The single solitaire diamond set in an intricate gold band made her gasp. “That’s a real ring.” A beautiful real ring.
“It was my grandma’s.” He carefully took it out of the box and slid it onto Darla’s left ring finger. “She gave it to me after my grandpa passed. Said she wanted me to be ready when I found the right woman.”
But she wasn’t the right woman. “I can’t wear this.” She traced the diamond with her finger and then went to pull off the ring. “We can find a fake one. What if I lose it? What if—”
“My family won’t believe us unless you’re wearing this ring.” He slid it back up her finger. “Trust me. I know you won’t lose it. It actually fits you pretty well,” he said, admiring it.
“Mm-hmm.” Darla’s heart had gone haywire with conflicting emotions again. The ring was very elegant, but it sat heavy on her finger. It had taken her five years to stop wearing the ring Gray had given her. And even then she’d only taken it off because customers at the bar would ask about her husband. She’d gotten tired of the horrified expressions she’d see on their faces when she would tell them he passed away, so she’d tucked the ring into a box and kept it in her bedside table.
Ty seemed to be watching for her reaction, so she gave a nod of approval. “It’ll work. For the plan. And I’ll give it back right after they leave.” A few weeks. That was all it would be. And then everything would go back to normal. There wouldn’t be any confusing emotions or crazy dreams. “Okay, well, I guess you should get going.” Darla nudged him toward the door. “See you soon.”
He said a quick goodbye, and she all but shoved him outside. As soon as the door closed, she flew around the house, showering and getting herself ready for work in record time. Once she looked presentable enough, she pulled on her wool pea coat and walked out of her house. The crisp, cold air seemed to calm her stomach, so she decided to walk the few blocks to the wine bar. It would do her good—help her sort out all the nervous energy that Gray’s letter and that dream and the ring had trapped inside of her.
She started off down the sidewalk, and it was like stepping into a magic snow globe. The frosted lawns of her neighbors glistened with incandescent sparkles in the early-morning sun. Overhead, the royal sky hung like a giant banner—the purest blue. There was no name for that color. It showed itself only on perfect winter days.
Darla inhaled it all, and something inside of her settled. She could handle this. All of this. She could process Gray’s dying wish for her and Ty’s nonnegotiable presence in her life for a couple of weeks. She’d handled so much more in the past. As long as she kept everything under control, things would be fine. She could raise money for Mateo and Everly. She could be strong and supportive for her friends.
“Darla! Yoo hoo!” Ginny Eckles rushed up the sidewalk. She was dressed for the weather in all wool from her shawl to her pants to the cap on her head. “I didn’t expect to see you out here this early.” She leaned in. “Not after I happened to drive by your house early this morning and saw Ty’s truck parked out front.”
It was the opening she needed. Darla bent her lips into a sheepish smile. “Yeah. We were actually supposed to go to dinner after the cookie-decorating party, but we went back to my place instead.” She didn’t mention she hadn’t been feeling well. Only their friends knew, and they wouldn’t have spread the word. “Ty actually proposed last night.” The ring sat like a weight on her finger, but she held it out, the diamond catching the sun’s sparkle.
“What!” The woman darted in front of her and inspected the ring. “Oh lordy! Look at that rock! You and Ty are getting married? Already?”
“Mm-hmm.” Darla was glad she’d slipped on her sunglasses so her eyes wouldn’t give her away. She pulled back her hand. “I mean, he just asked, so no one really knows about it yet.” But they would now. Give Ginny two hours and everyone in town would know.
“That’s marvelous news! Just marvelous.” The woman linked her arm with Darla’s and all but pulled her in the direction of their storefronts. The bakery was only a few doors down from her wine bar. “I’ve always thought he was sweet on you. I definitely picked up on it over these last few months.”
Darla stumbled on a curb. Picked up on what? The harmless flirting between them? “Really?” The dream haunted her again. She could almost feel Ty’s arms sliding around her, holding her close. And that kiss at the cookie-decorating party…it had felt about five steps past harmless. Her pulse quickened, but she couldn’t tell if it was from anticipation or fear.
