My Billionaire Cowboy: A BWWM Western Romance by Bwwm Romance Dot Com, Esther Banks

that I want, I’m with her.”
    He stared at her intently as he sipped the rest of his rum, waiting
for her response.
    Her mind twirled, thinking of what the right thing was. To go all out
for a man she just recently met, or to pump the brakes and be
cautionary and take her time growing and cultivating a relationship.
    As if he could read her mind, Bruce squeezed her hand. “What is
the first thing that comes to mind?”
    “Well, I-,”
    “No,” Bruce said with certainty. “Your first
impulse. Quickly. Kate, tell me what’s on your mind.”
    She felt panicked, her heart racing. “I want to be with you!”
Kate blurted out.
    Bruce leaned back smiling. “How did that feel?”
    Kate gulped the rest of her wine down, feeling the liquid warm her
from the inside. She could barely breathe.
    “That was a rush.”
    “You should feel good about your decision. Now, do you stand by
your choice?”
    “I do.”
    “Very well. Let’s enjoy lunch.”

    *****

    By the time Bruce and Kate finished lunch, she wanted to spend more
time with him. She checked in with the boutique and was assured
everything was alright.
    “What if I told you that I was not ready to end our afternoon?”
    Bruce stood up, put on his wide brimmed hat, and walked over to pull
out her chair.
    “I would ask you if you had anything pending at work.”
    “No, I don’t.”
    “Well then I would say I would love to spend more time with you
this afternoon. What do you suggest?”
    Kate hoisted her purse over her shoulder. “I would like to show
you a little bit of my world.”
    “I would love that. Lead the way.”
    The first stop was the neighborhood where she grew up. She showed him
the playground where she and her best friends used to play. She
showed him her elementary school and high school and the recreation
center where she went several days a week. The hang out spot where
Kate and her friends spent a lot of their time eating ice cream and
talking about boys.
    “This is nice to get to know so much about you.”
    Kate smiled. “Thanks. It’s nice to share. You already
know where I work, and you know where I live. Speaking of home, maybe
we should swing by so that I can change for dinner tonight.”
    “Perfect idea.”
    They were silent as he navigated the city streets.
    “What are you thinking about?”
    “Well, I was thinking of how much things have changed for me.
To go from living in this neighborhood which I thought was the
biggest thing in the world, to figuring out how large the world
really is. To know that there is so much more out there that I can
have in life, it just makes me so appreciative.”
    “As well it should. I completely understand where you are
coming from with that. The world is pretty big and there is a lot out
there that you should go and get.”
    It was nice to know that the two of them had the same frame of mind.
    “Come on inside.”
    Ever the gentleman, he walked around to her passenger side door,
opened it for her, and let her out.
    He followed her to the front door and then in to the house. As Bruce
entered, he took off his hat and looked around.
    “This is home sweet home.”
    Kate watched as he looked around.
    “It’s not what I thought it would be. You know. For the
kind of place where a stylist lives.”
    Kate sat her keys down. “Really?”
    “Don’t get me wrong. It’s lovely. Very homey. But I
somehow thought that there would be a lot of contemporary styles.
Instead, it looks like someone could live here and not like artwork.”
    “I’ll take that as a compliment.”
    A look of distress shown on Bruce’s face.
    Kate laughed, trying to calm the situation. “Seriously, it’s
okay. I get what you were saying. I’m very into fashion but I
feel like home should be, well… Home should feel lived in and
peaceful. That’s why I decorate with blues and soft colors. It
should feel like you can come in and relax. And well, maybe remind
you of what’s it’s like to go home and find comfort with
your