Chapter 14

Seeing Cheyenne walk toward him, Nolan felt an unexpected wave of nervousness. Her expression was calm as she sat across from him, while he sat stiffly, gripping his coffee cup so tightly his knuckles turned white. Facing those cold, detached eyes, he didn't dare to start with what really mattered. Instead, he reached for their past. "Do you remember? You said you loved the lavender fields in Veridale, so I bought an estate there just so we could stay for a month during the bloom each year." His voice was tentative, careful, like testing the waters. "And for your birthday that year, I rented out the whole amusement park and had fireworks spell out your name across the sky…" Cheyenne's hand paused on her teacup. "Mr. Pierce, what does any of that have to do with me?" She lifted her gaze, her eyes as cold as ice. His words caught in his throat. "We were never married. We weren't even an official couple." He froze. She set the cup down with a soft clink against the table. "For tho