“Good news?” I was fairly certain he was talking about my new position at the magazine, but the way he’d said it had had a much more intimate tone than that. Like he was privy to information he couldn’t have easily overheard in the elevator.
“I know all about it.” He winked. “And don’t worry. I’m not holding it against you.”
“You know what, exactly?” I asked slowly.
A smirk appeared on his face. “All of it. You don’t think I’d have accepted this date without doing my research on you, did you?”
“Accepted this date? You were the one who asked me out. Repeatedly.” Snatching my hand back from beneath his, I sat up straighter, squaring my shoulders.
“I might have thrown out the bait, but you definitely bit hook, line, and sinker.”
My jaw dropped. Literally. I had a million things flying through my head that I wanted to say, but I couldn’t manage to spit them out. I just sat there, mouth agape. I could not believe the things that were coming out of this guy’s mouth. It just went to show that you really didn’t know someone—until you did. Never would I have guessed that Derek was an arrogant, condescending jerk. He’d seemed nice whenever we ran into each other in passing.
“Anyway, you should be happy. I know all about your past and I’m fine with it.” He tried to place his hand over mine, but this time I moved faster.
Despite the fact that I was sure I was not going to like the answer—and it wouldn’t have mattered anyway, considering I never planned on seeing this man outside the office building we shared—I still heard myself asking, “What exactly do you know and are fine with in my past?”
“You know.” He winked, like that was going to clear everything up.
“No.” I slowly shook my head as I took another drink—one I was likely going to need. Thankfully, this one went down much smoother than the last. “I don’t know.”
His forehead wrinkled as his eyebrow rose. “You know… The cancer.”
He’d whispered the C-word.
Since my initial diagnosis almost a decade ago, I was still surprised at how differently people behaved when confronted with the serious illness. Some people refused to acknowledge it at all, some people wanted to talk about nothing else, while other people had treated me as if it was contagious. This response was new. Derek was treating it like a dirty secret he’d uncovered.
When I didn’t speak, he continued his idiocrasy as he assured me, “I’m totally fine with it, even if it means you might be damaged goods.”
If my jaw could have unhinged and hit the floor, it would have. Any shock I’d felt before was child’s play compared to what Derek’s last comment sent surging through me. I’d grown up hearing the saying that he or she was “spitting mad” thrown around. But I’d never experienced that level of fury until this moment.
After taking a deep breath, I calmly clarified, “Damaged goods?”
“Yeah, you know. You might not be able to have kids because of all the chemo. I’m fine with it. Kids can be adopted, but you… You’re a triple-S threat. Smokin’ hot. Smart. And a sweetheart. A triple S is like a unicorn. And that’s a lot harder to find than a working uterus.”
Working uterus?! Wow. That’s it.
I was done.
“Goodnight, Derek.” My entire body was vibrating with anger as I stood.
There was no way I was going to waste one more second of my precious time with this chauvinistic pig. Life experiences were one thing; being a masochist was another.
“Hey, come on. Why are you leaving?” He stood and held his hands out. His face scrunched in what looked like genuine confusion. “That was a compliment.”
“The fact that you consider what you just said a compliment is the reason I’m leaving.” I did my best to control my temper as I put a ten-dollar bill on the table. I wasn’t going to let this man buy my drink. No way in hell.
As I weaved through the bar, which was packed with the happy hour crowd, I heard him bark in laughter behind me.
“Women!” he declared loudly. “You all claim you want honesty, but when a real man lays his cards on the table, you get scared and run away.”
A very large part of me wanted to turn around and tell Derek exactly what I thought about his assessment of women, but I knew it wouldn’t do any good. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if he wasn’t trying to “bait” me again. No, thank you. I had no plans of biting “hook, line, and sinker” again.
