A Cowboy for Holly

Chapter 4

At the Boathouse Restaurant in Central Park, they had a lakeside table. The other diners were tables away, so it was almost as though she and Ben were alone. It felt that way, too...at least to Holly.

She was nervous and didn't like the sensation.

Ben Gray sat across a small table from her and all she could think was, why was this so difficult? She'd left the ranch, come home to New York and worked hard to convince herself that her time with Ben in Montana had been nothing more than a fling.

It may have seemed like more at the time. It had seemed...perfect. But that was when she had believed his lies. That was before she found out that the man she had fallen for was an illusion.

This Ben Gray was a complete mystery. She hardly knew what to say to him. She didn't understand why he'd come. It was as if she was sitting with a familiar stranger.

At the ranch—his ranch, she reminded herself—things had been different. She had fallen for the man she had thought he was. A regular guy, as she was a regular girl. A hardworking cowboy, more at home on a horse than in an elegant restaurant.

But the truth was something else. She had nothing in common with a billionaire ranch owner. And she'd already discovered that rich men weren't interested in girls like her.

So why was he working so hard to be sexy and charming? Why had he come all the way to New York for her? Did he just want to stroke his ego, make sure she was nuts about him then drop her like a dirty rock?

All in all, she was a mess. And that irritated her.

"I didn't mean to lie to you," he started, after the waiter had poured their wine, left the bottle on the table and moved off.

She took a sip of the wine that was as pale as straw. It was cold and crisp and eased the tightness in her throat. Although it seemed nothing would ease the clenched fist around her heart. "But you did."

"I suppose I did." He leaned back in his chair and tapped his finger against the stem of his wineglass. "I didn't start out intending to lie to you, Holly. It wasn't some kind of plan to seduce you and—" He broke off, biting back whatever else he might have said.

Holly kept her gaze on his...despite the fact that his eyes were what had drawn her to him in the first place. "If it wasn't a plan, Ben, why did you lie?"

"Long story," he said.

"I've got all evening."

He smiled briefly, devastatingly, then nodded. "Okay, I'll tell you—if you tell me why you ran. And you first."

She took a breath to steady herself. It was time, she assured herself. Just tell him and end this. Then you can go home. To your apartment. Alone.

"You let me think you were just a regular guy—"

"I am a regular guy."

"And a gazillionaire," she pointed out.

"What's money got to do with this?" he asked, leaning toward her.

"Everything," she said solemnly. "You have it, I don't."

"So?"

"So...I dated a rich guy before. It didn't go well. When I found out the truth about you..." She paused, shrugged and took another sip of wine. "It wasn't just the lie, Ben. It was realizing who you really are. I left before you could leave me."

"What the hell does that mean?"

He was frowning now, and she scowled right back at him.

"I know what you guys are like."