Matched With Her Cowboy Billionaire Ex-Fiance Read online

  The head of the Dean family waved his hand, smiling good-naturedly. “I had Lily drop me by to discuss some things with Elizabeth, here. We don’t just have the competition as mutual interests.” His glance in Elizabeth’s direction confused Roman which he didn’t like in the least.

  Roman shifted, folding his arms. “Was it the both of you that matched Taylor to Bryson Davis?” He let his anger out, frustrated with the eldest Dean’s presence and the fact that he couldn’t really talk about what was bothering him about Taylor.

  They glanced between them again, but it was Roman’s mom who answered with a questioning smile. “We did. How did their date go? Is it over already?”

  “Already? He took her on a horse ride out to the abandoned town. In this weather. Then, he left her after I calmed his horse down from trying to buck him.” Roman shook his head, tucking his thumbs in the front pockets of his jeans.

  “Is that what you noticed is wrong with her?” Mr. Dean folded his hands and leaned forward, waiting intently for Roman’s answer.

  The return to his original question startled Roman and he blinked as he searched David’s face. The guy was in Roman’s family’s home. He’d refer to him by his first name. At least in the privacy of his own thoughts.

  “I know what you’re thinking.” David rubbed his hands together and glanced at Roman’s mom.

  “You do?” How did the man know anything about Roman?

  “And I agree. It’s probably not our place to match Taylor. I know for me it’s a conflict of interest since she’s my daughter, and honestly, Elizabeth probably shouldn’t either since she has a history with her as well.” David took a deep breath and nodded as if answering a question he’d asked himself. “The problem is, Roman, she asked us because we’re the best and she wants the best to help her find happiness.”

  Roman stared at the two as they stared back. “I get that she asked you, but Bryson isn’t her match. If you guys could mess that one up, then maybe you shouldn’t be matching her.” He didn’t have to know the Davis guy well to understand he wasn’t the one for Taylor.

  Instead of being offended, David cocked an eyebrow. “Really. So, we got the first match wrong. I admit a last-minute date wasn’t the best idea. But it’s good to know. From your experience, what did we do wrong?”

  Roman warmed to the topic quickly. He started pacing, moving back and forth between the grandfather clock on the far side of the room and the end of the couch beside David’s seat. “You should have checked on what they were doing for a date. Being outside in this type of weather is what an idiot would choose to do for a first date. You should have checked out his hobbies. Did you know he plays video games? Taylor doesn’t like that type of guy. She’s an outdoorsy girl when she has time. Even when she goes outside, though, she’s got a planner and she’s prepared. For everything.” He stopped and stared at the wall, snapping his fingers. “That’s what’s wrong with her.”

  “What? What’s wrong with her?” Elizabeth scooted to the edge of her seat.

  “Her planner. I haven’t seen her with it in a while. She’s been late to more things than she’s even been at. I think she lost her planner or something happened to it.” That was the only explanation for why she would be late or why she would agree to a last-minute date like that. She did not do spontaneous. “The last few times I’ve seen her, she hasn’t had her planner or calendar with her. She hasn’t taken notes and she hasn’t been on time. I’m not sure what’s going on, but I think that’s the main part of why she’s so different.” Roman nodded, crossing his arms over his chest.

  The realization didn’t make him feel better about things. For some reason, Taylor had changed and it wasn’t necessarily for the better.

  “We only have four weeks left until the announcement. Is she fulfilling her responsibilities as our matchmaker for the contest?” David stood slowly, putting a large amount of weight on a knobby walking stick he’d had leaning against his seat.

  Roman thought carefully. She hadn’t been at the last few dates he’d been on with Olivia and that had left the evenings and lunches rather tedious for Roman.

  “I’m not sure if she’s been going to the dates with her suitor.” Roman paused. He wanted to be honest and get the elder matchmakers’ help. They were more experienced and they had all of the information that they needed and probably some he needed.

