By the time I spot Allie pulling down my driveway, I’m back to my old cynical self.
“What are you doing here?” I ask Allie as she climbs out of her Jeep, her hair a windblown mess.
“I feel like it’s been forever since we spent time together.”
“I know. I’ve been busy.”
She arches a brow at me. “With a certain city boy?”
I give her a blank stare. “You know city boys aren’t my type.”
“Good thing he’s looking more like a cowboy than a city boy these days, then.”
I can feel the blush flooding my cheeks as images replay in my mind. Wes working with Luci, his strong hands sure and steady. The way he looks when he rides Cash across the pasture, completely at ease.Damn him.
Allie slides her sunglasses on top of her head and scrutinizes me with her gaze. “I had to come out here and see for myself.”
“See what?”
“I bumped into Linda while I was getting groceries. She said you showed up to the pitch game the other night looking like a woman in love.”
“She saidwhat?” I exclaim.
Allie giggles. “I thought she must be exaggerating, but I don’t know. Thereissomething different about you.”
I roll my eyes. “Don’t be ridiculous. It’s just the orgasms.”
“Leave it to a cowboy to get the job done right.”
“Damn right. What’d you bring?” I ask, peeking into the tote bag she’s carrying.
“I brought us dinner. I felt woefully out of the loop when Linda was talking about where you could get your wedding dress. Please tell me I can be a bridesmaid.”
“Linda is a nutcase,” I remind her, leading the way into the house so we can talk somewhere without the frigid wind biting our cheeks.
“Maybe.”
“Definitely,” I mumble, grabbing a bottle of water from my fridge.
“I don’t know. Mrs. Mackey said Wes seemed besotted,” Allie says digging out paper bags dotted with grease and smelling like heaven.
I gnaw on my lip, remembering last night, and how it had felt to be the one he confided in. How we’d stayed tangled up together on the cold, hard ground under the stars for hours before finally riding back home.
“So,” Allie says, leveling me with a look, “are you gonna tell me what I’ve missed?”
I shrug. “Nothing.”
Her eyes narrow. “Oh, so you’renotdating Wes Dawson?”
“You knew we were sleeping together. You went with me to get condoms,” I remind her.
“I didn’t know he was taking you to pitch tournaments and on picnic dates. Andthatis something else entirely,” she says, pointing a finger at me.
Linda and Mrs. Mackey were going to have hell to pay next time I saw them. Nothing is sacred in this town. Nobody knows how to mind their own damn business.
“The pitch tournament was with Pops and his friends. I wouldn’t call it a date. The actual date was a disaster. Luci ran off and Wes had to go wrangle him in the rain. We got into a fight, Dixie ate a condom, and then we had to rush her to the vet.”
She bursts into laughter. “Dixie ate a condom? Why am I just finding out about this?”