So many thoughts were jumping up and down in my mind, competing for attention. They felt like kernels of corn popping and my head was the bag that was about to burst. I did my best to maintain my composure as I walked the two blocks back to my office to pick my bag up before catching the train that would take me back to Wishing Well. My heels clicked on the cement, and the sound reminded me of the effort I’d put into this date. Not only had I brought a change of clothes with me to work, but I’d even bought brand-new nude heels to go with my thigh-length lavender dress.
I considered changing out of my dress and new heels, back into the slacks, the button-up, and the flats I’d worn into the city today, but when I caught my reflection, I decided against it. I looked pretty dang good, and this was the last time I would be dressing up like this for a long time, so I figured I might as well get as much mileage as I could out of it.
My days of dresses and heels, taking the train in so I could have a cocktail while meeting with a virtual stranger, waiting in a hospital for over an hour, and partaking in awkward and offensive conversations that all concluded in disappointing results were over.
Dating was highly overrated. At this point, I would choose taking a hot bath, sipping a glass of wine, and reading a romance novel over ever subjecting myself to this unique brand of torture again. I mean, at least with the bath-booze-book scenario, I would be guaranteed the night would end with a HEA.
And, hey—if that meant that I retained my virginal status for the foreseeable future, so be it. I might have been tired of being what felt like the last virgin in her mid-twenties, but I would wear that crown proudly if the alternative was giving it up to one of the guys I’d been out with.
No. Thank. You.
None of those experiences had even come in a close second to washing my Jeep and Trace’s truck with him, sitting next to Trace while we had hung out at the Cow with our friends, watching Ghost on a blanket, side by side, under the stars, or just driving down a back road with him after church. Basically, any time I spent with Trace was better than any time I spent away from him.
Trace Briggs made me feel things no one else ever had. Not even Channing Tatum doing the “Pony” dance in Magic Mike inspired the tingles Trace gave me with a single glance. All he had to do was look in my direction and every single cell in my body came alive.
But he wasn’t interested in me.
At least, I was pretty sure he wasn’t. I couldn’t count the number of times I’d considered telling Trace how I felt. The problem was, every time I entertained how that scenario would play out, I always ended up with the same conclusion. The risk-to-rewards ratio was too great. Trace wasn’t just my friend; he was also my best friend’s brother and my brother’s right-hand man.
Putting myself out there would not only be humiliating if Trace didn’t return my feelings, but more importantly, it would put Trace in a horrible position. I would never do that to him. And then there was the issue Derek had so rudely pointed out. I wasn’t sure if I would be able to have babies. And Trace deserved to have it all—a wife and kids.
But, after my dating disasters, I wasn’t sure I would ever respond to or feel about someone else the way I did with him. It looked like I was going to have to get comfortable in my home, which was snuggled in tight between a rock and a hard place. That realization had me almost as mad as I’d been when Derek had declared that a woman like me was harder to find than a working uterus.
All the irritation smoldering right below the surface must have resulted in unintentional speed walking, becau
se before I knew it, I was standing in front of the doors to the magazine’s building.
I had pressed the first two numbers of the security code on the pad beside the door when Wendy, who worked the front desk at my magazine, Southern Living Charm, pushed the glass door open from the inside.
“Wow! You look hot!” she exclaimed, her eyes widening.
It was nice to hear that someone appreciated my effort.
“Thanks!” I told her.
“Big date?” She waggled her eyebrows.
“No!” I laughed. “Just drinks that didn’t go well.”
“Been there, done that!” She nodded. “I can’t count the number of nights I’ve wasted on drinks, dinners, and movies that didn’t go well.”
At least I wasn’t alone in my misery, and a couple of weeks ago, I wouldn’t have been able to share in the bad-date camaraderie. It wasn’t an exclusive club, but now I was a card-carrying member.
“Oh, I almost forgot because I was so distracted by your hotness,” she joked. “But your brother’s been calling for the last hour, and he left a message with me. He had to fly out early, and he’s not sure when he’ll be back.”
