Goldie complimented herself on keeping her composure even as her pulse ran wild. She couldn’t have been more shocked to look up and see Max standing directly outside the café looking in the window at her. She hurriedly dropped her gaze, her heart threatening to pound out of her chest. Was he coming in after all these months? Why now? Her plan couldn’t have worked this quickly, could it have?
She stood, refusing to look but desperately willing the front door of the café to open. She told herself Max wouldn’t come in even as she braced herself in case he did.Please don’t let him walk away. Worse, please don’t let me run after him if he does.
As if he’d seen her panic, Donovan took her hand. When the café door finally swung in on a gust of wind, her gaze shot up. To her shock, there Max was after all these months. She stood frozen, unable to move or breathe.
As if sensing her shock, her pretend future lover squeezed her hand, anchoring her. She met Donovan’s gaze, and he gave her a reassuring wink as if to sayGame on! That was when it hit her. Of course this was why Max had shown up here now. Word of the handsome man in the red sports car flirting with her had gotten back to the sheriff as quickly as all gossip in Dry Gulch did.
Wasn’t this what she’d wanted? Wasn’t this why she’d gotten Donovan here? She felt anger replace her excitement and panic. She just hadn’t expected it to work this quickly. The fact that itwas the only thing that could have brought the sheriff into the café spurred her fury.
She’d dreamed of the day Max would at least talk to her, let alone come down to the café for lunch again. She couldn’t imagine just being friends, but she’d been so desperate that she would have settled for that if he’d only offered it.
“You don’t need to settle for anything other than all of a man’s love,” Donovan whispered as Max made his way to the last booth in the corner. “Be cool. You have the upper hand. He owes you for breaking your heart and putting you through this. I’m going to help you, okay?”
In his blue eyes she found the strength to pull herself together. Donovan was right. Max owed her. She would treat him like any other patron—but nothing more. He’d ignored her for months. The least she could do was give him some of his own medicine.
As upset as she was with Max, it was hard not to remember the two of them together as she waited on him. It was torture not meeting his gaze, let alone pretending she didn’t know what he liked to eat or drink. She was glad that Donovan had stayed. She knew if he hadn’t been there, she might have weakened.
“This is the guy you want back?” Donovan whispered after she returned to the counter to put in Max’s order. He seemed both surprised and a little wary.
“Sheriff Max Lander.”
Donovan’s brow arched. “Sheriff?” He glanced in Max’s direction and apparently only then saw the star on his tan shirt. She realized that she’d failed to mention her old boyfriend was the law. Did Donovan have reason to be concerned about making a law officer jealous? For a moment, she was afraid he would back out of their deal and leave town—just when it was starting to work.
But then he smiled reassuringly at her and asked her loud enough for Max to hear to have dinner at the hotel with him. She said she would love to.
It was so hard to ignore Max after Donovan left, but fortunately she had other patrons to wait on. She hoped Max would want to talk. He had to have heard Donovan ask her out to dinner tonight at the hotel. Max had thought Donovan was interested in buying the café. She’d seen his expression when she’d told him that wasn’t the case.
Still, she hoped that he would say something, but after he finished lunch, Max got to his feet, left money to cover his meal and a tip, and walked out without a word. She watched him go, her heart dropping. He’d finally come to the café. Because this scheme of hers was working?
But if so, then why hadn’t he said something more to her? He’d seemed concerned about her selling the café and seemingly upset about Donovan asking her out, but it didn’t feel like enough. She tried to tell herself that at least Max had finally come down her side of the street and had lunch at the café for the first time in months. That was progress, right?
So why did she feel like crying? She didn’t want to play games with Max. She loved him. Nor did she want to be angry with him. He’d driven her to this. Worse, she had a dinner date with an almost stranger. It had been one thing to flirt with Donovan at the café. But dinner at the hotel? Still off-season, the dining room would probably be empty. She worried about being alone with him, telling herself they’d have nothing in common, certainly nothing to talk about.
The day seemed to pass too quickly. Numerous times she’d thought about calling Donovan and canceling their date. But as it turned out, they weren’t alone when she showed up at the hotel. There were three other groups in the dining room, all laughing and enjoying themselves. The moment she walked in,Donovan saw her and gave her a welcoming smile that made her relax a little.
“You look beautiful,” he said as he rose to hold her chair for her. She had changed into one of the only dressy dresses she owned and was glad of it.
She knew it was all pretend, but it was so nice to have a man really notice her—and apparently appreciate what he saw. As she sat, he leaned over and whispered, “And you smell wonderful.” She couldn’t help the tingle she felt as his breath tickled her ear before he took his seat again.
Goldie figured he would want to hear about Max at dinner, but instead he asked about her. She found herself telling him about her life in Dry Gulch, since he seemed genuinely interested. “People think growing up in a small town in the middle of nowhere had to be boring,” she said and laughed. “It was anything but.”
He insisted she tell him some of her favorite memories and listened attentively. He was good at this, she realized.
“You rode a bull?” Donovan said with a laugh and an appraising look after she told him how she’d gotten her first broken bone. He leaned closer. “The more I learn about you, the more impressed I am.” He was so close, his gaze making her think he was going to kiss her.
Heat rushed to her cheeks and beyond. She quickly dragged her gaze from his and shifted in her chair, reminding herself what this was and wasn’t. Even if the sheriff wasn’t here to see this, she knew several of the people in the dining room would get word back to him.
Donovan gave her a smile that clearly said,I won’t kiss you now, but I will soon.
She wondered what she’d gotten herself into even as her pulse took off at a sprint at the thought of kissing him. For just an instant, she felt guilty before she reassured herself there was noreason she couldn’t enjoy this attention, right? It wasn’t like one kiss from another man could make her forget Max. If only that were true, she thought.
MALCOLMMANDEVILLE WASfond of saying, “I wasn’t born yesterday.” He doubted though that his family really understood what he meant. They often misjudged his gray hair and obvious signs of aging for a decline in mental and physical health and power. His son, Barton, especially thought he was losing his edge, but nothing like his only daughter.
Lolly had thought he’d mellowed when it came to the losers she’d dragged home. He shook his head at the memory of the day he’d met Donovan Cole, when his daughter had brought him to the ranch. Even Malcolm could tell Donovan was exactly the kind of man his daughter would be attracted to.
Malcolm saw what kind of man he was. He suspected Lolly had to know as well. That meant she wasn’t serious about him, which was good because Donovan wouldn’t be with them long. His type didn’t stick around.
Still, he’d had his lawyer dig up all the dirt on Donovan until he felt he knew the man better than his daughter did. Malcolm could spot a con man a mile away.
