Page 18 of Broncos and Ballads (Healing Springs Ranch #2)

She hadn’t heard from Brock in five days.

Venus glanced at the text he’d sent her at the Berlin airport the morning they’d exchanged phone numbers.

Brock: I’ll miss you.

If he’d planned on missing her, why hadn’t he texted her?

She flipped her phone over onto the bistro table and sat back in her chair, examining the faded heart and words Brock had written on her palm. They were almost gone now. But she couldn’t deny that she’d tried to keep them there as long as possible all week.

It had been sappy to do so. But she hadn’t been able to stop herself.

She traced the heart as she’d already done more times than she wanted to admit.

As she did so, Reed stepped inside the brightly lit restaurant, combed his fingers through his sandy-blond hair, then glanced around.

As his gaze landed on her already sitting at a table, he started forward through the maze of ferns and bamboo decorations.

She smiled and waved, waiting for the usual rush of feelings to surface—the admiration for his good looks, the happiness of seeing him again after the weeks apart, and the longing to make their relationship more serious.

But even as she willed herself to be excited to have lunch with him, the ring of an incoming text distracted her, and she quickly turned her phone back over.

It was just from Kristin, confirming that she had canceled the last appointments for next week—the vacation week of the fake relationship with Brock. Venus had expected Brock to at least ask her where she wanted to go, but apparently neither Brock nor his people had anything lined up yet.

Maybe he’d changed his mind about taking a vacation with her, and maybe she’d just take the week off to go home to the ranch in Malibu.

Whatever the case, she was glad to spend some time with Reed while he made a quick stopover in New York before flying to Nashville for some publicity stuff.

“Hey,” he said as he neared the table. Unlike Brock, who wore his jeans and boots and cowboy hat because of the ranching lifestyle he’d grown up with, Reed only wore the country attire when he absolutely had to. Most of the time he wore joggers and a long-sleeved tee like he was doing today.

She stood and embraced him. As his arms surrounded her, she closed her eyes and breathed him in, the woodsy spice of the Dior Sauvage Elixir she’d given him for his last birthday. Some of the comfort and warmth of his presence began to penetrate the irritation she’d been harboring toward him.

He pulled back and swept his gaze over her like he usually did.

With her hair pulled back in a sleek ponytail, she was attired in one of the outfits she’d modeled that morning—capris, a cropped bomber jacket, and mules.

She hadn’t wanted to dress up too much for Reed and make a big deal out of their lunch, because it wasn’t a big deal, was it?

They were simply two friends who’d had a misunderstanding and needed to get their friendship back on solid ground.

At least Reed had continued to text her once in a while, even if most of the texts had been in reaction to some of the pictures that had come out regarding her night in Berlin with Brock.

She hadn’t noticed any photographers following them around, but in all the pictures she’d appeared very intimate with Brock, their heads bent close together at the sphere restaurant, lying together on the blanket in the park at an angle that made them look like they were kissing.

Then there was one at the airport of them hugging goodbye.

Someone on his team had arranged for the pictures to be taken and leaked them to the press, including the one of him watching her walk away at the airport, his hands stuffed in his pockets, his shoulders slumped, and his expression filled with obvious longing.

When she’d first come across that particular picture and all the comments about him being in love with her, she’d been surprised and even slightly thrilled that he’d been sad to see her go, which made his lack of communication with her all the more confusing.

“You look incredible.” Reed spoke the words he always did in greeting.

Why didn’t she ever get mad at Reed for focusing on her physical appearance?

Was it because they were friends first and because he’d known her before she’d grown so popular?

Maybe because even though he acknowledged her looks, he’d never displayed any attraction to her.

And she had tried hard over recent months to attract him and had wanted him to notice her in a new way.

The trouble was, his greeting was no different than it had always been, and his words seemed unoriginal, even trite, compared to the compliments Brock had given her.

She hadn’t been able to stop thinking about his last one in the park, where he’d reluctantly admitted she was his inspiration for the new songs he’d been creating.

She’d also appreciated his honesty when he’d asked her not to get mad at him for complimenting her beauty once in a while.

To be fair to him, he’d been better than most men and hadn’t been starry-eyed every time he looked at her.

Maybe there was a secret part of her that wished he had been more enamored, enough that he would want to talk with her again, at least via texts.

She returned to her seat at the table, and Reed took the spot across from her.

They made small talk while they ordered, mainly discussing the wedding, which was only about five weeks away, in early October.

Apparently the wedding planner had already made significant strides in getting everything organized.

It was turning out to be a big event, and Reed’s family was paying for everything and wasn’t sparing any expense.

Venus hadn’t wanted to spend the entire meal discussing the wedding, but it seemed to keep Reed from commenting on her and Brock’s relationship and causing more tension.

Reed wiped his mouth on his napkin before tossing it on his empty plate. “I was thinking we could have a weekend bachelor party in Los Cabos.”

“Have fun with that.” She’d only eaten half of her Mediterranean salad, had learned to eat light so that she wasn’t bloated during photo shoots, and now she set down her fork and took a sip of her seltzer water.

“You’re coming, aren’t you?” Reed’s brows arched.

“I don’t know—”

“You’re my best woman and have to be there.”

“My schedule is pretty full.” She couldn’t imagine spending an entire weekend helping Reed celebrate getting married to another woman. The short time at the engagement party had been bad enough.