“Of course,” Ginny chirped. “You can just tell whenever the two of you are in the same room. Like at the Tumble Inn a couple months ago. And at that Chamber meeting last week. He couldn’t keep his eyes off of you.”
She tried to think back, to remember if he’d been staring at her at the Chamber meeting, but she’d been so focused on the festival. Ginny had to be mistaken. Ty’s feelings for her didn’t go any deeper than their occasional fling. But that kiss last night…
“There’s always been something between you two, hasn’t there?” the woman prompted.
“I guess so.” Her face got hot enough to melt her makeup. “But lately it’s become something more.” Something that wasn’t feeling nearly as safe.
“Well, trust me.” Ginny let go of her and veered toward the door to the Butter Buns Bakery. “I’ve been around a long time. I know how to recognize a man in love.”
“I’m sure you do,” Darla said, even though Ginny clearly did not. Ty didn’t love her.
“I have to say, I’m quite surprised the feeling is mutual,” she went on. “You must be very good at hiding your feelings.”
Ten years of practice had made her a professional. “Well, you know. I’m kind of a private person when it comes to my love life.” Or lack thereof.
“Oh, I can’t wait to attend the wedding.” The woman went about unlocking the door to her bakery.
“We haven’t set a date yet,” Darla said quickly. “We’ll probably wait a year. Or two. You know how long it takes to plan a wedding,” she babbled. The key to this whole ruse would be remaining vague about pretty much everything, including the wedding that would never be.
* * *
“I’m not wearing that.” Ty eyed the pair of red silk boxers, jingle bell suspenders, and the Santa hat that had been laid out for him on one of the tables at Darla’s wine bar. When she’d called and said the Chamber wanted to get an early start on the cowboy calendar, he had no idea what he was walking into.
“I already told you. I’ll wear boots and jeans.” Actually, he’d said if he did the calendar he’d wear boots and jeans. He never remembered officially agreeing to this baloney. How Darla had managed to convince eleven other rodeo stars to travel out here a few days early for this, he’d never know.
“But you’re Mr. December.” Darla held up the suspenders and shook them to make them jingle. “This is the wardrobe we’ve selected for Mr. December.” She peered up at him from underneath those long, sleek eyelashes, and it finally clicked. It was her eyes. That was what he found so captivating about her. They were persuasive as hell. No man had a shot at telling her no.
Of course that wouldn’t stop him from trying. “I’m not wearing boxers and suspenders.” That was ridiculous.
“It’s either this or we assign you Mr. September and you go to Ginny’s bakery for the pictures.” Darla’s expression turned as innocent as an angel with a bent halo. “I seem to recall her offering to let you hold on to one of her buns.”
Ty held up the boxers and studied them. “You know, actually these aren’t so bad.”
“Good.” The woman handed over the suspenders. “Everyone will be expecting my fiancé to happily represent the Chocolate Therapist.”
Her fiancé. That wouldn’t get less weird for him to hear. Hopefully none of the people milling about had noticed his obvious flinch. “So you think everyone’s buying it?” he whispered with a glance around. A few other Main Street business owners hovered on
the other end of the table, getting their cowboys all rigged up with costumes and props.
“So far so good,” Darla murmured. “But if you keep looking so shocked every time I call you my fiancé, people are going to start catching on.”
“Sorry. It’s just…” He didn’t even know how to describe it. Weird? Appealing? Unsettling?
“I’m not wearing this.” Levi stomped over, holding up what looked to be white jeans and a USA muscle shirt. “White jeans?” he demanded. “White? News flash: Cowboys don’t wear white pants. And that hat is out of the question.” He pointed to a nearby table, and Ty busted out laughing. It was a bedazzled Uncle Sam hat full of red, white, and blue sequins.
“Let me guess, you’re Mr. July?” he asked, suddenly appreciating the chance to be Mr. December.
Levi flipped Ty off.
“Hey, at least you get to do your photo shoot at the ice cream shop,” Darla offered. “If you’re really good, maybe you’ll score a double-decker cone.”
