LITMIR.BIZ

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of a way to gently tell Cynthia they weren’t working out as a couple.

      He’d dated her for three months now and had begun to get the sense that she felt more for him than he for her. Decker found her online—that’s how he met all the women he dated. He had no time to search the traditional way and never mixed romance with work. She’d also begun to stay the night too often over the last month and demand more of his time. All this closeness was beginning to feel suffocating. He needed to be free again.

      She looked up from her butterless toast and smiled seductively.

      With his stomach recoiling, he walked over to the brown, black and cream-colored granite-topped kitchen island where she sat and took the seat next to her. Putting down his bowl of a half grapefruit, he started to scoop the fruit out for a bite.

      “I’ve been thinking,” Cynthia said.

      Oh no, here it came.

      She put her hand over his forearm. “We’ve been hitting it off really well these last few weeks.”

      “Cynthia...”

      “We should move in together. Whether here or the suite you have at The Lodge.”

      He swallowed and almost choked on grapefruit juice. After clearing his throat, he saw her wary gaze. Now or never.

      He put down his spoon. “Actually, I’ve been meaning to talk to you.”

      “You feel the same, don’t you?” Her insecurity showed.

      “No. I’m sorry... I don’t. I don’t want to hurt you, Cynthia, but I haven’t been comfortable with you staying here as much as you have. We’ve only known each other a few months.”

      “But...we’ve been sleeping together.”

      “Yes, and that part is great,” he said quietly. “However, I’m just not ready for a committed relationship right now.” Not with her, anyway.

      “You do work a lot. I understand that. I wouldn’t stop you from doing what you love. In fact, that’s something I love about you, Decker.”

      She probably loved his wealth.

      “It’s over, Cynthia.” He’d already warned her he wasn’t interested in anything lasting. She must not have believed him.

      “Over?” She drew back with an indrawn breath. “But...”

      “I’m sorry. Really.” He honestly did not intend on hurting her but he could see she was quite hurt. He couldn’t figure out if losing a man with money hurt more than losing him as a man.

      “If you didn’t feel the same, then why did you sleep with me?”

      “You came to my suite when I didn’t invite you. You also showed up here at my house and stayed the night when I didn’t ask you to.”

      She flattened her hand on the counter. “Well, that’s insensitive of you.”

      How was that insensitive? She’d made presumptions and come over uninvited.

      “You led me on.”

      He shook his head. “No, I was honest with you from the start.”

      “You made me believe you wanted to be with me. All those nights...”

      “I did want to be with you. I just don’t feel enough for you to keep seeing you.”

      Standing, she took her purse which she’d hung on the back of the stool and slung it over her shoulder. Then she stood there looking at him, lips pursed and eyes fiery. Then the anger began to ease and she simply regarded him as though seeing him for the first time.

      “You really don’t believe in love, do you?”

      Decker sighed. He’d told her as much when they’d first met, so he said nothing. It wasn’t that he didn’t believe in love. Some people did find it in their lifetime. But true love was a precious rarity, and with his busy work schedule and fierce ambition, he had little time to date. That only reduced his already slim odds of finding that kind of love.

      Cynthia scoffed. “That makes you a waste of time.”

      With that she turned and walked out of the kitchen.

      Decker stood and followed her to the front door, which she flung open and then stepped out into heavily falling snow like a regal, rejected princess.

      He might deserve her parting comment, but he also couldn’t help the way he felt. He definitely did not enjoy hurting women. Maybe it was time to take a break from them. The Lodge kept him busy and he had plans to make improvements. At this stage of his life, that took priority.

      Reaching the doorway, Decker saw his dad get out of his Range Rover, then look over at Cynthia as she marched through the snow and climbed into her own car. She didn’t wait for the engine to warm, just turned on the windshield wipers and drove the circle driveway to the long road that led to the highway.

      He lived close to The Lodge, on the same property but secluded enough for privacy. He’d built his house, a big log home that was far too spacious for just him, on a mountainside with a view of the Colorado Rockies. He could see the peak of Mount Evans from his upper deck.

      Russ Colton walked inside. “She wasn’t worthy of you anyway, son.”

      “I broke up with her this morning.”

      “From the looks of it I thought maybe she left you.” His dad took off his jacket and hung it above the bench in the entry. Sixty-five and CEO of The Colton Empire, as he liked to call it, Russ was tall like his sons but getting thick in the middle. He had graying dark hair, and dark eyes. He prided himself on building the family company—The Colton Empire—which was comprised of the elite and sprawling ski lodge and resort and The Chateau down in the valley.

      “I wish she would have,” Decker said.

      “She was too soft. Too weak. You need a partner who can stand by you as your equal.”

      Cynthia had clung a little too tightly. He supposed that’s what had turned him off and made their relationship feel wrong.

      “You need someone like that Hadley woman.”

      He’d heard Kendall had returned to Roaring Springs a couple of years ago. He hadn’t seen her yet, hadn’t seen her since high school. Kendall had been one of those kids who’d had her circle of friends and steered clear of the popular crowd. She hadn’t participated in sports. He remembered her as the bookish type, which he’d admired since he had liked and excelled in academia. What had always fascinated him was how a girl as pretty as Kendall could have escaped being popular. Now that he was older he knew it had been a choice.

      “What’s she doing back in Roaring Springs?” he asked curiously.

      “Working for her father at Hadley Forestry. From what I hear she’s a great asset. She’s their conservation consultant.”

      What did a conservation consultant do? Decker didn’t know much about logging and milling or forest management.

      “She’s working on preserving species of animals in the forested areas they own,” Russ supplied. “Got her masters in wildlife biology from Colorado State University. Four-point-o.”

      “How do you know all that?”

      “I ran into her father a few weeks ago. He did some bragging.”

      Ahh. And, apparently, that’s what got his father thinking.

      “Now that you’re single again,” his father went on, “I’d like to talk to you about something I’ve had rolling around in my head the last few weeks.”

      Decker followed Russ from the entry to the great room, where the ceiling rose to exposed beams and a gabled window offered a stunning view of the forest and mountain peaks. The kitchen was open to this room, with a long, six-seater island and plenty of white cabinets. The dining

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