“Are you sure we can’t help you with anything else?” she asked, looking up at Beau through her fluttering false eyelashes. Her name tag identified her as Bekki.
Although he clearly hadn’t purchased such an item for his mama, Bekki didn’t seem to care. She had been on him like a fly on a horse since the moment he’d walked through the door, and it wasn’t just for the sales commission.
“I think I’m good,” he said, slipping his credit card back in his wallet. He was still reeling from the sticker shock. When he’d asked Carmen where a guy could buy some fancy underwear, she’d sent him to Uptown Boudoir. He’d known he was in trouble the minute he’d walked through the door.
Some places just smelled expensive, and Uptown Boudoir was one of them.
“This is a lovely gown,” Bekki said. “Do you mind if I ask who it’s for?”
“It’s for—”
Shit. What could he say?
It’s for my reading tutor.
It’s for my former babysitter.
It’s for my fake girlfriend.
“Never mind,” she said. “We’re trained in discretion. I shouldn’t have asked.”
Great. The woman thought he was cheating on someone. And if anyone was less trained in discretion than Bekki the underwear sales associate, he’d eat his hat. But he just smiled, took the fancy bag full of tissue paper, and exited the store to walk across the blistering pavement to where he’d parked his truck. Damn, it was always hotter in the city. Too much concrete reflecting the sun. He longed to get back to green pastures and Mother Nature.
He climbed in the truck and set the bag on the seat next to him. He wanted to pull the nightgown out and imagine it on Alice, but it was wrapped up tighter than Fort Knox. It would take twenty minutes just to locate it. He looked at his watch and quickly started the truck. He didn’t have twenty minutes. He probably shouldn’t have stopped to shop after dropping the bulls off at the market, but he’d wanted to get something nice for Alice.
His phone chimed with a text. He looked at it, and right away the words “bull” and “horny” and “fence” popped out.
He knew exactly what was going on without figuring out the rest. The bull had busted through that weak spot in the fence they’d been worried about. He’d gotten the gist of the message in like two seconds.
Now slow down and focus on context.
The rest of the message was easy to read.
Horny bull busted through the fence. Will ruin tonight’s rehearsal dinner. Get your ass back here.
Beau responded with a thumbs-up emoji. Then he pulled out onto the highway, eager to get back and help. He absolutely didn’t want Brittany’s rehearsal dinner ruined.
He was going to have to round up a frisky bull and also repair the fence where the damn thing had busted through. It was hard to know how long it would take, but he was definitely going to be late for the rehearsal dinner. In fact, he and Bryce trying to round up a bull might end up being the entertainment.
And then after the dinner . . .
He shifted in his seat. He couldn’t wait for tonight. He might be making love to Alice for the first time, and it might actually be her first time. It should be special. Hence the lingerie.
There was no hiding anything from Allie now. Last night, he’d fucking jerked off in front of her. Maybe it was just a fun and kinky thing for Alice to mark off her list—FaceTime shenanigans—Check!—but it hadn’t been shenanigans for Beau. He might have blown more than just his load. He’d probably also blown his cover. Had she sensed how overcome with emotion he was? She claimed it was hard for her to read people, but he felt like an open book in front of her.
Christ. This was more than a crush. It seemed he was fucking in love with Alice Martin. And he didn’t think there had been a single day, hour, or minute since he was twelve years old that he hadn’t been.
Alice twirled in front of the mirror, admiring the way the navy skirt flared. She’d walked over to Carmen’s suite after checking into her room. She wanted an opinion about the outfit she’d chosen. “What do you think? Should I add a string of pearls, or are they too blah for the cream blouse?”
“It’s hard for me to say which is more blah, the blouse or the pearls,” Carmen said.
“Really? The whole thing is blah?”
“Not for jury duty. But for a party? Yes. And you’ve got two to attend.”
“Two?”
“Did you forget about the bachelorette party? It’s right after the rehearsal dinner.”
Alice groaned. She really wasn’t looking forward to it. “I don’t want to go to either party, honestly. And clearly, I have no idea what to wear—”
Carmen put a hand in front of Alice’s face. “Shh. Let Auntie Carmen find you something appropriate.”
Oh dear. The last time Carmen had given Alice something to wear, she’d ended up in cutoff shorts and a pink T-shirt that said meow.
“I think the dinner portion is kind of, you know, nice-ish,” Alice said.
Carmen stopped digging in her suitcase long enough to give Alice a side-eye. “I’m literally catering the thing. And it’s outside in the middle of a pasture. I don’t think it’s all that nice.”
“Sorry,” Alice said.
“I thought you’d stopped saying that.”
“Dang it.”
Carmen laughed and went back to scrounging in her bag. “Aha!” she said, holding up a pretty blue sundress with a small floral print. “This isn’t quite my style, and I honestly don’t know why I bought it. But I think it’s going to look adorable on you.”
Alice looked in the mirror. The dress was short, but not too short. And blue was her color. “Thanks, Carmen. It’s really cute.”
“You’re very welcome. Now hurry up and put it on. I’ve got to head to the kitchen and check on
