Roman didn’t say anything as he stared at her. The silence stretched from a pause into an uncomfortable minute and then three.
Taylor scooted forward, looking down at the calendar and staring blankly at the list of topics she’d written down to talk about with Roman. “Um, I feel pretty good about how this is going. I think the dates have been good? I haven’t had a chance to really go on the ones I was supposed to supervise.” She laughed nervously. “Okay, actually, it wasn’t that I didn’t have the chance, it’s that I didn’t take the chance and I shirked my responsibility. I’m sorry. I usually do better.”
“Do you know why I came here? Why I came back to Mistletoe?” Roman didn’t move much as he continued piercing Taylor with his gaze.
She blinked, trying to swallow a noticeably dry mouth. “No. I mean, I assume it had something to do with your mom, but I… I wasn’t told anything different.”
Roman leaned forward, a waft of his cologne slipping its way over the table and curling around Taylor’s senses. “I came back to recover from my divorce and to face the things I’ve done in my past. I just wanted to win, more than anything. I was willing to do whatever it took; you know?” He searched her face as if he might find absolution in her features.
“I understand. I want to win, too.” Taylor nodded gently at him. She found it easier to be magnanimous with the control of her life at her fingertips.
“No, you don’t. Stephen…” Roman dropped his gaze to his hands.
Taylor took the opportunity to shake her head. “He doesn’t care about me, Roman. I think it was just a misunderstanding. It’s okay. I spoke with him about it. It’s not a big deal.”
“It is a big deal. He asked me to help him throw the competition. He wanted you to lose so he could have a shot at you, consoling you after you lost. I… I agreed. I said I would get Olivia to choose me. And I can. All I have to do is tell her to choose me and it’s final. She wants to marry me and my money, anyway. I’m not sure the contest is even viable at this point. I don’t want to be with Olivia but I still have to try to win for my family. At the same time, I want to lose because I want a shot with you.” Roman lifted his serious gaze to Taylor.
He wasn’t lying. He wasn’t making it up.
Slumping back against the rear of the chair, Taylor blinked back tears. “You were going to cheat?” She didn’t understand. “But my family needs the win, too. It’s not just you. It’s not just your family. The whole town needs this, Roman. This is a huge reason why Mistletoe is one of the last towns in four states that hasn’t been taken over by commercialism, factories, or been abandoned when things got hard. Everything about this place ties into this contest. Everything about our livelihoods is centered around our matchmaking. You’re treating it like a game. Like you can come in and out of this place and do whatever you want.”
She pressed the backs of her hands to the damp skin under her eyes and took a deep breath. “No. You don’t get to do this to us.” She stood, shaking her head and gathering her things together. “We only have three weeks left, but let me tell you. I’m not backing down. You better up your game or you’re going to lose. There’s a reason I picked Stephen out and it’s not because he’s a good match for me. It’s because I know how to match. All of my experience, all of my instinct is telling me Stephen is perfect for Olivia. I never second guess my gut. I suggest you get your head in the game and work on making Olivia choose you, because everything in me is saying you’re not good for her.”
“Who does your heart tell you is a good match for you?” Roman stared at her, challenging her with his blue gaze and the set to his masculine lips.
“That’s none of your business.” Taylor finished packing her things and she moved to the door.
“It’s my business, if it’s me.” Roman called after her and Taylor stopped.
She slowly turned on her heel, her eyes narrowed as she stared him down. “Let me be clear. You’re not my match. Not anymore.” Before he could say another word, Taylor stormed from the conference room, flinging the door shut behind her.
It didn’t matter that her heart screamed for her to accept that her match was Roman. It had always been Roman. She had to accept that she wasn’t going to win if she lost and she wasn’t going to win if she won. No matter what, Taylor was up a creek without a horse to ride out on.
No, what mattered was that she was getting control of her life again and she had proven to herself that she could survive Roman’s presence. Even if she needed to escape to somewhere private to recover every time she came across him.
