persistent disapproval of her. The accident. Nursing Cole back to health. And a rejection that not only knocked her back on her heels, it left her gasping for what had felt like her last breath.
But she was back in Texas, a state that was in her blood, and there was nothing anyone was entitled to say about that. She wanted her twin sons to know the open sky and fresh air she’d lived off as a child. She wanted them to know the only living family she loved, her aunt Dot and her longtime best friend, Megan Phillips. When Megan told her that the executive chef job at the Glass House at Maverick County’s crown jewel, the Bellamy, was available, Dani took her chance to return to Royal. She could keep her career as top-notch chef on track and give her boys a connection to a place she loved deeply. Couldn’t do both of those things in New York. Hence, hello, Texas. Again.
But for as many problems as Royal solved, it left her with one—Cole. He was the ultimate loose end. She was already living on borrowed time. She’d been back in Royal for a few weeks. She’d have to see him eventually, so she decided she would see him on her terms. Tonight. His place. He would get no warning. He didn’t deserve it.
Dani turned in the mirror, sucking in a breath so deep it was as if she believed the air was made of confidence. Her long black hair was perfect—glossy and full. Touchable. Her makeup was on point, as well. The dress was the cherry on top. Cherry red, to be exact, cut to show off her assets and hugging every curve she’d been blessed with.
She’d worked hard to get back her prepregnancy body, and she intended to let Cole get an eyeful before she informed him that she’d returned to Royal for good and he was cordially invited to leave her the hell alone. Break a woman’s heart and you get the cold shoulder. Or in Cole’s case, trample a woman’s heart, destroy her illusions about love and leave her knocked up with twins, and you got a four-alarm fire set on showing you what’s what.
Dani ducked her head into the bedroom her five-year-old twin boys, Cameron and Colin, shared. She adored this room, with its powder blue walls, the bunk beds the boys had always wanted, and plenty of floor space to play with cars and trains. It was everything they couldn’t have in a New York apartment. “Everybody ready for bed?”
Elena, Dani’s faithful nanny, looked up from the book she was reading to the boys. “You look amazing,” Elena said. “You’re going to knock Cole Sullivan dead.”
Dani raised a finger to her lips and shook her head so quickly she nearly rattled her own brain. She wasn’t ready for Cameron and Colin to know Cole’s name. Not yet. They were still so little, so innocent. It wasn’t their fault their daddy couldn’t be counted on.
“Oh, right. Sorry.” Elena’s facial expression said more than her words—she understood how important it was to keep the boys a secret from Cole and vice versa. “Boys, hold on one minute. I need to talk to Mommy.” Elena got up from the floor and tiptoed over to Dani. “You sure you’re not going to tell him?” She didn’t need to add the part about the boys. Dani knew exactly what Elena was asking.
“No way. Not today.” Dani wouldn’t tell Cole anything unless she was completely certain that he wouldn’t reject the boys the way he’d rejected her.
“What are you going to say to him when you run into him later and he sees the boys?”
Dani patted Elena on the shoulder. “That’s the least of my worries. Cole is so self-absorbed, I doubt he’ll bat an eye.”
Elena smiled, even though she appeared unconvinced. “I’m sure you know what you’re doing.” She returned to her spot on the floor to resume story time.
“You boys be good for Elena, okay?” Dani reminded them.
“Where are you going, Mommy?” Cameron asked, ever the chatty and curious one. He looked most like Dani, with dark brown hair and hazel eyes. Colin, her quiet observer, more closely resembled Cole. Lighter hair. Soulful blue eyes.
“I have an old friend I need to go see.”
“Why can’t we go with you?”
“Because this is going to be boring grown-up talk and I know you’ll have much more fun with Elena. Plus, it’s nearly your bedtime. Growing boys need their sleep.” She knelt down onto the carpet and collected her hugs and kisses. “I love you both very much. See you in the morning.”
“Good luck,” Elena mouthed.
Dani marched down the hall, snapped up her car keys and slipped through the kitchen to her three-car garage. She’d had nearly six years to stress and worry about the first time she would see Cole again. If she stopped to think about it for too long, she’d put it off, and she didn’t want to do that. She knew the exact message she wanted to send tonight, which meant leaving the minivan parked right where it was and choosing to climb into her latest purchase, a treat for herself, a silver Porsche convertible.
Dani had always loved cars. She got it from her dad, who had been a police officer. Ten years gone and Dani still missed him like crazy, but zipping around in this little sports car made her feel closer to his memory. He’d taught her to drive stick. He’d taught her to be a great driver. All those years in New York had meant too many taxis and subway rides. Dani liked to think that her new car was a perfect metaphor for her new life. She was in control now. Completely.
She pulled out of the circular flagstone driveway, the engine purring. The Texas ash and bur oak trees dotting the perimeter of her two-acre property were lit up by the landscape lighting below. The night air was warm, but she could tell that fall was on the way. The days were getting shorter and the mornings a tiny bit cooler. As she drove away from her house, Dani still couldn’t believe it was hers—six bedrooms and a nanny suite, tall leaded-glass windows and yellow jessamine vines climbing the trellises next to the arched front door. There was a big pool for the boys out back, and she was having a play structure put in next week. It was perfect, and she’d earned it all on her own.
As she pulled past the guard gate at the entrance to her neighborhood, she couldn’t quite believe that, either. Pine Valley was an ultra-upscale gated golf community, the exact opposite of the neighborhood she’d grown up in. Having had a dad in law enforcement and a mother who struggled to keep a job, Dani grew up modestly. They weren’t poor, but they weren’t well-off by any stretch. Dani still naturally gravitated toward the clearance section in a department store if that was any indication. Even now, when she had money.
The drive out to Cole’s ranch gave Dani the perfect opportunity to rehearse her speech, but every time she started it, she tripped over her words. The trouble was imagining what it was going to be like to finally face him. If he cracked his heartbreaker smile, or looked too closely at her with his piercing blue eyes, she could easily be a goner. If he touched her with his strong hands, she’d melt into a puddle. The love and passion she shared with Cole had once run so deep. Ignoring that would not be easy. Which meant she needed to give him the news in as direct a fashion as possible. “Cole, I’m here to tell you I’m back. And I don’t care if you don’t like it. If you leave me alone, I’ll promise to do the same for you.” That could work. Now she hoped that she could deliver it as smoothly as that.
Dani flipped on her blinker and turned on to the road out to the Sullivan family ranch. Just being on the outer edges of their massive property, miles and miles of some of the most gorgeous ranch land in this part of Texas, made her nervous. It was a big reminder of the deepest divide between her and Cole before he’d dumped her—his family was royalty here, with enough money to never think about it twice.
She came from next to nothing, and Cole’s parents quite frankly had never seen the appeal of Dani. His mother had even once told her that she didn’t think she was good enough for her son. Dani had kept that tidbit to herself, deciding at the time that love would conquer all and she would eventually win them over. That day never came. Cole broke up with her a mere six months later, and the memory of that interlude with his mom became fuel for Dani’s quick exodus from Royal. She knew when she wasn’t wanted and always acted accordingly.
Dani passed the opulent main gates to the Sullivan Cattle Co. property and instead drove around to the smaller