Best Friend's Ex Box Set

“Yeah.”

“What would that mean for us?” I asked.

I watched her face fall, and that’s when I realized she hadn’t thought through all the implications. All the relationships she’d cultivated and all the people that had come to admire her would disappear. I’d be willing to travel to her when I could, but between the ranch and the restaurant, I’d be pretty busy.

“You’re right,” she said. “I’ll give him a call and tell him—”

“That you’ll think about it,” I said.

“What?”

“Just think about it for a while. Don’t make any hasty decisions. When I’m done shutting down the restaurant and counting the money, I’ll shoot you the final tally, but from what Tif told me earlier, the silent auction alone will help you repair, rebuild, and expand.”

“Are you serious?” she asked.

“Like I said, I’ll get you a final tally tonight. Just, think about it for a bit before deciding either way. It’s a wonderful opportunity that’ll probably never come around again. Whatever decision you make, make it because it’s really what you want.”

“Colt.”

I could see the shock rolling over her face. She expected me to fight her. She expected me to give my opinion and tell her to stay. She expected me to chase her like I’d done all these weeks, but this was different. This wasn’t just protecting her from someone who wanted to do her harm; this was her future.

In the end, I wanted what made her happy. I wanted her to succeed in whatever she chose to do, and by all standards, this job was definitely success in the eyes of an independent horse sanctuary owner.

“Like you said, it’s your dream job. That should at least warrant a few nights of thinking,” I said.

“Everything you’ve done for me,” she said, “how am I ever going to repay you?”

“You don’t have to. That’s the beauty of it,” I said. “I did what I did because I came to care about you. I don’t expect anything in return, and there’s no IOU to pay.”

“You protected me, Colt. That deserves something. The way we…”

When she fell silent, I knew exactly what she was talking about. She was talking about how close we’d grown physically. How empty it now felt to be alone, and how natural it felt when we were together. She was struggling to define something she was scared to, and for once I could understand where she was coming from.

“Go on a date with me,” I said.

“What?”

“With everything we're going through, we’ve never actually been on a proper date. Let me take you out. That’s how you can repay me,” I said.

“Alright,” she said, smiling. “When is this wonderful date going to be?”

“Christmas. I want it to be special, and I don’t want the date influencing the decision you’re going to make with this job.”

“Colt,” she said with a sigh.

“Christmas. That’s how you can repay me. A date on Christmas.”

“Then a date on Christmas it is,” she said. The smile that spread across her cheeks warmed my chest, and I knew I had to make it as special as I could. If she was going to stay, I wanted it to be the perfect start to something that had been brewing between us for a long time.

But if she was going to leave, I wanted her to leave with a positive memory at the forefront of her mind.

?

??Go home and get some rest. I’ll bring the final tally over and stick it under your door before I go home,” I said.

“Or you could just come in and slip into bed. Tonight’s supposed to be pretty chilly,” she said.

“I think I like the sound of that better.”