  Roman took a deep breath, running his hands through his hair as he sank into the seat closest to where he’d stood. “I need to tell someone, but I’m not sure who or even what to do about it.”

  “Do about what, Roman?” His mother’s voice reassured him he could tell her and David sat back down, studying Roman as if the greatest mysteries in the universe were going to be revealed.

  Roman spoke haltingly. “The problem is… The Dean option for the suitor is Stephen Johnson.”

  “Yeah, we know that. I approved him that morning before she announced him. He’s a good guy. I really like him.” David furrowed his brow as if the facts he had might not match up with Roman’s and that worried him.

  “He is a great guy. I would have chosen him, myself, if I hadn’t picked… well, myself.” Roman swallowed and leaned forward, bracing his elbows on his knees. “The thing is… Stephen doesn’t want to win the contest. He only signed up because he wanted a shot at Taylor. He couldn’t care less about Olivia or her money. He doesn’t even care if Taylor wins the contest. In fact… he asked me to help him swing it so she would lose.”

  Mom and David leaned back in their seats slowly as if in tandem as they stared at Roman.

  “You guys are throwing the competition?” David blinked at Roman, his skin turning redder and redder.

  Roman held up his hands, shaking his head. “No. Not at all. Actually… the thing is… I honestly have no idea how to say this or even if I want to admit to it.” He lifted his chin. He’d face it like a man. He couldn’t back down from his truth. Not anymore. “Mom, David, I don’t want to win. I don’t want to be with Olivia. I want to be with…” He couldn’t finish his sentence. How did he admit that he’d made the worst decision of his life?

  “Taylor. You want to be with Taylor, right?” David cut through the excess tension.

  Roman snapped his gaze up to David, searching his face for some form of teasing or lightheartedness like he didn’t believe Roman. When he saw only sincerity on David’s face, Roman sliced his gaze to his mom. Had she told him what they’d talked about?

  She shook her head, anticipating what he was thinking. “No. I didn’t say anything.”

  “It’s obvious you two still have feelings for each other. Since we’re being honest…” David took a deep breath, peeking at Roman’s mom and then back at Roman when she nodded. “We actually aren’t matching her with Bryson or anyone else. We are just trying to make you step up your own game.”

  Roman blinked at David, slowly slumping backwards into the seat and staring between the two. “What?”

  “If Taylor got rid of her planner, then something really is wrong. We can’t continue with our plan as if everything is normal.” David looked at Mom and pressed his lips into a fine line. “This is a deep-seated issue we aren’t going to be able to fix on our own. She’s not being herself which means she isn’t going to react to things the way that we planned.”

  Shaking his head as he stared at the carpet, David raised his gaze to Roman, regret on his features. “You’ll need to follow through with the contest and date Olivia. I know it’s less than ideal, but it’s what we need you to do until we can figure out what’s wrong with Taylor. The fact that she’s not scheduling or planning is a sign that whatever is wrong with her…” David sighed, rubbing at his eyes.

  “David, she’s going to be fine. She’s got a lot on her plate between your surgery, taking on the contest, Roman’s return, and unknown pressure from Stephen. If she’s trying to stop planning, then she’s really increased the pressure she’s under.” Roman’s mother reached across the short distance between t
hem and patted David’s arm.

  Why would Taylor stop planning? Was it something Roman had said?

  “So, what do we do? You guys know now what I’m up against. What do we do?” Roman was desperate. He’d do whatever it took to make sure things were fixed for Taylor, even if that meant he had to back off.

  David looked between the two Wilsons and Roman couldn’t help worrying he’d pushed Taylor too far.

  “I think we need to make sure Taylor doesn’t find out that Stephen wants to throw the contest, or that you even considered it, or that we want to match her with you.” Elizabeth sighed, shaking her head. “I don’t think she would appreciate anything resembling interference.”

