His balls ached, but not for a romp with his tall, sexy ex. He had a feeling he just landed himself in deep shit and even his best intentions wouldn’t provide a big enough shovel to dig himself out.
*****
>
Pippa sat in her apartment, sitting in her favorite comfortable chair by the window sipping a cup of herbal tea, attempting not to see the newspaper Sal had placed on the glass table between them.
“So, you’re just going to ignore this?” Her manager asked from where he sat.
She stared out of the window into the rainy morning of Chicago, a trip that was only supposed to be two days and turned into three. The rain drops pelted the window in musical harmony, but she could barely concentrate on anything but her inner turmoil. She didn’t want to show Sal any emotion. She wanted to remain strong, believe in her husband and the fact that there must be an explanation. “What would you like me to do, Sal? Cry? Scream?”
“Let’s see, the headline reads, “The relationship expert didn’t see this one coming.”
When Sal had brought the newspaper in and laid it down in front of her, she’d skimmed the headline and the interview that Roman’s ex-wife had given, but Pippa couldn’t seem to get passed the picture of Roman with Uma in his arms. They were standing in the barn, and although it was obvious a photographer had taken the picture unknowingly from a hiding spot, it was what it was…and it hurt her. The proof was in black and white. His ex-wife had stated that she and Roman were considering getting back together. Pippa didn’t believe it. Didn’t want to believe the lies.
Taking a sip of her tea, it went down like a box of rocks.
Who was she kidding? She barely knew Roman. He wouldn’t be the first man to want his cake and eat it too. Yet, this didn’t make sense.
Pippa was certain Miss Uma-Ex was paid a sizable fee for spilling her lies. It seemed the media was having a feast in disclaiming Pippa and making her look like a foolish woman.
“I knew this would happen,” Sal said in an annoyed tone.
Pippa turned her cheek, narrowing her gaze on him. “That ‘what would happen’?”
He shrugged a beefy shoulder. “You were tired, feeling down when you left for Vegas. I knew I should have tagged along. I would have helped you keep your logic in place.”
She shifted in the chair, placing her feet flat on the thick carpet. “Whether you want to believe it or not, marrying Roman wasn’t an irrational action.” She set her cup down with a crack. “Even now I would do it all over again.”
Roman's Choice (Saddles & Second Chances Book 1) Page 11
