What did Lorenzo’s gesture mean?

  So many nights she’d lain awake in her bed, her eyes gritty from crying, asking herself if she’d done the right thing walking away from Lorenzo. Yes, he’d hurt her by not telling her about the background check. But it wasn’t that she minded his looking into her personal background. From a business perspective, she understood, and would have gladly welcomed it for the sake of securing the donation from the Cortez-Williams family.

  It was that he hadn’t told her about it once they’d started to get intimate. To trust him not only with her body, but with an emotional piece of her past... Only to find out he’d known all along and hadn’t mentioned it—that had been what hurt. Still, would it sting so much if she hadn’t begun to care for him deeply?

  Her phone buzzed against her hand, while she mulled that over. Even with her screen brightness turned all the way up, she had to shade her eyes to see the incoming text message.

  From Lorenzo.

  I’ll be at the Silver Saddle tomorrow at 4 p.m. I really need to talk to you.

  Her breath caught as she read the words. And she knew from the way her heart skipped a beat that she couldn’t possibly refuse. She needed—no, she ached—to see him.

  And for the first time in nearly two weeks, a tendril of hope sprouted inside her.

  Thirteen

  Had he scared off Valencia for good with that text message?

  Heart hammering double time in his chest, Lorenzo searched the crowd for her from a private table inside The Silver Saddle bar and tapas restaurant, a Royal hotspot inside the luxurious Bellamy resort property. The place was filling rapidly for the promised entertainment, a popular band that had been booked for Soiree on the Bay. For now, a deejay spun upbeat country music from a booth by the dance floor, but the instruments for the band were in place on a nearby stage. A few couples were already two-stepping, and the volume from nearby conversations picked up as the crowd grew.

  In the ten minutes since he’d sat down, Lorenzo had already spotted Abby Carmichael, the documentary filmmaker who’d been following the festival debacle. Lila Jones sat at the bar with Zach Benning, the social media influencer whose online platforms had attracted a lot of interest in the festival. Lorenzo wondered how the implosion of the event affected him, but the guy seemed fully focused on Lila right now, his arm wrapped possessively around her.

  The sight shot a pang through Lorenzo, making him miss Valencia even more. Would she really skip this event altogether just because he’d let her know he would be there? He sighed. But the bigger question was... Had he finally found the woman meant for him, his soul mate, only to lose her? And if he had, he knew he had only himself to blame.

  He waved away his server, not ready to order anything yet. His stomach was in knots anyway. As the male waiter hustled off to another table, Lorenzo finally caught sight of the woman he’d been waiting for as she entered the bar. His breath hitched.

  Hope burned with a reminder of just how high the stakes were. Had his gesture with moving the horses been enough to win her back? Or was she simply here to issue an obligatory thank-you? Each long-legged step brought her closer to giving him his heart’s desire...or dashing his hopes for a future with this incredible woman.

  Dressed in a simple blue wrap dress that hugged her feminine curves, Valencia smiled and waved to friends as she wove her way through the packed bar. Part of him longed to go to her so he could clear her path, but he knew he didn’t have the right to escort her.

  Something he hoped like hell would change after he had the chance to speak to her. For now, he contented himself with watching her, acknowledging the overwhelming pleasure of seeing her again. Then, when her honey-brown eyes found his, awakening memories of how it had felt to be the center of attention, he shot to his feet to wait for her.

  Nerves jumping, he thought his heart might break right through his chest with the way it knocked around inside him.

  “Valencia. I’m glad you’re here.” He held a chair for her as she neared the table. “Won’t you have a seat?”

  He couldn’t read her gaze, her face revealing nothing except for the high color in her cheeks. Was she agitated? He hoped this meeting didn’t cause her any stress or unhappiness, but it was too much to hope that the rush of pink in her skin could be from the same awareness that never failed to stir inside him whenever she was near.

  “Thank you,” she said softly, brushing past him to accept the seat, leaving a hint of rose-and-vanilla fragrance in the air as she lowered herself into the high-backed leather chair tucked into the private corner.

  Grateful to have her here, to know she was granting him this audience after how he’d hurt her, he did his best to situate her comfortably before taking the seat opposite her. With their backs to the wall, they could have a good view of the room, but right now, he had eyes only for her.

  “Thank you for joining me,” he began, his heart in his throat as he thought about all that was riding on this conversation.

  Before he could begin, however, a woman hurried over to their table. She was dressed in black pants and a white blouse, simple clothes similar to the attire of the staff, but Lorenzo knew she wasn’t their server. Besides, her handbag was tucked under her arm as she edged around a tray of drinks balanced on a high table nearby.

  “Excuse me.” The woman held up a finger as if to indicate she needed only a moment. “I’m so sorry to interrupt you, but I’m trying to set up some appointments with people about the festival debacle.” Reaching in her bag, she withdrew a white business card and laid it on the table between them. “Lani Li, private investigator.”

  Lorenzo exchanged looks with Valencia, wondering what she thought of the intrusion. But his companion’s expression was difficult to read as she reached for the card and read it over.