Levi’s scowl tightened. “This is not what I signed up for—”
“You?” Lance asked his brother, walking over to join them.
This time Ty about doubled over with laughter. “Hold on. I gotta get a picture of this.” Before Lance could run or sock him, he snapped a shot on his phone. Mr. February was wearing jeans with a white fur vest—no shirt underneath, of course—and a white fur trapper hat on his head.
“I swear, whoever came up with the idea that cowboys walk around shirtless all the time has never met a real cowboy,” Lance grumbled. “And seriously? Fur? I’d rather wear nothing.”
“Maybe that could be arranged,” Ginny called over.
Laughing, Ty eyed his red silk boxers again. Maybe he didn’t have it so bad after all.
“Man, I never thought cowboys were such whiners either,” Darla commented, somehow staring down on the lot of them even though she stood much shorter. “Let’s all try to remember why we’re doing this, shall we? You don’t hear Mateo complaining.”
That was true, and their poor comrade currently stood on the other side of the room wearing leather pants and a leather vest with a hell of a lot of fringe. The owners of the flower shop were already oiling up his chest, the two happily married middle-aged women giggling like a couple of kindergarteners.
“This calendar had better raise a shit ton of money,” Levi muttered.
“We’re never gonna live this down out on the circuit,” Lance added, itching around his midsection.
“Half hour, boys.” Darla gave them each a pat. “That’s all we need.”
Ty’s friends walked away, but he could still hear them grumbling.
“So what were you saying about flinching when I call you my fiancé?” Darla asked, handing him the silk boxer shorts. Her expression was distant. “Because I could call you something else if you’d prefer. ‘Honey’? ‘Dear’? ‘Schmookie poo’?”
“Very funny.” He set the boxers and suspenders back down on the table. He wasn’t about to put them on until he absolutely had to. “‘Fiancé’ is fine. I’m just not used to—”
“There’re the love birds!” Ginny Eckles dashed over to them. “Congratulations!” She snatched Ty’s hand and pumped it up and down. “I couldn’t believe it when Darla told me you two were already getting hitched!”
He slid a glance to his fiancée. “Yeah, I think it caught us both by surprise.” In more ways than one.
“Well, we simply have to get a picture of the happy couple for the Chamber’s Facebook page!” Ginny patted her pockets until she located her smartphone. “Everyone is dying to see you two pose together!”
Darla broke away from him. “Actually, everyone’s so busy right now—”
“I’m not,” Ginny said. “I’ll take it!”
“Great.” Ty moved in next to Darla and slipped his arm around her. Her shoulder seemed to stiffen against his. Talk about people catching on to their ruse. Would she turn to stone every time he touched her?
“Could you get a little closer?” Ginny held up her phone. “Oh! Maybe give her a kiss, huh? That would be adorable.”
This time Darla stepped away from him. “I don’t think the whole town needs to see us kissing. We’re not into PDA,” she said.
“Why ever not?” the baker demanded. “You’re in love! It’s Christmas time. A sweet couple smooching is exactly the kind of lovely thing people want to see this time of year.”
Ty turned to Darla and shrugged. “She’s right, schmookie poo.” He eased his arms around her rigid shoulders. Wow, she really didn’t want to do this. “How about if I sneak a kiss on her cheek?” he asked Ginny. “I’ll be real sly about it.” Everyone would go crazy for that, and maybe Darla would loosen up too.
“Aw that’d be so sweet.” Ginny aimed the phone’s camera, and Ty leaned in, pressing his lips lightly against Darla’s cheek with a grin.
“That’s perfect!” Ginny studied the phone screen with a wide grin. “You two make the cutest couple,” she gushed. As soon as she walked away, Ty faced Darla.
“If I can’t flinch when you call me your fiancé, then you definitely can’t turn to stone whenever I touch you. We’re supposed to be newly engaged. We’re going to have to hug. And kiss. And hold hands. If that’ll be a problem—”
“It’s not going to be a problem,” Darla insisted. “Sorry. I’m just…tired today. It’s been a busy week.”