Dang the man and her heart. If Taylor wanted to survive living in that town, she needed to buck up and figure out a way to keep as much distance between them as possible.
Or she wasn’t going to be able to keep her heart intact.
Chapter 24
Roman
“I don’t mean…” But Roman was too late. Taylor ducked out of sight. Walking out of the offices before Roman could stop her.
Taylor was gone and Roman didn’t have it in him to chase after her.
Brock ducked his head in, not-so-subtly checking his watch and arching an eyebrow. “Don’t forget, tonight you’re supervising the contestants’ date. You’ll need to get ready and over there by five.”
“Got it. Thanks.” After Brock closed the door again, Roman hung his head and nodded, slowly. He’d forgotten about the date. Things couldn’t be more awkward. He was dating Olivia, supposedly, while also showing up during her dates with Stephen. That wouldn’t feel like a third wheel situation at all.
He glanced at his own watch, wincing at the later hour. He only had a couple hours before he would have to go on the date. He had a list of tasks to do before he went. One of which, he had to figure out the sliding scale for how the date rating went. Brock had handled the last two dates for Roman, but he had to do the final one based on the rules of the contest.
He could do it. Except now, he not only had the pressures of the date ahead of him, he also had to deal with the gnawing pit of worry in his stomach about Taylor.
She knew and the look on her face had been full of disappointment. How many times was Roman going to disappointment Taylor before they both learned just how toxic he really was for her?
Just before the time for the date arrived, Roman straightened his cowboy hat and glanced back over his desk and the rest of his office. He wasn’t forgetting anything, yet he couldn’t help thinking something wasn’t right.
Probably the fact that he wasn’t happy with how things had ended with Taylor. He’d wanted to be honest with her, but he hadn’t done things the way he would have originally planned, if he’d even planned out that kind of a thing.
Sighing, Roman closed the office door and waved at Austin standing by the vending machine they’d brought in for the holidays. Free drinks and treats were always fun for clients and staff alike. It didn’t matter that the only staff they had was each other.
Climbing into his rig, Roman clenched his fingers around the steering wheel and shook his head. What was he doing? He had to admit – at least to himself – that he hadn’t been thinking clearly to offer himself as a suitor. Sure, at the time, it had seemed brilliant. He’d win, prove he was important to the town, prove that he could do what they needed him to do, and that would be that. But now… after talking with Brock, his mom, David, and Taylor, he couldn’t help but feel like he was the dumbest one in the room.
Snowflakes as large as nickels fell from the sky, drifting to clutch onto his truck and windshield. The sun had set minutes before. Roman started the engine, deciding not to wait for the rig to warm up completely before backing out of his spot and roaring down Main Street.
The date was three blocks over at the diner. Apparently, no one wanted the contestants to take their dates outside of town which made sense considering the whole point of the matchmaking contest was to get attention on the town.
All of the bed and breakfasts, hotels, dude ranches, and vacation rentals by owner wer
e booked out starting that weekend until after New Year’s.
Both families were doing their job for the economy. Roman hadn’t realized how much he’d let his family down and the town. How much damage had he done to the matchmaking families’ names by walking away from a marriage? He wasn’t convinced he was the best thing for Taylor, but he didn’t have that confidence anymore that they weren’t right for each other. He’d been so determined to protect her from him, that he’d missed the point that they could grow together, become successful together, make each other happy.
Parking the rig, he climbed out, taking in the full size of the diner in the small town. Bright lights warmly welcomed the patrons and Roman realized he’d missed this Montana café feel in the restaurants he’d gone to in France and other parts of Europe. There was something to be said about bright colors, loud ranch hands, and waitresses yelling out orders sprinkled with colorful terms describing the food.
Olivia hated it.
Roman couldn’t love it more. He strode through the front door of the diner, scanning the crowded restaurant as he pulled off his hat.