Right. I knew he had been waiting to hear from production about when he’d be leaving for the super-secret reality show he was working on. I guessed it was tonight.
“Okay, thanks!” I smiled and waved as Wendy hurried to the parking garage.
As much as I would have loved to say goodbye to my brother and see him off, his departure did mean that my dream of a hot bath, wine, and a romance novel could come true. My small house only had a stand-up shower, but he had a soaker tub with jets.
Maybe, tonight wasn’t going to be so bad after all.
Chapter 15
Trace
“Even a blind hog finds an acorn now and again.”
~ Dolly Briggs
All day, I’d been about as useful as an ashtray on a motorcycle. The invoices I’d been staring at on my computer screen for the last two hours were not coming close to distracting me from the fact that Cara was out on a date with the lawyer. That had been consuming my mind since I’d overheard her plans Saturday morning. All weekend had been like a countdown. And now the time had come.
Since she’d met him right after work, I had no idea what she was wearing. I’d initially thought that that would be a good thing. When I had seen her before her dates, I’d known exactly what whoever she was meeting was seeing, and I’d had a pretty good idea of what the lucky bastard’s reaction would be. I’d basically pictured a cartoon wolf with his eyes bulging out and his tongue rolling out of his mouth. Since that’s exactly how I felt every time I saw her.
Knowing was fairly painful. I mean, ignorance was bliss, right? No. The answer to that question is ignorance is not bliss. In fact, ignorance leads to your mind running wild with images of what she might be wearing. She could wear a paper sack and look incredible, but I still found myself picturing her in all-too-revealing dresses that left little to the imagination.
It was brutal.
Normally, I was keenly aware of my surroundings. But Cara’s date had me so tied up and preoccupied that I jumped when someone knocked on my door.
“Hey, you got a second?” Colton rapped his knuckles twice on my door before stepping into my office.
“Sure. What’s up?” I was only sitting here, thinking totally inappropriate thoughts about your sister. Not busy at all.
“I have to head out of town early and I can’t get ahold of Cara. I tried her phone and her office,” Colton explained as he crossed his arms over his chest.
“Maybe she had a meeting.” I was pretty sure Cara had not shared details about her new dating life with her well-meaning, overprotective brother. No way was I going to blow the whistle on that.
“Yeah, maybe.” The uncertainty in his voice told me that he was not convinced. He narrowed his eyes at me and furrowed his brow. “Something’s been going on with her lately. I can’t put my finger on it, but she’s been…off…ever since she got the cancer-free news.”
“Really?” I casually leaned back in my chair. It wasn’t like I made it a habit to play dumb, but this wasn’t my story to tell.
Colton nodded, and I could see not only the tension in his shoulders, but also the worry that was written on his face. I hated that he was so concerned and really had no reason to be, but I had enough siblings to know that it was between him and his sister.
“Yes.” Colton stepped closer to the desk. “Which is why I’m here. I have a favor to ask you.”
“Sure,” I agreed before hearing what he had to say. If it had anything to do with Cara, I was all in.
“I was hoping you could stay out here. At the ranch, while I’m out of town. Even though I don’t know what she’s going through, I do know it’s something. She’s been distracted. Or off, or…I don’t know. I can’t quite figure it out, but I do know that, if I could back out of this show, I would,” he explained. Then he took in a deep breath. It was painfully obvious that he was not happy about leaving his sister. “But I can’t. I signed the contract weeks ago. And I would feel a lot better if I knew someone I trusted was here. Keeping an eye on things.”
I didn’t hesitate. “Absolutely.”
Colton looked a little taken aback at my easy acquiescence. “I don’t know how long I’ll be gone.”
“Take as long as ya like. Staying here just means I don’t have a commute.” I grinned.
“Yeah, I bet that five-minute drive is a real killer,” he joked. Then, his demeanor turning serious, he asked, “Are you sure? I almost asked Travis, but you and Cara have always been close. I saw you the other morning washing your trucks, and I know you brought her home after she celebrated with the girls. I thought… I just thought you would keep a better eye on things.”
