My Billionaire Rancher : Secret Lover

My Billionaire Rancher Secret LoverLavender Skye © Copyright 2023 - All rights reserved.The content contained within this book may not be reproduced, duplicated or transmitted without direct written permission from the author or the publisher.Under no circumstances will any blame or legal responsibility be held against the publisher, or author, for any damages, reparation, or monetary loss due to the information contained within this book, either directly or indirectly.Legal Notice:This book is copyright protected. It is only for personal use. You cannot amend, distribute, sell, use, quote or paraphrase any part, or the content within this book, without the consent of the author or publisher.Disclaimer Notice:Please note the information contained within this document is for educational and entertainment purposes only. All effort has been executed to present accurate, up to date, reliable, complete information. No warranties of any kind are declared or implied. 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Table of ContentsPrologueChapter 1: Comfortably NumbChapter 2: The Right TimeChapter 3: High TestosteroneChapter 4: FaceTime and UnwindChapter 5: Like a Dog With a BoneChapter 6: Tensions RiseChapter 7: Bars and BrawlsChapter 8: Knight in Shining Cowboy BootsChapter 9: The Next MorningChapter 10: Sober ThoughtsChapter 11: He’s My BossChapter 12: She’s MineChapter 13: Friends With BenefitsChapter 14: Looking for a FriendChapter 15: Please Don’t GoChapter 16: Hard-HitterChapter 17: Need Her BackChapter 18: Crossing the PondChapter 19: One ShotChapter 20: Coming HomeEpilogue Prologue“I’m home,” I call out as I open the door to my apartment. No response greets me. Odd, I would have thought Colin would be home by now. He usually beats me home because he works much closer to our building. As if he can read my mind, I hear the familiar chime of his text notification.Colin: Hey, I’m going to be working late again. Love ya.Smiling, I press my phone against my chest. I met Colin during my second semester at NYU. He was smart and funny and gave me the kind of butterflies I hadn’t had since the days of silly high school crushes. So, needless to say, when he asked me out, I was ecstatic.Everything about our relationship is perfect. Colin is attentive, and he makes me laugh. Plus, he can handle me when I get a bit sassy. For some of the guys I dated before him, it was a bit of a turnoff. I can’t help it, though. I like making things light-hearted, and I like joking with the ones I love the most.The best part is that we can both be independent. I can’t stand having to rely on people too much. I don’t know why, but I’ve always been like that. So, I appreciate having someone who lets me do my own thing every now and again and doesn’t feel like I need to be babied or looked after. Because he gives me that space, I don’t feel the need to get in his space, either.Looking around our apartment, I can’t help but marvel at how far we have come from those dates at the campus coffee shop. Putting my phone down, I stop momentarily to admire the ring resting beautifully on my finger. Colin proposed to me a couple of months ago. We were walking in Central Park when he got down on one knee right at the Bethesda Fountain. It still feels so surreal to me that soon I will be Amelia Garner instead of Amelia Rhodes.Well, if I’m going to be by myself this evening, I can at least work on some wedding planning. Sitting on the couch, I open the wedding planning binder I started. I never take it off the coffee table in the living room. Turning to the page I have designated for colors, I start going through the paint samples I got at a hardware store.Colin likes green, but I don’t think he’d like the green that goes with the blue I like. So I’ll have to adjust the blue to match a green he likes.A knock interrupts my thoughts. Did Colin forget his keys? But a cursory glance at the hook near the front door proves otherwise. I put down the binder and go to open the door. Standing outside my apartment is my friend from university and future maid of honor, Ally.“Oh, hey, perfect timing. I’m going over the binder right now and I could really use your input on the colors,” I say, letting her in. However, her eyes don’t light up like they normally do when we talk about the wedding.Instead, she sighs. Brushing past me without making eye contact, she goes and sits on the couch.“I have something I need to tell you,” Ally says. There’s a look in her eyes, sadness mingling with an anger that has been simmering for a while.“Is everything okay?” I ask, sitting down next to her. It must be serious if she came all the way here to tell me in person instead of texting or calling me.She shakes her head and takes my hands in hers. Ally’s breath shudders for a moment before she meets my gaze.“I think Colin has been cheating on you.”The oxygen is sucked dry from my lungs. The whole apartment tilts and it takes all my willpower to hold on to myself. This can’t be happening.“What?” I choke out. It’s all I can manage to say. I can’t find the words adequate enough to describe the stab of betrayal rippling through my body.“I had my suspicions for a while, but I didn’t want to say anything unless I was absolutely