“Who told you about the job?”
“Ford.”
“Dang it.” Claire chewed on her thumbnail. “That’s what I was afraid of.”
“It doesn’t matter how I heard about it. What matters is how I didn’t hear about it.”
“She didn’t take that job, Beau. I don’t think she ever even seriously considered it, and that’s probably why she didn’t mention it.”
“Why didn’t she take it?”
Claire rolled her eyes. “You can be super dense sometimes.”
Beau took his hat off so he could see Claire clearly. “Are you saying she turned the job down because of me?” If this was true, it melted his heart. But it also gave him pause, because he’d already held Bryce back. He didn’t want anyone else giving up their dreams because of him.
Claire reached out and touched his cheek. “She thought your relationship was real. And she thought you felt the same way.”
This information made his head spin. Like he literally reached back and grabbed hold of the porch railing to steady himself.
“Beau, why won’t you let anybody love you?”
“What? You need to warn me when you’re switching the topic.”
“I think that’s why you only land in a woman’s bed once. You don’t want anybody to get close enough to love you.”
That wasn’t true. He wanted to be loved. But letting someone get close meant letting someone know his secret, and that secret was shrouded in feelings of shame and worthlessness. But Allie knew his secret. And if what Claire was saying was true . . .
She loved him anyway.
But dammit. A job in Austin. With a big library. He couldn’t be the reason someone didn’t chase after their dreams.
Not again.
Alice marked off four more items on her to-do list.
Dust shelves—Check
Fluff beanbag chairs in children’s nook—Check
Water plants—Check
Sharpen pencils—Check
The fact that she wasn’t even scheduled to work today didn’t stop her from performing mindless and mostly unnecessary tasks. She needed to keep moving. Because dang it, there were miniblinds to be cleaned. Also, if she slowed down for even a minute, she started to cry.
She grabbed the feather duster and headed for the blinds, but Brittany cut her off at the pass.
Brittany was home from her honeymoon but still riding the newlywed high. She was also out of her boot, which had her buzzing around like a bee on steroids. “Something came for you,” she said, presenting a vase filled with red roses. “Maybe they’re from Beau!”
For just a moment, Alice’s heart fluttered. But there was no way the flowers were from Beau. She hadn’t seen him since the wedding, and why would she? Their deal was up. The contract had expired.
She’d been such a fool to think their relationship was real or that it had a chance of continuing after the wedding. Beau had never hidden who he was. Everybody knew his reputation. She knew his reputation.
She’d written the contract herself. And signed it. There had been no reason to think their agreement had been anything other than what it was.
She took the roses. “These are probably from the library volunteers or something. Maybe it’s a holiday.” She didn’t think it was, but she’d forgotten to eat for the past week, so who knew?
She went to go hide in her office, where she shut the door and held her breath while quietly pulling the tiny card out of its envelope.
From a Secret Admirer
She dropped into the chair behind her desk. She’d only received roses from a man twice, and it was her father both times. Who else would her secret admirer be?
Her dad knew she and Beau had “broken up.” Heck, everyone in the entire town knew, because this was Big Verde, so of course they did. It was sweet of him to be concerned about her. But there was probably nothing sadder than a thirty-two-year-old woman receiving breakup roses from her dad disguised as a secret admirer.
Well, maybe there was something sadder. She opened her planner and wrote Think of something sadder than Dad flowers.
“Knock-knock!”
Ugh. That sounded like Claire. And Alice just wasn’t in the mood to suffer through more attempts at cheering her up. “Come in.”
Claire entered with Rosa on her hip and Maggie on her heels. Little Maisy was in a stroller being pushed by Henry. “We’re here for Cowboy Story Time.”
“That’s today?”
“Yep,” Maggie said, wearing a huge grin.
Alice pulled out the story time schedule and breathed a sigh of relief when she saw Worth’s name. Not that Beau ever actually showed up for story time—
“Hello, Beau!” Brittany said. “Ready to read?”
Alice sank down in her chair, heart pounding. Dang it. She closed her eyes and repeated the plan she’d been practicing . . .
Polite smile
Cheerful countenance
No big deal
Although, maybe she should just shoo everyone out of her office, shut the door, and wait until Beau was gone.
Too late! He was in her doorway. Taking up every inch. And holy guacamole, he looked good. He’d worn the full cowboy getup—hat, chaps, boots, spurs, big belt buckle, rope at his side.
“You okay, Allie Cat? You look a bit heated.”
And there it was. The playful twinkle in the eyes. The little dimple in the cheek. She was nothing special. Beau Montgomery would flirt with anyone.
“Hi,” she croaked. Like an actual frog.
Folks began pouring in for story time. Bubba walked by with his two youngest. JD and Gabriel were right behind him with little Brianna. Miss Mills lumbered past for no discernable reason at all.
“Are you going to come listen to me read?” Beau asked.
Alice cleared her throat. “Sure.” Reading story time was a big step for Beau, and broken heart aside, she wanted to support him. “The books are on the little table—”
“I brought my own,” Beau said.
“Oh, that wasn’t necessary—”
“It really was,” Beau said.
He’d probably chosen a book he felt comfortable with.
She followed him to the children’s nook, where everyone was busy finding their cozy spots on cushions and in beanbag chairs. And the entire time, her heart was flapping furiously around her rib cage, no doubt trying to