“It’s in three weeks. Kristin has plenty of time to rearrange your appearances so you can come.”

She tried not to sigh. Reed knew how things worked too well and that Kristin was good at freeing up the schedule when necessary. “You go on and celebrate with all your friends—”

“I can’t celebrate without you there.” Reed almost sounded offended that she wasn’t eager to hang out with him and some of his closest guy friends.

“Are you inviting Brock?” The question fell out before she could stop it. She supposed the conversation about him was inevitable, and she may as well get it over with.

Reed fidgeted with his spoon. “I wasn’t planning on it. We’re not that close anymore.”

“That’s not true. You invited him to your engagement party.”

“That was before…before…he took an interest in you.”

As with other times, she was tempted to blurt out that her relationship with Brock was only pretend.

Doing so would ease Reed’s mind. But a part of her was embarrassed to admit to Reed that she’d been angry and hurt over his engagement and so had agreed to fake date Brock.

Doing so had been childish, but at the time of the engagement party, she hadn’t known how to handle her feelings.

“You can’t ruin your relationship with Brock. You need his endorsement.”

“I’m doing fine.” Reed’s answer was sharp. “And I don’t care if my friendship with him is ruined.”

“That’s not true.”

“He’s shown me his true colors with you.”

“How so?”

“After seeing the pictures of the two of you in Berlin, I texted him and told him for the sake of our friendship to please break things off with you.”

“You didn’t.”

Reed had the grace to look chagrined, but only for a moment before his brow furrowed over flashing eyes.

“What was his response?”

“He said he’s not breaking things off.”

She couldn’t keep a strange sense of relief from pulsing through her.

“It’s obvious you’ve fallen for his charm and that you aren’t seeing who he is.”

“And who, exactly, is he?”

“I told you he’s a player. He’ll string you along for a little while with his charm, then cast you aside once he no longer has a need for you.”

Her retort stuck in her throat. Was that what had happened this week and why he hadn’t texted her?

Had she fallen for his charm only to have him cast her aside?

Maybe he was already interested in another woman.

If he could lie about being in a relationship with her, what was to prevent him from lying about other relationships?

Reed leaned forward, reached across the table, and grasped both of her hands. “I can see from your expression that you know exactly what I’m talking about.”

If she’d fallen for Brock’s charm, then it was her fault. They had an arrangement to pretend to date. That’s all. Brock wasn’t stringing her along. He wasn’t casting her aside. And if he had an interest in other women, who was she to stop him? Especially when she was interested in Reed.

She patted Reed’s hands. “Don’t worry. Brock and I are getting along just fine.”

“Come on, Venus.” Reed pulled his hands away and crossed his arms. “I know you better than this. And I know there’s something off between you and Brock.”

“We’re better than fine. We’re fabulous.”

Reed scoffed. “If you refuse to listen to me, then don’t come crying when he breaks your heart.”

“So your friendship is now conditional?”

His face fell. “Of course not. I care about you and don’t want you to get hurt.”

“He won’t hurt me.”

“You can’t be sure of that.”

“Please believe me, Reed.” How could Brock hurt her when he’d never made any promises and their relationship wasn’t real?

Reed held her gaze for a moment, then sighed. “To be honest, it’s just hard to see you with one of my friends.”

“Who did you expect to see me with?”

“I don’t know. Maybe I’d be jealous of any guy you’re with because that means you’re not mine anymore.”

Jealous? Because she wasn’t his? She opened her mouth to respond but couldn’t find the words. What did he mean?

He smiled softly. “I’m sorry. That sounds crazy.”

“No, you’re fine.” What exactly had he meant?

“Forget I said anything. Of course you’re not mine. And I have no right to be jealous.”

“It’s okay.” Maybe his feelings ran deeper than she’d realized. Maybe he had liked her as more than a friend but had never been able to express it.

“I guess seeing you with Brock is bringing out the worst in me.”

A part of her wanted to bait him to say more, to admit that he cared about her, to tell him he’d made a mistake in choosing Lexi. But another part of her knew that doing so wouldn’t be right, that she couldn’t influence him against Lexi. After all, she didn’t want Reed to choose her by default.

“It’s just that you’ve never dated anyone seriously. You’ve always been there for me, and now I have to share you.”

Guilt pricked her. What would he say when he realized he wasn’t really sharing her with Brock, that the whole thing was a scam?

His eyes were tender and raw and filled with something she’d never seen there before. Was it love?

Her heart sputtered. It couldn’t be love. Not now. Not after he’d chosen Lexi. Not after he’d already gotten engaged. Not after he had the majority of the wedding planned and paid for.

What if her fake relationship with Brock had finally gotten through to Reed and made him realize there was more to their relationship than friendship?

Maybe fake dating Brock was working after all.

“I have to share you too,” she offered.

“I know.” His response was soft and sad.

She wanted to take hope in their conversation that maybe he still had room in his heart for her. But did she want him to have room? She wasn’t sure anymore, and her indecisiveness surprised her more than anything.

“I tell you what,” he said as he pushed back from the table. “I’ll invite Brock to the bachelor party. Will that entice you to come?”

Having Brock there would make the weekend more bearable. “As long as you promise to behave toward him.”

“I can’t promise. But I’ll try.” Reed didn’t bother hiding the jealousy in his tone this time.

She didn’t know where that jealousy would lead, but it was there. And that was something.