Roman's Choice (Saddles & Second Chances Book 1) (22 page)

She needed to look at her planner.

Opening the drawer to her right, she fumbled through a stack of documents, then saw the framed picture. Her breath stilled. Dodge’s smiling face stared back at her, and his eyes were dazzling. She’d taken the picture two days before they split up. He’d just woken up, his thick black hair was tousled and a layer of scratchy beard covered his prominent jaw line. She’d wanted to capture that moment forever. If only she’d known that this would be one of their last, precious moments together, she would have clung to it like a lifeline.

Emotion filled her chest as she smoothed her finger over his face, over his shoulder, remembering how they’d made passionate love that morning—how he’d held her in his arms. Dodge was the perfect dictionary definition for masculinity, but he’d always opened up, showing her a tender side that she doubted many, if any, had seen. He was romantic, bringing her flowers, leaving her sweet notes on her pillow case. Even signing endearments in the condensation on the bathroom mirror after he showered. When she was sick, he’d make her chicken noodle soup and hot tea because he knew her mom used to do that. When she was sad and missed her parents, he’d get them on the phone and invite them to visit. They did once because even they couldn’t resist her husband’s charm. When she got the job at the newspaper, he’d made a big deal out of it, making her feel special, although the job wasn’t much. He’d taken her to dinner and surprised her with a diamond pendant. She was fully aware that he’d taken some of their savings to get it, but she couldn’t have argued with him because all he ever wanted to do was love her.

He'd been her best friend. Her lover. Her everything.

Tears fell to her cheeks and she swiped them away.

Staring at the blurred words on the form, the first question asked for her name. Well, giving her real name would be counterproductive. She typed in her pen name, Kris Fox. In fact, most days she felt more like Kris than Krista. The next few questions were easy, Address and Gender. Then came a hard one, “What do you consider your most heartbreaking experience?”
Really?
She didn’t have to answer honestly. After all, would they know? She came up with a clever answer, but in the end, she found herself typing the truth.
Having my heartbroken by a womanizer.
She was honest to a fault.

After finishing the questionnaire, she hovered her mouse over the ‘submit’ button. Did she have any other choice but to hunt him down?

Click.

Now there was no backing out. She had put down a deposit. Besides, she could use a vacation anyway.

Her phone rang.

“Hello?”

“My darling, I just finished Wicked Pretenses and I think this is your best yet,” her agent’s shrill voice vibrated the line.

“I was hoping you’d say that.” Krista smiled, digging into her now melted ice cream.

“The publishing house is going to eat this up. Can we expect the last book in the series on time?”

“I plan to have it on your desk in six months.”

“That’s early. Is that definitive?” Stella asked.

“I’m going on vacation and I will have it to you before I leave.” Krista jotted down the date in her planner, then set herself a reminder on her computer.

“Oh, finally going on that Alaskan cruise you’ve been talking about for a few years?”

Krista debated on how much she should divulge. Although she and Stella were friends, even the other woman didn’t know about Dodge. “Not this time. I’m going to Nirvana Ranch, a retreat in Wyoming.”

“I didn’t know you had an interest in horses and cowboys?”

Biting her bottom lip, Krista tapped her short fingernail against the top of her desk. “Let’s just say that I have one cowboy in particular in mind.”

“Well, just be sure I get that book, you hear? I wouldn’t want you to get lost in a cowboy’s arms in Wyoming and forget all about responsibility.”

“Of course, Stella. When have I ever let you down?”

“Never. That’s why I love you, darling.”

After hanging up, Krista pulled up the blank word document and typed in “Wicked Dreams”. No words came. The blinking cursor reminded her of a ticking time bomb.

Blowing out a long breath, she instead reserved a plane ticket to Wyoming and felt excitement, which was quite odd. She was going to Nirvana to ask for a divorce, and yet all she could think of was finding out if her husband was as wild and incredible as a cowboy as he was a football player.