Ty grinned at her. “All the more reason to live a little.” He winked. “This engagement doesn’t have to be another thing that stresses you out. I promise I’ll make it fun.”
Chapter Seven
This was going to be a problem. Good lord, every time Ty got within five inches of touching her, her stomach flipped and her palms got clammy and sparks of heat brought on a wave of perspiration that tingled on her face.
Combine that with the lingering nausea she couldn’t seem to shake since the cookie-decorating party, and Darla felt like she was right back in junior high, nervous and awkward. Completely unlike herself.
“You okay?” Everly studied her from a few tables over, where she was glancing through the calendars Darla had ordered for inspiration.
“Never been better,” she sang, keeping an eye out for Ty. He’d disappeared into the back room to get his costume on—complaining about it the whole way. As far as she was concerned, he could take his time getting dressed. At least she could think straight when he wasn’t standing next to her, when Ginny wasn’t forcing them to kiss.
Everly walked over. “I can’t believe you organized all of this.”
“It gave me something to do.” Something to focus on other than her and Ty’s fake relationship debut.
“So how’s it going with Ty?” Everly asked. “When are his parents coming?”
Rather than answer the first loaded question, she went straight for answering the second. “We’re going to pick them up at the airport tomorrow night.” And from then on they would have to play the part of the happy couple. Lord help her, her stomach might not hold up for the next three weeks.
Everly pulled out a chair and sat at the table. She seemed more tired than normal, but Darla supposed that was to be expected. “Everyone around here seems to have bought the whole engagement story, huh?” her friend asked.
What could she say? Ginny had really sold it for them. “Seems like it.” She hoped so anyway. The last thing they needed was for someone in town to blow their cover with Ty’s family.
“Well, I know you’ve taken on a lot of extra stress for us managing all these event details.” Everly’s eyes got teary. “We really appreciate everything you’re doing, Darla. I don’t even know how to thank you.” She dabbed at her eyes with her shirtsleeve.
“No thanks necessary.” Everly would do the same—or more—for her. “We’re happy to help.” Well, for the most part. Ty would be happier when he didn’t have to wear the red silk boxers and suspenders. But she had a feeling he’d look good in them. Really good…
Darla dec
ided to change the subject. “Have you heard anything from your insurance company yet?”
Her friend slumped with a heartsick sigh. “It’s going to be a process. I don’t know that we’ll be able to start rebuilding until the spring. And with the baby coming…” The words trailed off as if she was too overwhelmed to finish.
That was to be expected too. It was overwhelming enough to have a baby, but then to have your livelihood up in the air…Darla couldn’t even imagine. “Don’t worry about that. We can do more fund-raisers. We’ll all pitch in and help to get the café open again. And of course, as soon as you’re ready to go back to work I can help out with the baby. You know how much I love babies.”
“Yes I do.” Everly’s expression perked up. “Everyone’s kids love you too. You’re their favorite aunt. I know the baby will love you.”
“I’ll make sure he or she loves me.” Darla had her methods. Sometimes it was fun being the one who never had to discipline them—the one who could spoil them and love on them and then hand them back to their parents. And other times…well, she couldn’t go there. At this point in her life, she’d have to settle for loving other people’s kids.
“Well, how do I look?” Ty strolled over to the table, jingling the whole way.
Darla fumbled with her phone and accidentally dropped it onto the floor. Oh, yeah. Ty Forrester definitely fit the perfect profile for Mr. December. From that sexy, naughty look with the Santa hat crooked on his head to his lean, muscled torso, Ty just might sell out the calendars all by himself. She stooped to pick up her phone and was suddenly so hot she wanted to take off her sweater. When she stood back up, Darla narrowed an eye as she looked him over, hopefully giving the impression she was simply analyzing the outfit for the calendar. “It’ll do,” she finally said, angling her body back to Everly and away from Ty. Why did the sight of him have to stir that greedy hunger?
Her friend gave her a thoughtful look. “Well, I know I’m married to his friend and all, but he looks pretty hot to me.” Everly raised her eyebrows as though expecting Darla to agree.
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