“Nah. I’m good.”
Her brows pinch together before she shrugs and walks away, leaving me with Stevie and Wylie once again.
“Isn’t she pretty?” Stevie asks, nudging me.
I know she’s trying to help me get back into dating, and find a plus one for Savannah’s wedding, but I’m really not in the mood for this whole match making thing tonight. I’m exhausted after working at the station and the ranch and would much rather be in bed asleep.
I force a smile anyways, not wanting to hurt her feelings. “She’s pretty.” I agree, because it’s true, but that doesn’t stop my thoughts from wandering towards what Maggie is doing tonight. The same thing I’ve thought about for the past two weeks straight since I’ve seen her last.
She nods, satisfied, just as an upbeat country song kicks in. Wylie takes her hand with a grin. “Let’s go dance, mama,” he says, whisking her out onto the crowded floor where hundreds of couples are clapping and dancing along to the music.
I stay put, rubbing my beard, lost in thought, wondering when everything changed. I adjust the baseball cap I’m wearing, flipping it forward and pulling the brim down low over my face, as if it can somehow block out the loud, chaotic energy that’s swirling around me.
“Whatcha thinking about?” Everly asks as she returns to our table. There’s a thin glass of white wine clasped between her dainty fingers now and her free hand presses gently on top of mine where it rests on the table. I resist everything inside of me that’s telling me to pull my hand away.
She’s pretty.
She’s nice.
She’s trying to make conversation.
She’s here on a fucking date with you.
You need a date for your ex-girlfriend’s wedding next weekend.
You can be cordial.
“Just wondering when it happened. When I suddenly realized this type of thing wasn’t my scene anymore.”
Her eyes cast out towards the dancing couples then back towards me again and I’m sure I’ve blown any chance of getting her to agree to go to this stupid wedding that I’m dreading attending.
“It’s not really my thing either.”
I raise a brow. “Really?”
She smiles and shrugs. “Yea. I hate Texas.”
My heart instantly sinks and the hand on top of mine still pressed on the table feels like molten lava. I wonder if I can press it any harder into the wood, maybe I can break my way through it and free it from her touch, blaming it on a faulty hinge.
“All the cowboys, the slang, and shit, the heat is brutal in this state. Everywhere you go it smells like cows. Everyone is plumbers, ranchers or farmers. It’s like no one here has a white-collar job. Worst part is the southern charm people pretend to have. I only took the contract because the hospital was desperate for some help while they staff up, so the pay was good.”
I clear my throat, tugging at the collar of my shirt I put on forthis ridiculous date and wishing I was back in one of my faded T-shirts instead. “Think I’m going to go grab a drink.”
She looks at me for a moment then shrugs, completely oblivious to the way she just dissed everything about my family, hometown, and personality.
I slide off, weaving through the crowd of dancing bodies to find Wylie and Stevie. I might no longer care what people think about me, but I’m not a total asshole, and I won’t just ditch Everly without passing the message on to someone else to deliver first.The people who put me in this situation to begin with.
“Hey!” I bark at Stevie who’s dancing to some upbeat pop song with Wylie. Her head snaps to face me.
“What?” she asks wide eyed at my tone while Wylie’s eyes narrow in warning.
“Your little blind date hates cowboys, ranchers and Texas.”
Stevie’s mouth pops open and Wylie shakes his head, laughing.
“I’m going to,” I point my thumb towards the exit door as Stevie nods aggressively.
“I’ll let her down. Sorry Clay. We’ll find someone for Savannah’s wedding.”