  Roman nodded. He wasn’t sure what he could do to make things easier for Taylor. He didn’t like that he had returned and rediscovered his feelings for her, not that he’d ever really forgotten. But suppressed emotions had more control and power than anything he could have wallowed over.

  “Let me ask you a question, Roman.” David tapped the armrest of the chair he sat in, his eyes narrowed.

  Elizabeth and Roman focused their attention on him. He spoke softly but with great intensity. “Do you want us to match you with Taylor? Do you want us to continue moving forward with our plan? Or do you want to have the freedom associated with dating Olivia, winning the contest, and being able to go about your life?”

  The things he wasn’t saying included was Roman ready to fully commit? Was he going to scare easily or was he ready to be there for Taylor, the town, and the rest of the families?

  What Roman hadn’t had a chance to really explain to anyone was what he’d believed when he’d been getting ready to marry Taylor. His father had convinced him to run and Roman had never looked back… except for every day since.

  He swallowed past the constricting tightness in his throat and cleared his throat. “You need to be aware that… Dad said Taylor and I weren’t a good match and that I was dooming her to a life of unhappiness, if I were to go through with the marriage.” Roman didn’t know if he believed it anymore, but even then his dad had a way of affecting the things Roman thought.

  Roman ignored the look of alarm that passed between Elizabeth and David.

  A tingle of fear that things with Taylor wouldn’t work shivered through Roman. His father’s words echoed in his head and his heart. But Roman wanted Taylor back more than he wanted to give into the worry that she wouldn’t want him again, that they weren’t meant for each other. He wasn’t going to dwell on something he couldn’t know for sure. He had to hope she missed him as much as he missed her.

  As if David’s question haunted him as much as his father’s matchmaking prognosis, Roman slowly nodded, ready to turn things over to the experienced matchmakers. “I really just want Taylor happy. I want to be the one to do that for her, but I’ll step aside, if that’s what she needs as well. Tell me what to do.”

  A slow smile spread across their faces and David nodded. “Okay, buckle in because we’re ready to make this happen. She’s stubborn, but we’re more so. Remember, with everything off-kilter because of the planner, we have a tougher job ahead of us.”

  Roman set his jaw. He’d do what they told him. He had nothing left to lose.

  Except a contest his family needed to win and who knew what he needed for his reputation. But maybe none of that mattered.

  Or maybe that’s all that mattered.

  Chapter 20

  Roman

  Taylor wasn’t using her planner or scheduling anything. What could have possibly affected her that badly that she would stop altogether?

  Had his comments triggered a change like that? Guilt twisted in his gut as he considered what Stephen had told him about her need to control something, anything. If Roman had taken that from her, he’d never forgive himself.

  They didn’t have much time before the contest was over. Thanksgiving was the next week and Roman hadn’t figured out a way to offload Stephen and Olivia.

  He couldn’t escape his guilt. A few days after the meeting with his mother and Mr. Dean, Roman cleared his desk and stared at the large surface calendar.

  In Paris, he’d had a secretary and assistant for his appointments. They’d pointed him in the directions he needed to go so that he could focus on the other things he was working on, like the design of the matchmaking program and algorithms that he used for matching, or the networking and matching that he did.

  He sold multiple computer programs to software companies that used similar algorithms to match a customer with their ideal product they didn’t even know they were looking for, and even some programs that matched people with their ideal way of eating for better health.

  There in Mistletoe, Roman didn’t have access to any assistants or secretaries. Brock had claimed they didn’t believe in that impersonal of a connection with the clients. They were all expected to meet and greet whoever came in the door.

  Roman had picked up the art of scheduling and judging by his scribbling cursive on the daily squares, he was getting the hang of it. He’d never tell another soul, but he was slowly starting to enjoy the activity of sitting at the end of the day and reviewing what he’d accomplished and setting things up for the next day. He felt more productive and more accomplished doing so.

  Who did he think he was to be so hard on Taylor? He had teased her mercilessly about planning and they’d even gotten in fights about it back when they’d been together. He hadn’t understood why she needed to do it; he’d even brushed it off as unimportant.