Olivia and Stephen sat in a booth on the far side. Olivia threw her head back and laughed, the sound genuine and full of mirth.
Roman had never heard her laugh like that before.
Furrowing his brow, he approached the booth with a professional smile on his face. Stephen had dressed like a businessman with a charcoal suit over a white button up shirt. Shiny black dress shoes completed the ensemble.
Olivia wore a lavender sheath dress with beading around the collar and hem that fell below her knees. Her hair had been plaited into a French braid with flowers woven in.
Roman felt severely underdressed in his jeans and mint green button up shirt. He pulled a chair over from the extra stack by the kitchen door and grinned as he sat on the end of the booth. “How’s it going, you two?”
Olivia’s wide smile shifted to one of politeness as she flicked her gaze from Stephen to Roman and back again. “I was just about to excuse myself to the ladies’ room.” She offered a smile as she slid from the booth and skirted around Roman. She peeked at Stephen from under her eyelashes and then disappeared toward the restrooms.
Roman turned his attention to Stephen who watched Olivia walk away.
Then Stephen leaned over the corner of the table and dropped his gaze to Roman’s face. “Look, man, we need to rethink our strategy.”
Roman sat back, folding his arms while studying Stephen. “What do you mean, our strategy?”
Stephen shot a nervous glance in the direction Olivia had disappeared. “I got a flat out no from Taylor, which if I’m being honest, I’m not surprised about. Hurt, sure, surprised no.” He sighed, and nodded. “So… I’ve been giving Olivia a little bit of a chance and I have to be honest. Now? I want to win.” He paused for dramatic effect then continued. “I know that messes with your plans, but I really don’t want to miss out on my chance with someone I might actually be clicking with. I don’t want to make you unhappy, but I was hoping there might be a chance you’d want to cancel our agreement? Best man wins?” He arched his eyebrows high, questions rich in his expression.
Best man for Olivia would win. Roman wasn’t sure he wanted anything to do with the contest anymore. If he lost because Olivia wanted Stephen, then so many people would win. Not his family, but maybe he could do something about that still.
And most likely, not Taylor now. She would think he’d gone and swung the contest the other way at that point. Once a cheater, always a cheater.
Wasn’t that how people thought?
He didn’t want to dump those problems on Stephen, though, so he nodded, patting the table. “Got it. Olivia is just a friend of mine. Let me talk to her to make sure she’s onboard with everything. Sound good?”
Stephen didn’t answer as his eyes widened and focused on something behind Roman. “Olivia, are you ready to order?” Stephen half-stood until the table created an obstacle on his legs. He sat back down, but held his gaze on Olivia who stopped beside Roman’s arm. “Actually, Stephen, I think I left my wrap in the car. Would you mind?”
Stephen slid from the booth without question and nodded. “Of course. I’ll be right back. Don’t go anywhere.” He laughed at his own joke and darted from the diner.
Olivia reclaimed her seat, leaning toward Roman and glancing past his shoulder.
Roman wanted to ask if he was in some kind of de ja vu play where they mirrored each other’s actions, but he kept his mouth shut.
“Okay, so, I know I agreed to choose you at the end of this game or whatever it is, but…” Olivia turned her eyes on Roman and tilted her head. “I just don’t think you and I would be a good fit and I don’t want to miss out on something that might actually be right for me.”
“What are you saying?” Roman needed to hear it clearly from her lips what she meant before he started making plans to lose the contest. A lot of people would be affected one way or the other. He’d need to prepare for the loss by putting things into place for the rest of his brothers and the business. “Stephen’s going to be back in a second.”
Olivia waved her hand. “No. The wrap isn’t out there. I just needed a minute to talk to you.” She reached out, resting her fingers gently on Roman’s forearm. “Look, I love you but only as a friend. I don’t want to date you anymore, fake or not. I’m really hitting it off with Stephen. He gets me. I know he doesn’t make much money and he only has the one restaurant, but I don’t care. He… he pays attention to me and sees me for me.” She shook her head. “I’m probably being stupid, but I just don’t think he cares about my money and that makes me feel really good. He pays for everything. He drives me everywhere. I mean…” She shrugged, a goofy smile on her lips.