  “Who hired you?” Valencia asked the newcomer as she looked up from the card and passed it to Lorenzo.

  The woman—mid-to late-twenties, he guessed—scooped her long, sleek ponytail off her shoulder and shoved it impatiently behind her back.

  “I’m not at liberty to say. But I assure you, my client is prepared to get to the bottom of who is responsible for the failed event.” Lani crouched closer so she could lower her voice, as if she didn’t want anyone to overhear.

  Interesting.

  “Besides Asher Edmond?” Lorenzo asked, curious to learn if someone else had suspicions about a bigger cover-up at work. Something about Asher’s arrest made him uneasy.

  “I plan to review all of the evidence from start to finish,” she returned, sidestepping what he knew had been a loaded question. “I’m making no assumptions. I’m only interested in learning the truth.” She turned her gaze toward Valencia. “I’ve been hoping to speak with you, Ms. Donovan, as I know you were on the advisory board. Would you be willing to talk to me about your experience with the festival? I’d be glad to come to you to make it easy.”

  Valencia didn’t hesitate. “Please call me Valencia. And assuming you are who you say you are, I would be happy to speak to you. I can be reached at Donovan Horse Rescue anytime. I think we can both agree that this isn’t the right time or place for further discussion.”

  The private investigator nodded. “Fair enough. I’ll be in touch, Valencia. And thank you.”

  Lorenzo echoed the thanks over the woman leaving as he watched her bustling away, withdrawing another business card from her bag as she made a beeline for Lila Jones. Then his focus returned to the beautiful woman across from him.

  A woman who deserved so much more from him than he’d given her.

  Valencia slid a finger under the tiny horseshoe pendant she wore on a gold chain at her neck, then slid the charm back and forth while she studied him across the table.

  “So? You must know I’m curious why you wanted to see me.”

  * * *

  The suspense was killing her.

  She’d been a few minutes late to this meeting with Lorenzo because she’d been nervous and unsure how to proceed. Should she ask him about the horses he’d transported on her behalf? Thank him?

  As grateful as she felt about what he’d done, she wanted to hear him out first. She needed to know how he felt about what had happened between them. Did he take any ownership for it, or understand how his actions had hurt her? She was nervous about the outcome of this conversation, fearing it could be the last time they spoke. Fear...anxiety...and yes, love, welled inside her.

  As she searched his dark eyes for answers, the rest of the noisy bar fell away for her.

  Until a server appeared.

  Thankfully, Lorenzo seemed as eager to be done with their drink order as she was, and the waiter disappeared a moment later.

  “Valencia.” His voice was a warm rumble across their table as he met her gaze once more. “You asked me why I wanted to see you,” he began, his expression earnest. “And the truth is I’ve never stopped wanting to see you. I’ve missed being with you every single day—every hour—that we’ve been apart.”

  His admission made her tingly inside. She couldn’t deny it. But she could hardly confess to missing him, too, if he didn’t understand why she’d left in the first place. The nervousness she’d felt going into this meeting was still there.

  He continued, however, laying both hands on the polished tabletop as he spoke. “But I know you deserve better than someone who is anything less than fully honest with you. I had a responsibility to tell you about the private investigation before we got involved romantically, and I failed you. I’m so incredibly sorry for letting you down like that.”

  She appreciated his directness, and some of her anxiety eased a fraction. She forced herself to let go of her horseshoe good-luck charm.

  “I know things escalated quickly between us with the tornado,” she acknowledged, recognizing that her uncomfortable past had been part of the reason she’d taken comfort in his arms that first night. “But even if you’d told me after the storm, I would have been more understanding.”

  It wouldn’t have hurt so very much.

  Nearby, the musicians started to play. The gentle twang of a country love song filled the bar, the crowd quieting a fraction to enjoy the strains of the fiddle.

  Lorenzo’s face was solemn. Sad, perhaps. “I have no excuse, and, again, I’m sorry. I allowed my experience with Lindsey to taint my feelings so much I’ve had a hard time trusting anyone, much less my own judgment.”

  Even his words sounded pained. Could the ache he felt over their split be as agonizing as her own? She leaned over the table a bit at the private nature of their conversation. Also, maybe because she found it almost impossible to resist the magnetic pull that she’d felt toward him from their very first meeting.

  “I know how past hurts can color your choices,” she admitted, wanting to share a conclusion she’d reached in the last two lonely weeks without him. “I’ve spent a long time trying to shed the taint of my birth family. But I’m not them, and I’m tired of trying to be the best at all times just to set myself apart from them. It’s exhausting.”

  His brows furrowed with what looked like concern. “You’re a good person with a warm, giving heart. A charitable nature. Anyone who can’t recognize that doesn’t deserve your time.”

  The passionate inflection behind the words touched her. And stirred a hope that Lorenzo’s feelings for her hadn’t faded.

  She wanted to hear more, but she spied the server heading toward them with their drinks and wondered if she’d ever have Lorenzo to herself for more than five minutes at a time.

  “Would you like to dance?” he asked, extending his hand to her as he pushed away from the table.

