Free To Love A Cowboy: A Billionaire BWWM Western Romance by BWWM Club, Esther Banks

truck, and
his woman, not necessarily in that order. Kate loved his masculinity.
She loved the fact that he was her protector, and he did whatever he
could to make her happy. He was also her compass for right and wrong,
and creating balance in her life. She admired his wisdom. He had a
way of dispensing it without coming across like he was preaching or
saying I told you so .
    For her, meeting Bruce was practice in the adage, don't judge a book
by the cover. He was immediately attractive, but nothing in her said
that as a twenty something black woman, she would fall for a
fortyish, graying, white man who had an affinity for cowboy boots and
big trucks. But they meshed and they got along so well. Being with
Bruce was the most natural thing in the world. Not only were they
lovers, but the basis for their relationship was a great friendship
that formed.
    Kate was not sure where their relationship was going. At twenty
seven, she had not quite resounded within herself with the thought of
marriage. Marriage seemed so secure, so definite, so settled. It
seemed like all of the things she was not. Besides, how would she be
able to be a wife to Bruce? He deserved so much more than she felt
she was able to give.
    She was definitely not the type of woman who was going to have a hot
meal on the table every night. She still had an air of selfishness
about her. It was something that was slowly changing while dating
Bruce. This was the first time she had to learn to think of someone
else besides herself and she was learning one day at a time how to
put someone else first at times instead of her own needs.
    Their relationship was starting to feel more serious and she was not
sure what the next step would be. With Bruce in her life, she knew
she wanted him in her life and she would do whatever it took to have
him there. Even if that meant spending a little extra time in bed
before racing to the office.
    *****
    "Well, this is our last day in Paris. How was your trip?"
    "Fancy, let me say that this has been the perfect opportunity
for me and my career. I'm so thankful you chose me to work with."
    Kate zipped Fancy's shirt, which had a closure in the back.
    "Okay, now. Let me see."
    Fancy did a twirl. "What do you think?"
    "I think you look sensational. How do you feel?"
    Kate's client had not stopped looking at herself in the mirror.
    "I swear, you have a knack for finding just the right outfit
each and every time. I love this designer. Who is it again?"
    "Tobias. He's an up and coming designer from L.A. I love the
feminine cut to all of his pieces. He really knows a woman's body."
    "And I love the fact that he has a great sense of color. I hate
just wearing black all of the time. This is perfect! Thank you,"
Fancy gushed.
    She hugged Kate. "Now, what about Prince Charming that came with
you. I know you have been working most of the time while here. Did
you make some time for him?"
    "I tried. As best I could. Truth be told, I had my focus on
coming here to work. At the last minute, he surprised me and had a
ticket to come along with me."
    "That's amazing! Why don't you seem excited by that?"
    "Coming to Paris was on my bucket list for two reasons. To work
it in the fashion world and to experience it with the man that I
love. The way I envisioned it, the trip was supposed to be something
that the two of us did together with the romance and everything, you
know? Not him coming with me while I was more focused on work."
    Once Kate confessed that thought, it felt like a huge weight lifted
off her chest.
    Fancy touched up her makeup in the mirror as she spoke. "Life is
like that, you know. Sometimes we don't get to experience it the way
we envisioned, but we get the experience and we have to appreciate
that and do the best we can with it. And in the end, that's all that
matters. Right?"
    Kate thought about what it was that Fancy was truly saying. "I
guess you're right. I never thought about it that way."
    "How lucky are you to have a man that came with