Cowboy Casanova (Rough Riders #12)(187)

everything about him. Everything he was.


When she exited the building she noticed another car had parked in the drive. Pulling

her coat more securely against the Wyoming wind, she hustled toward the house. She

looked up when the front door slammed.


Rielle stared back at her. “Ainsley.”


“Rielle.”


“Ben’s not around.”


“So I gathered.” She glanced at the keys dangling from Rielle’s hand. “What are you

doing here?”


“Bein’ neighborly.” Rielle smirked. “Oh, it gets your panties in a twist that I

have a key to his house and you don’t, doesn’t it?”


Ainsley bit back a retort.


“I see the venom in your eyes. So why don’t you ask me if there’s anything going on

between me and Ben.”


“Fine. What the hell is going on between you and Ben?”


“Not a damn thing.” Rielle paused. “Because the man is in love with you.”


Ainsley couldn’t breathe.


“I see you’re surprised to hear that.”


She nodded.


“You’re both idiots,” Rielle muttered. “That makes me marginally less pissed off at

you.”


“Why would you be pissed off at me? Because you’ve had your eye on him?”


Rielle rolled her eyes. “Are you kidding me? Ben is a great guy but I’ve never had

any interest in him.”


“Still not understanding why you would be mad at me.”


“Because I knew you two were sneaking around. I recognized something was going on

between you two the first day at the bank. I watched you two having lunch at Fields.

Ben couldn’t take his eyes off you. When he held your hand? And you shook him off when

I approached? I figured you didn’t want the Sundance townsfolk to know the new bank

president was getting down and dirty with a local rancher. So yeah, I blamed you.”


“Our reasons for keeping our relationship quiet are private. And since you don’t know

me, maybe I understand why you’d jump to the worst conclusion first. But you are

wrong.”


“Ben is a very private guy. He rarely has female overnight guests. So the fact you

were here all the damn time?” Rielle shook her head, sending her baby-fine blonde hair

flying against the bitterly cold wind. “I knew it wasn’t casual. And I like Ben. He’

s a good guy. I don’t want to see him get hurt. He deserves a woman who isn’t

embarrassed to be seen with him.”


“Well, I am that woman.” Ainsley didn’t need to prove it to Rielle; she needed to

prove it to Ben.


They measured one another.


“So where is he?”


Rielle’s eyes narrowed. “Why don’t you know where he is?”


“Because Ben and I had a…fight and I haven’t talked to him since last week.”


“You’re here to kiss and make up?”


Snoopy thing, aren’t you Mrs. Kravitz?


Rielle laughed. “Mrs. Kravitz? Did you really just compare me to the nosy, annoying

neighbor from Bewitched?”


Ainsley notched her chin higher, because she hadn’t meant to say that out loud. “Yes.