“A better eye on her, you mean?” Hell yes, I would. And it wouldn’t have mattered if he had asked Travis. There was no way my brother was going to be the one staying out there.
“Yes. That’s exactly what I mean.” His tone was not as friendly as it had been moments before.
I waited for him to say more, but he remained silent as he stared at me. It was funny how people could communicate without saying a word. I wasn’t sure how we’d fallen into a staring contest, but that’s exactly what we were engaged in now. His eyes were searching mine. I didn’t know what he was looking for, but I did not break eye contact. If having eight brothers had taught me anything, it was to never be the first one to look away.
After a few moments, Colton inhaled through his nose and nodded once. “Okay. Thanks, I appreciate it. You know where the keys to the main house are. I probably won’t have access to my phone, but I left the number of two of my producers, and if there is an emergency, they will always be able to reach me.”
“Sounds good. Go. Have fun. I’m sure everything will be fine. Don’t worry about a thing.” I stood, walked around my desk, and pulled him into a one-armed man hug.
“Thanks. Yeah. I’m sure it will be,” Colton agreed as two pats landed on my shoulder.
As he turned to leave, I couldn’t help the grin that pulled on my lips. I’d just gotten full access to Cara. We were going to be staying on the same property twenty-four seven. Not in the same house, and only because her brother was worried about leaving her to go on a reality show. It wasn’t like she’d invited me to stay or would even be happy about me being here. But that didn’t change the fact that I felt like I’d just won the lotto.
Chapter 16
Cara
“If it doesn’t seem like it’s worth the effort, it probably ain’t.”
~ Dolly Briggs
My gaze gravitated towards the neon Tipsy Cow sign illuminated on the side of the road as it came into view. Shifting my legs so I was sitting straighter in the back of the Uber I was riding in, I considered having the driver drop me off at the bar. It was eight, which was still early enough that I could text my friends to meet me for a drink. Tonight was one for the books,
and I was sure they would be highly amused by the entire fiasco that was my dating life.
But, I decided against it.
Harmony was supposed to be seeing her doctor tonight, and Destiny was still fighting off a wicked case of morning, afternoon, evening, and night sickness. The poor thing. Hopefully, they were both already in bed. For different reasons, of course. There was no way I wanted to drag Destiny out when she was, fingers crossed, passed out for the night. Or ask Harmony to leave her shot at breaking her celibate streak. Plus, the three of us were going to meet up at Destiny’s soon-to-be-open bakery tomorrow to help her pick out paint colors.
Reclining against the seat, I settled into the leather as a melancholy mood settled over me. My sudden shift in emotion made zero sense. I would see my friends soon enough to give them the rundown while it was still fresh in my mind, so why was I so disappointed that I couldn’t see them tonight? Lifting my knee slightly, I pulled at the short hem of my dress, which kept creeping up my thigh. I glanced down at it and I smoothed out the wrinkle my seated position had caused.
This dress might have been stunning, but it was not the most practical garment. It was really pretty though. And, even though I’d gotten it online from Bella, a small boutique in Illinois, it was like the dress had been custom-fitted to me. Maybe that’s why I felt so bummed that meeting my friends tonight was out of the question. This dress deserved to be admired.
“Nice night out,” Jim, the Uber driver, commented from the front seat.
“Yep, it sure is.” A soft sigh fell from my lips as I gazed out the window and we passed the bar.
The memory of Trace sitting beside me, telling me that I looked not just beautiful, but breathtakingly beautiful, flashed in my mind and caused my heart to go pitter-patter. It was in that instant that I realized I wasn’t sad about not being able to gossip about my date or this dress not going to be seen by that many people. I was upset because one person and one person only wouldn’t be seeing it.
Convincing Cara (Wishing Well, Texas Book 2) Page 10