The Cowbear's Curvy Christmas (Curvy Bear Ranch 2) by Liv Brywood Page B

standing near the window looking outside. Moonlight streamed to cast soft shadows across the floor. He assessed her stance. Shoulders slumped, head hanging, she looked like she could hardly stand.
    “Hey,” he whispered as he crossed the room.
    As he reached her side, she turned and wrapped her arms around his chest. “I’m a mess.”
    “Shh, it can’t be that bad.”
    She clutched his shirt as she sniffed. “You’re right. I lied. I’m not better than him.”
    “Than who?”
    “My fiancé.”
    He stepped back. “You’re engaged?”
    “I was. Not anymore.”
    He sucked in a breath. “Do you want to talk about it?”
    “No,” she whined.
    He stroked her back and held her close. His protective instincts were on high alert. He didn’t know anything about her other than what she’d told him. How much of it had been a lie?
    “Is your name even Madison?” he asked.
    “Yes.”
    “Okay. So you didn’t lie about everything.”
    “No.”
    He glanced around the room, trying to find a place for them to sit. The bed was his only option and he wasn’t getting near one with her. He couldn’t trust his bear to stay calm.
    “Let’s go outside and get some air,” he suggested.
    “Okay,” she sniffed.
    He grabbed a thick jacket from the closet and settled it around her shoulders. After leading her outside onto the back porch, he sat on the top of the stairs. She sat beside him and leaned into him. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders.
    “Talk to me,” he said softly.
    “You won’t understand.”
    “I might.”
    “You’re going to be pissed.”
    “Maybe. Maybe not.”
    “I’m sorry I lied.”
    “What exactly did you lie about?” he asked.
    “I’ve never run a bed and breakfast before.”
    He chuckled. “I figured that out when I had to use the fire extinguisher.”
    “Why didn’t you fire me?”
    “I don’t know. There’s something about you that I’m drawn to.”
    “Like a moth to a flame?”
    “Something like that.” Was he about to get burned?
    “I’m so embarrassed.”
    “I’m sure you had a good reason to lie,” he said.
    “I don’t know where to start.”
    He pulled her closer and stroked her hair. “Start with why you really left Seattle.”
    “I caught my fiancé in bed with my maid of honor.”
    His breath whooshed out. “Damn.”
     

Chapter 6
     
    “Yeah. Damn.” She still couldn’t get the images out of her head. The two people she loved most in the world, naked in a twist of writhing limbs. Her stomach rolled.
    He lightly stroked her arm. “Then what happened?”
    “I screamed at him and told her I hope she rots in hell. They were just lying there with the sheets pulled up to their necks with this deer-in-headlights look that would have been comical in any other situation. I went downstairs and started throwing things. I broke three of his stupid businessman-of-the-year glass trophies along with every single picture of us together.”
    “I can’t imagine how enraging that had to be.”
    “I was mad at first. I drove around all night until I ran out of gas somewhere near the Canadian border. A nice trucker helped me out after listening to my hysterical ranting about my ex-fiancé.” Even now, rage welled up to wrap its violent fist around her heart. In the last month, she’d vacillated between anger and despair. Each day brought with it a new way to hate Ben.
    Mack asked, “Why didn’t you tell me this before?”
    “You never would have given me the job. What was I supposed to say? ‘Hi, I’m completely out of my league and borderline crazy because I caught my fiancé fucking my best friend?’” Her sarcasm held a hint of dark humor. If she hadn’t found a few moments of laughter about how ridiculous the situation was, she would have lost her mind weeks ago.
    Mack turned to her and smiled. “Yeah, I can see how opening a job interview with that nugget would have been a problem.”
    “Are you saying you wouldn’t have hired a crazy, jilted