  He was dressed in a dark suit with a white shirt left unbuttoned at his neck, though his expensive leather boots still marked him as a Texas rancher. An extraordinarily compelling one, at that.

  Valencia nodded. “It might be our only chance to speak privately here.” She placed her palm in his and allowed him to draw her to her feet, her blood rushing in her ears at the feel of his skin warming hers.

  His touch brought back so many memories.

  For now, she followed him onto the dance floor, her breath catching when he stopped to pull her into his arms.

  With one hand settled on the small of her back, the other wrapped around hers, he led her to the spot farthest from any other dancers while the music wrapped around her.

  “I deeply regret hurting you, Valencia.” Lorenzo’s gruffly spoken words picked up right where he’d left off earlier. “I knew as soon as you left my house that night that I owed you an apology. And I don’t blame you for not wanting to hear it. But I can’t rest until you know how sorry I am. I hope you can accept my apology.”

  She saw the sincerity in his eyes. Felt his concern for her in a hundred little ways, from how he looked at her like she was the only woman in the room to the way he hadn’t pressed her into meeting with him.

  And he hadn’t once brought up the kindness he’d done her by securing the horses she’d been anguished about rescuing all week.

  “I forgive you.” She stroked her hand lightly along his shoulder where it rested on his tailored suit. The warmth of his body beneath it sent a shiver of awareness through her that he must feel.

  His hand flexed on the small of her back, a slight clenching of his fingers. But he didn’t pull her closer.

  “You do?” he rasped.

  “Yes. Of course I do.” She felt sure of it to the depths of her being. Sure of him. “I was so hurt that night. Not just by what you’d done, but also that you barely seemed to acknowledge it. But I’ve searched my heart, and I know you’re a better man than that. A mistake is just that—a mistake.”

  A long breath shuddered through him as he wrapped his arms around her fully. Tightly. She felt his relief at her answer, and knowing how tense he’d been about this conversation soothed any last fragments of frayed pride she might have been feeling.

  The song ended and another began as he held her. They were out of the way of dance traffic, however, and no one seemed to mind that they clung together to one side of the floor.

  “You’re an amazing woman, Valencia Donovan.” Lorenzo’s words were for her ears alone, spoken into her hair as they swayed together to the new duet sung over the strains of a steel guitar. “I would give anything for a second chance to show you how much I care for you.”

  The tender feelings she had for him swelled stronger as her new hopes took root. She couldn’t imagine any place she’d rather be than right here in his strong arms, his heart pounding so hard that she felt it against her breast.

  “Like transporting five beautiful horses all the way from Mustang Point?” she asked, reaching up to stroke his jaw.

  “No. I’d give far, far more than that.”

  Her lips lifted in a half smile as her hand dropped back to his shoulder. “Well, the horses were a wonderful place to start. Thank you so much.”

  “It was my pleasure to do something for you, but I hope it was only the beginning.” He speared a hand through her hair to cradle the back of her head, then tipped her face up to his.

  Electricity seemed to crackle through her, zinging its way to all her nerve endings until she hummed with it.

  “A beginning?” Her tongue darted out to moisten her lips gone suddenly dry. She probably gazed up at him like a woman under a spell, but she couldn’t find it in her to care about anything other than this man in front of her right now.

  Her feet stopped moving.

  All her attention solely on Lorenzo.

  “Yes.” There was a fierceness in his voice. A new determination. “It took my head a while to catch up with my heart, Valencia, but I know now that I love you. And I’m going to do everything I can to prove to you how much.”

  The intensity of his gaze made her knees go weak.

  Happiness soared inside her so high she felt light-headed. Although his mouth now hovered so close to hers that the promise of a kiss might have contributed to that light-headed feeling.

  “Then take me home,” she whispered, her breath coming fast as her emotions threatened to spill over for the whole world to see. “Because I love you, too, Lorenzo. And I think we need to start showing each other how much.”

  His lips claimed hers as if he wanted to taste the words for himself. Seal them between them. And she wanted that, too, because she could have lost herself in that kiss for hours. Days.

  A lifetime.

  “We’re going to do that,” he assured her when he broke away, breathing heavily. “Because I’m going to love every minute of showing each other how we feel. But I want you to know that you don’t have to prove a thing to me. You’re a woman of your word, and I will never question that again.”

  He stroked a fingertip over her still-quivering lip. Around them, the song ended, and the other couples applauded for the band. But Valencia could think only about her new beginning, and the man who loved her.

  So she didn’t mind, not even a little bit, when he swept her off her feet and into his arms where anyone in the Silver Saddle bar could see them. Happy laughter bubbled out of her as she wound her arms around his neck, delighting in the romantic gesture from this ruggedly handsome, pragmatic man who would never give his heart lightly.

  They earned a few wolf whistles, and she thought that Lorenzo got a couple of slaps on the back on his way out of the crowded bar. But Valencia had eyes only for the man who held her, the rancher whose strong arms would shelter her through any storm.

  * * *

  Look for the next book in the

  Texas Cattleman’s Club: Heir Apparent series: