Catch Me A Cowboy (5 page)

Walking around the car, he noted her protruding belly, and he exhaled in a burst. No, he didn't love this woman anymore, in fact, he despised her, but to see her pregnant was like a punch in the guts. She had always told him children were not on the cards. And that was okay with him, because he thought he loved her enough to make that sacrifice, but … He wanted to incline his face to the roof overhead and scream profanities. He was obviously not the right man to have children with.

‘Wil, my goodness, fancy running into you here,' she said, coming closer, that disingenuous grin on her face.

Wil didn't back away as she advanced though every muscle was rigid, twitching, willing him to do so. ‘Fancy that. Quite the coincidence in a town this size.' His words dripped with so much sarcasm it almost drowned him to speak them.

Billi placed her hands on her hips, which emphasised her swollen stomach even more, and rolled her eyes. ‘Seriously, Wil. Are we still going there?'

‘Do you expect me to play happy families after what you did? What you did to my parents? My grandfather? Everything he worked for? How dare you drive up here in the car I funded, waddle over to me and expect me to be anything but resentful.'

Her nose wrinkled with a scowl. ‘Be resentful all you like. But I'm moving on. You'd do well to follow suit.'

‘Great advice, Billi, coming from such an upstanding member of society. How is Gerry by the way? Keeping well in that big house on Bondi I bought for you both as a little going away present?'

‘You always were a pretentious arsehole, walking around like you're better than everyone.'

The barrel was only half full, but he wasn't sticking around talking to her any longer. He pulled out the nozzle and shoved it back in the bowser. ‘If that's what allows you to sleep well at night, then you keep telling yourself that.' He tightened the cap on the barrel until he split the plastic, then marched away inside to pay.

The young attendant hid a grin. ‘Problem with the ex?'

Wil stared at him, his eyes narrowed.

The attendant held his hands up. ‘Just asking, mate.'

Wil finished paying, stormed back to his car, not giving Billi another moment of his time. Starting the engine, he sped off up the road, banging the steering wheel with his palm. He hated himself for still being angry about all this. It was the pregnancy that threw him off. It shocked him, made him feel emotions he didn't want to feel. Brought everything they had crashing back, and then some. He slammed the steering wheel again.
Get a grip, Wil. It's been three years.

And it had been three very long years. He'd had relationships since then. Nice, pleasant, but never long lasting relationships. He was over Billi. No doubt about it. But he would never forgive her. The anger roaring through his veins, making his limbs twitch, was a testament to that.

He dialled his brother's number and let it ring over the Bluetooth connection in the car.

‘Hey, what's up?' said Alec, filling the car with his deep voice.

‘You'll never guess who I just saw.'

A deep breath. ‘Oh, man. Judging by the scathing tone, I'd have to guess: Billi.'

If Billi had simply cheated on him—fine. But to then go after a share of the farm his family had worked for three generations was something else entirely. And even that may not have been a problem if she was reasonable about it. After all, she had been his wife for three years and was entitled to something, but half the entire family farm was absurd. And to lie through her teeth like she did, to say that he was the one who had been having an affair, just so her case was stronger, had cut him to the bone. He had never known betrayal until Billi.

‘She actually smiled and expected me to be okay with everything that had happened.'

‘Rotten to the core that one.'

‘And pregnant.'

Silence. ‘Oh, mate. I'm … sorry.'

Wil gripped the steering wheel hard until he felt it might snap beneath his hands. ‘Fuck! I hate that she angers me like this still.'

‘It still angers me, and she was
your
wife.'

Wil groaned.

‘But she's history. I know it's hard, but try and let her go. She's not worth it. And look on the bright side. In a little less than a month, you're going to have twenty drop-dead gorgeous women vying for your heart. Let Billi chew on that for a while.'

Wil rolled his eyes. Alec had been practically panting, ever since he was told Wil had made it onto the show. ‘Yeah, well, that's yet to be seen.'

‘Soon enough, lover boy, and you won't know what hit you.'

Chapter 7

Monday morning, Emily met her new clients in a café in the city. She had only spoken to them over the phone, and this was their first face-to-face meeting. She was not going to let the fact that they were young newlyweds make her jealous, nor compromise her professionalism. At the end of the day, it was Emily's unfaltering professionalism that made her successful. Her personal issues were not allowed to make an appearance while she was working.

‘Good morning,' she said, standing and smiling as the couple were ushered over to her by the maître d'. She held out her hand and shook both of theirs. They were a gorgeous couple and obviously in love by the way they kept one arm around the other. Both in their mid-twenties, Donald was an up-and-coming IT professional and Michelle was an accountant for a multinational. They were, in Emily's language, Young and Upwardly Mobile. Or, in other words, young with money to burn.

‘So lovely to meet you both. Take a seat, and let's chat about the perfect home I'm going to find for you.'

They sat and drank coffees while Emily confirmed their budget, locations, and home must-haves. She already had five great apartments to show them today, but she liked to meet clients beforehand to get to know them better and earn their trust.

‘So you are newly married?' she asked.

Michelle beamed as she nodded, then rubbed her nose against Donald's. ‘Yes, seven blissful weeks.'

‘Where did you go on your honeymoon?' She kept her tone light and fizzy.

Donald answered, ‘To the Maldives. It was incredible.' He looked at Michelle and a silent glance passed between them. Okay, okay, Emily knew what that cheeky glance meant—they had heaps of steamy sex and lots of orgasms. They didn't have to rub it in. But Emily wasn't going to let that get to her, she was the professional here.

‘Wonderful,' interrupted Emily, possibly louder than needed. ‘Show me the ring,' she cooed, in her best I'm-so-damn-excited-and-not-the-least-bit-jealous voice.

Michelle held out her left hand and Emily had to squint so she wasn't blinded by the diamond that dripped from Michelle's finger. She was amazed Michelle was capable of holding her arm up; it was the size of a tennis ball. Perfect clarity. ‘Gorgeous. Absolutely gorgeous. And you picked this out yourself?' she asked Donald.

He nodded smugly.

She winked at him. ‘Nice work.' All the while she was telling herself that she would soon be the benefactor of such a ring and a smug husband, so no use feeling envious.

‘All right. I think we're ready to start looking for your home.'

Michelle squealed as she hugged Donald's arm, then smiled so wide Emily thought her face was going to burst. Exactly what she'd expect from a gorgeous, successful, twenty-five-year-old, who was about to go hunting for her dream house with her husband, who had bonked her silly during their honeymoon in the Maldives. If Emily was going to be truthful about that, she would admit that it grated on her a little, but she was still holding strong. She gritted her teeth and forced a tight smile onto her lips. ‘Follow me.'

The first two apartments were in walking distance from the café. The next three she would drive them to in her car. But she had a feeling the first apartment was going to be The One. She wasn't like other agents who showed substandard properties first up, then progressed to those that were far superior and, coincidentally, above their budget. No, she was always upfront and produced her best results early. That way, no one's time was wasted and trust was maintained. People were tired of sales games.

They stopped outside of a heritage building in the heart of the city. It had been recently restored and converted into four luxurious three-bedroom apartments. The best quality fittings, flooring and fixtures were used throughout. Unlike Mike, the developer of this building was realistic, and valued quality as well as his local reputation.

Emily unlocked the front door of the foyer and led them to the apartment's personal lift. It had full security and opened directly on the level-four apartment. They rode it in excited silence to the top. The doors opened and Emily gestured the couple to enter first. She didn't want to block their first glimpse of this magnificent home. The floors were marble, the ceilings high and fitted with exquisite, intricate lighting. All the appliances were top of the range. And best of all, was the outdoor/indoor entertaining area—a rare treat in the city.

As she walked the couple through each room, she pretended to ignore their excited gasps and arm squeezes, which they were trying their hardest to hide. It was perfect for them. A pang of jealousy struck so deep then, she had the urge to ruin it for this happy couple. She could pretend it was well above their budget and destroy all their dreams. She shook her head and held back an angry groan by biting down on her bottom lip.

I'm turning into a monster.
It was completely inappropriate to be thinking such thoughts, not to mention plain evil. Envy was fine, but sabotaging someone else's happiness was absolutely wrong.
My God, I really do need to take a break before I do something stupid.

‘Everything okay?' Michelle's sweet voice snapped Emily out of her reverie.

She looked at her and smiled. ‘Fine. Sorry, I was daydreaming. About the time when I purchased my home. It was a defining moment in my life.'

‘Did your husband help, or did he leave it up to you, considering your expertise?' asked Donald.

Emily swallowed down her pride and levelled her tone. ‘Um, I'm not married actually. I bought the property on my own.'

‘Oh,' said Donald apologetically, while Michelle lowered her gaze as though it was shameful for a thirty-year-old woman not to be married. That's how she was interpreting their expressions, but her perceptions were slightly skewed at the moment.

‘It was a magical moment, as it will be for both of you,' she said, through gritted teeth, though she couldn't control the shakiness in her voice. ‘So, what do you think of the place?'

The happy couple looked at each other, rubbed their noses together for good measure, before looking at Emily with big smiles and saying, ‘We love it!'

Of course they did. This was why Emily earned the big bucks. She knew what people wanted before they did. If only she was as skilled in the husband-finding department.

On the way home, later that evening, a call came through her car's Bluetooth.

‘Good afternoon, Emily speaking.'

‘Am I speaking with Emily Wolfe?'

‘Yes you are,' she said, glancing at the digital clock—4.54 pm.

‘This is Rachel Walsh from the Dream Network. I'm calling about the
Catch Me a Cowboy
game show you applied for.'

She narrowed her eyes and indicated to take the next left. ‘From where, sorry?'

‘Dream Network. I want to talk about your application for
Catch Me a Cowboy
.'

‘
Catch Me a Cowboy
? I'm sorry, I've no idea what you are …' Then the lightbulb flashed. The dating show Xanthi had mentioned—she must have gone ahead and entered Emily behind her back. ‘Oh, right, sorry, yes. I just had a mind blank.'

‘I'm happy to announce that your application has been successful and we'd like to meet with you next weekend, along with the other applicants, to see if you qualify to move on to the next round.'

‘Right. Great.' She had no intention whatsoever of meeting with them and was not setting foot anywhere near a show with a title as degrading as
Catch Me a Cowboy
. Xanthi was going to get an earful over this stunt.

‘I'm going to forward all the information through to the email address you provided.'

‘Sure.'

‘Great. Lovely to talk to you, Emily, and we look forward to meeting you next weekend.'

‘Thanks. See you then.'
Not.

She hung up and dialled Xanthi at the next red light.

‘Hey there,' came Xanthi's cheerful voice, accompanied by burps and squeals in the background from her young children.

‘Don't
hey there
me. You entered me into the dating show?'

There was a long silence, except for the cries, farts and bangs. ‘I may have accidentally spent seven hours putting together an application and filling out psychiatric evaluations on your behalf.'

‘The Dream Network just rang to tell me I've made it to the next round.'

‘Yessss!' she squealed and Emily pictured Xanthi fist-pumping the air. ‘I knew my marketing skills would come in handy. Real Estate Agent to the Elite Seeks Tree Change and Sexy Farmer to Boot.'

‘You didn't,' hissed Emily, her fists squeezing so hard on the steering wheel her knuckles were turning white.

‘I did. And you can thank me later.'

‘I'm not doing it.'

‘You damn well are. I didn't spend hours at the computer with whiny kids crawling all over me, just so you could turn this opportunity down—'

‘I didn't give you permission to do that—'

‘I don't care. It's done. And you need a husband. And you're not going to get one buzzing around town in your Mercedes, helping other people create their dream lives while ignoring your own. You're doing it.'

‘I'm not.'

‘The doctor said you need to take a break. A couple of months in the country will be the perfect place. So stop being a spoiled sport and accept the amazing opportunity you have.'