Roman’s own confusion disappeared. “You know what? I just want you happy, Olivia. If he’s going to make you feel happy, then I’m all for it.” He sincerely felt that way.
“But what about the contest?” Olivia drew her eyebrows together as she studied him. “I know it means a lot to you.”
Roman nodded, dropping his hands to his lap. “You know what? I know all the people you want to bring in for the matchmaking. I’ll see if the Deans want to split them. Or I can just get more people to come this way. I can think of a few socialites who would love a chance at a Montana cowboy. Can’t you?”
Olivia’s eyes widened and her mouth formed an O. “I can think of about thirty without even really trying. Is that what you’re thinking? Pushing the cowboy factor? Because if so, I think you’re brilliant.” She tapped the table in front of her with a nail painted to match her dress.
“Those are my thoughts exactly.” Roman quirked a side smile at his long-time friend. “Honestly, I’m glad you chose him and not me. But we do have to keep up appearances. I need you to appear indecisive until the contest is complete. You can announce him. You can even tell him in secret that he’s the one you want, but you can’t tell anyone else. Do you understand? I’m already in trouble for a lot of things. I’d hate to lose any other ground I might get with this.”
“I completely understand.” She smiled as Stephen slipped into the seat. “I’m so sorry. I couldn’t find it. Can I buy you another one?” His earnestness was endearing, even to Roman.
“It’s my fault, Stephen. I thought I’d left it outside and I had it the whole time. Thank you.” Olivia stared at him with large eyes.
It was almost as if Roman had disappeared. The sensation was odd and not one he was used to feeling. He patted the table and stood. “Well, guys, if it’s okay with you, I’m going to call it a night. I’ll see you both at the next event. Olivia, we have a date tomorrow night, but do you think we can push it off until next week? I haven’t been feeling… great lately. Does that work for you?”
He almost chuckled as Olivia nodded but didn’t look his way. They were oblivious to him and Roman was completely fine with it. He just hoped he could get his family’s forgiveness when everything fell down on announcemen
t day.
Brock had made it clear that the family needed to win.
Taylor had made it clear she wasn’t happy with his cheating.
There was only so much he could do before he made someone unhappy. He just wasn’t sure who that would be and how.
Chapter 25
Taylor
Taylor didn’t know how long she was going to be angry. She tried to breathe through it, went home and attempted to do some yoga or meditation or anything that might clear her mind, but instead, she just ended up staring into space as she went over and over the information Roman had given her.
He claimed other men liked her. That was a crock. He didn’t know the first thing about other men or her.
Taylor couldn’t focus. That night she couldn’t focus. She put her soup spoon in her water cup and then tried using her phone to turn off the television.
She went through her schedule for the next day and cleared things enough in the morning she could go and talk to her dad. She had to be able to get things off her chest. What was Roman thinking to be cheating like that? He was cheating and she was going to lose because of it.
In more ways than one.
At her dad’s place the next morning, Taylor knocked before storming inside, her anger growing again as the chance to vent grew closer. Shutting the door behind her, Taylor walked through the front room and into the sitting room in the back of the house. “Dad? What are you doing? Where are you?”
“Back here, Tay. You okay?” Dad’s voice pulled her further into the house, toward the sunroom past the large game room. “We’re back here.”
We? Who was we? Great. She had to get the issues off her chest and she didn’t want any of her sisters to hear her. Taylor gritted her teeth and strode to the sunroom anyway. She might not want to complain to anyone else, but she needed to get her frustration out. She had too much to do and her anger was getting in the way.
Matched With Her Cowboy Billionaire Ex-Fiance Page 19