  But now… knowing what he knew… Roman stood, pushing the chair back from the desk and striding around the edge. He grabbed his coat and hat from the hooks by his office door and strode from the building, taking in the general Christmas tone of the surrounding offices he’d all but ignored when he’d arrived in town.

  Little gingerbread men shaped paper cutouts lined the inside of the windows of the Wilson offices. At night, when they left and shut off the lights, the Christmas lights would come on, lighting up the night with holiday cheer.

  Roman opened the door, shutting it behind him and turning at the soft thud of the wreath filled with holly and mistletoe hitting the door as it returned to its spot.

  A light dusting of snow flocked the small town in white. Roman tucked his hands into the pockets of his coat and listened to the soft crunch of his boots in the snow as he strode toward Taylor’s home on the west side of town. She lived in one of those great small-town neighborhoods you only seemed to find on television movies anymore. Her white picket fence was bedecked in holly boughs and the pillars of her covered porch were wrapped in a spiral of mixed greens of holly, mistletoe, and pine.

  The sun would set soon. Early afternoon in the winter was more like a precursor to twilight than evening.

  Lights glowed from her front windows and Roman opened and closed the gate before climbing the steps to her place. Funny how he continually found himself at her house, around her, even though when he’d first gotten into town he hadn’t wanted anything to do with her.

  He knocked on the door, finding it ajar. He pushed the door open, concern pushing him further inside. It was below freezing outside. What was her door doing partially open? Not to mention she was a single woman all by herself.

  Roman closed the door behind him and followed the sounds of water running coming from the kitchen.

  He walked quietly so he didn’t scare Taylor, but in all honesty, he was a little worried himself. What if something had happened to her?

  At the kitchen door, he paused and watched her as she stood at the sink and stared out the window, the water running in front of her. She wasn’t moving and the faucet wasn’t dumping water out for any specific purpose. At least that Roman could see.

  He took the moment to visually check her and found himself appreciating the line of her neck revealed with the high knot bun at the crown of her head. Soft tendrils had escaped the rubber band holding her thick red hair in place, only softening the look. She wore a fuzzy
soft green sweater and a pair of worn looking jeans that hugged her curves in all the right places.

  What was she staring at out the window? A cup overfilled in the sink and toppled, grabbing her attention with the clink of glass on the ceramic base. Taylor blinked, turning off the water and dropping her gaze to the cup. She sighed, shaking her head and turning around.

  When she saw Roman her body jolted and then she jerked back. “What are you doing here?”

  Roman strode all the way into the kitchen, breaking his own transfixion with Taylor’s appealing appearance. “I came because I’m worried. I noticed you’ve been late more and missing things. I think you’ve stopped planning.” He pulled his hat off and set it on the counter. “Are you okay? I never took you for one to sit and stare out the window. You always had too much to do.” He’d never missed an opportunity to point it out to her either. She was never free to just sit and be with him and she never had a moment to just spontaneously go for a walk or anything else he wanted to do.

  But that wasn’t her fault. Just like it wasn’t his. But, now that he knew about the problem and why she did what she did, he could be more understanding and see it for what it was.

  Taylor leaned forward, resting her hands on the edge of the counter. She dropped her gaze and shook her head which turned into a nod. “Yeah, I…” She straightened and shrugged. “I burned my planner after I transferred everything to my phone.” She sighed. “Phones aren’t the best option to keep track of everything.”

  “Do you like being so loosely scheduled?” How could she when she’d always been in control of her time? Roman’s curiosity struggled for information even as he just wanted to tell her to stop. She was perfect as she was.

  Taylor blinked and sniffed, shaking her head. “No, but I’m also sad and lonely, you know? So… I stopped planning.”

  Roman folded his arms and studied her. “But why did you decide to stop doing something that makes you so happy?” He really wanted to know. No. He really needed to know.