“Cole? You in there?” Cole’s younger brother, Sam, was yelling out in the hall. This was one of the downsides of having his two brothers living on the family ranch. Separate houses for both Sam and Kane, and even at opposite corners of the sprawling property, but still, very little privacy.
Cole shut off the water and grabbed a thick white towel from the heated chrome bar, another luxury he appreciated greatly on days like today. “Yeah. I’m in here. What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I just meant to talk to you about something today, but we haven’t had a spare minute.”
And this was my spare minute. “Let me throw some clothes on. Grab a beer or something and I’ll join you in a few.”
“Got it.”
Cole ruffled his hair with the towel, then wrapped it around his waist. Padding into his walk-in closet, he grabbed clean jeans and a plaid shirt, and joined his brother. Sam was out in the kitchen, sitting on one of the eight hand-tooled leather stools at the bar overlooking the center island topped with black Ashford marble. Much like the bathroom, no expense had been spared in the kitchen, with state-of-the-art stainless appliances and—something Cole considered a necessity for his coffee habit—a commercial grade espresso machine.
“What’s up?” Cole headed straight for the subzero refrigerator and pulled out the steak he’d been looking forward to all day. He set it on the counter to let it come to room temperature.
“Dani’s back in town.”
Cole froze for a moment, letting those words sink in. He turned around. “What did you say?”
“Danica? Your ex-girlfriend? She’s back in town. I thought you’d want to know.” Sam threaded his fingers through his thick brown hair, a shade or two darker than Cole’s. His blue eyes were plaintive, as if he expected Cole to accept the truth, regardless of the implications. Five years younger, Sam had a way of just coming out with things. There wasn’t much diplomacy.
“Of course I know who you mean.” Cole strode over to his brother and folded his arms across his chest. “Back or just visiting?” He hadn’t seen Dani in nearly six years. That time had helped dull some of the sting of their breakup, but he lived with the reason for it every day. It was sitting inside his brain, just waiting to kill him.
Sam took a quick swig of his beer. It was the last bottle of Cole’s favorite IPA. He never should’ve been so generous as to offer his brother a drink. “From what I heard, she’s back. She’s working as head chef at the Glass House over at the Bellamy.”
“Not surprising.” By all accounts, Dani had been wildly successful in New York. So much so that Cole was shocked she’d ever return. What job could be so enticing as to make her step off a big stage onto the decidedly smaller one in Royal?
“I just thought you would want to know. In case you want to look her up. Or something.” Sam shrugged. “I don’t know if she’s still single, but you are. And I know one thing for sure—you were a hell of a lot more fun when you were with Dani.”
“Hey. That’s not fair.”
“It’s the truth.”
Cole didn’t bother disguising his grumble. “I know better than to go barking up that particular tree. Dani would rather choke me than talk to me.”
“Can you blame her? You broke her heart, Cole.”
“I had my reasons. You know that better than anyone.”
“And six years later, you’re still alive while the woman you used to be madly in love with has just moved back to town. Maybe I’m nudging you in the right direction.”
Cole shook his head. “I don’t need nudging, but thanks. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“That’s it?” Sam got up from his bar stool and knocked back the rest of his beer, tossing the bottle in the recycling bin.
“The Dani chapter of my life is closed. She moved on and so have I.” That wasn’t entirely true. He still thought about her, more than he would ever admit out loud. Sometimes he even had dreams about their immediate and sizzling connection. Visions of Dani beckoning him to bed, her silky dark hair cascading over his crisp white sheets, still haunted him. Memories of making love with her were unforgettable—her luscious curves fit too perfectly in his hands to ever erase them from his mind. But she wasn’t meant for him, and there was nothing he could do about that.
“You moved on to more work than is reasonable for one person to do.”
“I gotta stay busy, Sam. It’s the only way I know.” Cole didn’t need the money he earned from having two careers. Not by a long shot. But he did need to stay occupied. It was the only thing that kept him sane.
“You don’t think Dani will come looking for you?”
“Are you kidding me? The woman packed up every one of her worldly belongings and moved halfway across the country three days after I broke it off. That’s how far she’s willing to go to get away from me.” Cole’s stomach rumbled. He stalked to the far side of the kitchen and pulled out a cast-iron pan for his steak. “My guess is that Dani will avoid me like the plague while she’s here.”
“You think you know her that well?”
“I do.”
“And you don’t want to reach out to her and tell her what happened?”
“No. I don’t.”
Sam shot Cole that look of pity that he absolutely hated. If he didn’t love his brother so much, he might be tempted to knock that look right off his face. “You are a sad case, Cole Sullivan.”
“That’s life. The sooner you get used to it, the better.”
* * *
Whether she liked it or not—and she didn’t like it at all—Danica Moore could not live in Royal, Texas, and avoid Cole Sullivan forever. She was going to run into him and his handsome face at some point, and it would be ridiculously hard not to slap him. Just imagining the sting of her palm when it struck his chiseled jaw brought a bit of satisfaction, but not enough to undo the pain Cole had caused her. A lifetime of face slaps could not erase that.
Running into Cole’s parents or one of his two brothers, Sam and Kane, was just as likely. The superwealthy Sullivans were as ubiquitous in this town as the sun was fierce in July. Dani was eager to avoid any surprise run-ins—too much dredging up of painful memories. His elitist parents’ persistent disapproval of her. The accident. Nursing Cole back to health. And a rejection that not only knocked her back on her heels, it left her gasping for what had felt like her last breath.
But she was back in Texas, a state that was in her blood, and there was nothing anyone was entitled to say about that. She wanted her twin sons to know the open sky and fresh air she’d lived off as a child. She wanted them to know the only living family she loved, her aunt Dot and her longtime best friend, Megan Phillips. When Megan told her that the executive chef job at the Glass House at Maverick County’s crown jewel, the Bellamy, was available, Dani took her chance to return to Royal. She could keep her career as top-notch chef on track and give her boys a connection to a place she loved deeply. Couldn’t do both of those things in New York. Hence, hello, Texas. Again.
But for as many problems as Royal solved, it left her with one—Cole. He was the ultimate loose end. She was already living on borrowed time. She’d been back in Royal for a few weeks. She’d