“I told them I was getting a different flight, so they think I’m pissed.”
“What are you going to tell them?” I didn’t get the impression she was as close to her friends as her siblings. She got aloof when they were brought up or when she looked at her phone.
“Nothing.” She tucked the phone into her carry-on tote. “Like you said, we have to tell our families first.”
They’d really hurt her feelings last night when they’d left her outside the club. She’d never tell. I didn’t know how I knew, but Autumn had standards and pity to the people who fell below them.
The realization was startling. I was the same.
But she hadn’t mentioned this Mark guy. “And Mark?”
The growing pink in her cheeks covered her freckles. “He’s, um... sort of my version of a Taya.”
I did not like the sound of this. “You work with him?” She was going back to work on Tuesday. Today was Sunday. Could she sit out of work for the month?
“We went out a couple of times. Nothing serious.” She gave me a sidelong look. “He doesn’t have keys to my house.”
Still not good enough. “Yet he’s still texting you?”
“He’s my boss.”
“Conflict of interest, isn’t it?” How could I get him fired?
“The town’s too small not to have workarounds. Vegas is huge though,” she said innocently.
My lips twitched. She was like a stealthy prizefighter, getting hits in left and right when I wasn’t prepared. “Remember our deal.”
“One month.”
It was time for us to deplane. I retrieved our luggage. I’d buy anything else I needed. I doubted many suits would be necessary in Bourbon Canyon, so I’d only packed jeans and sweaters.
As we walked through the airport, I tried hard not to admire the architecture. Wooden beams swooped overhead and large windows let in the majesty of the surrounding mountains. Autumn was looking around like she might see someone she knew. I wasn’t worried. I hadn’t lived in the area since I turned eighteen. I was forty-four.
“My car is in long-term parking,” she said.
“Did your friends carpool with you?”
She shook her head, looking straight ahead as we wheeled our suitcases toward the exit. “No. I guess apart of me knew that their reliability only went so far. They joke I’m the mom of the group.” I caught her smirk. “I thought any one of them could’ve ended up married in Vegas.”
I bristled under the stereotype. I made it possible for people to go crazy in Las Vegas, whether it was impulsively marrying, trying expensive clubs, or indulging in luxury. I was accustomed to being a nonparticipant.
I followed Autumn outside. Every location had its own beauty, and I’d been able to travel a fair amount during my years working in the world of hospitality. This was the second time I’d been in Montana since I’d left for college, and the same sense of rightness hit me. No matter where I went, the view, the atmosphere, the weather would never feel as right as Montana.
Feelings were deceptive. I wouldn’t have a career in Las Vegas entertainment if they weren’t.
The temperatures were nice for Montana in October, but the cool hint of a breeze brushed my face, reminding me I was no longer in Nevada.
Autumn dug her keys out and unlocked a small orange hybrid SUV. I reached the liftgate first and opened it to put her luggage in. Then I tossed my bag in the back and held my hand out.
She glanced at my palm, her eyes wide, then lifted her gaze to my face.
“The keys,” I prompted.
“Oh.” Those pretty pink lips of hers turned down. She tugged on the strap of the purse that had been her constant since we’d met. “Why?”
“We’re married. You’re not chauffeuring me around.” I didn’t want to be a wide-eyed spectator driving into my hometown for the second time this year. BourbonCanyon had changed, but so much was still the same. More eclectic shops had opened, and seeing them had only pissed me off.
I was sure the Baileys and their damn distillery had made increased commerce possible. Copper Summit offered jobs, drove revenue, and encouraged tourism. The Baileys had contributed to the place where they’d been born and raised. I’d made my gains in a city that didn’t need my efforts. When I was done with school, there’d been nothing for me but my grandfather’s warning about Percival and working for a dad who didn’t listen and didn’t care what I had to say. The Baileys had been able to build a bigger empire than what they were born with, and now they wanted what should be mine.
