Lauren gave her an impulsive hug. “Thank you.”
“For what?”
“For seeing the potential.”
“Oh, I’m not sure I’d go that far,” Gina said. “But there’s nothing I like better than designing the way a kitchen ought to look so that it functions efficiently.”
Lauren glanced at the sketch she’d drawn. “Isn’t this a little big?”
“I figure you won’t really want a formal dining room. I think having a big, friendly kitchen where all your friends and family can gather is much cozier, don’t you?”
Lauren chuckled. “Why do I get the feeling this is your dream kitchen, not mine?”
“There’s no reason it can’t be yours,” Gina retorted. “Besides, Rafe says I have a perfectly good kitchen at Tony’s. He doesn’t see why I need another one at home since we never eat there. So, here you go, this is the one I’d have if he weren’t so mule-headed. It’s all yours. Consider it your housewarming present.”
“There’s just one thing you’re not taking into account,” Lauren pointed out. “I can’t cook, nothing beyond the basics, anyway.”
Gina stared at her, clearly horrified. “How did I let that happen? We’ll start with cooking lessons tomorrow. You can’t expect the man to marry you if you can’t even put an interesting meal on the table.”
“Believe me, my problems with Wade run far deeper than whether I can make a decent casserole,” Lauren said.
“Well, we have to start somewhere,” Gina told her just as Emma hung up, her expression triumphant.
“It’s yours,” she said. “We got a good deal and protected Otis Senior. All in all, a terrific negotiation, if I do say so myself.”
“Emma, you’re magnificent,” Lauren praised.
“Well, of course she is,” Cassie said, grinning at her. “She’s one of us.”
“Look what I found,” Gina said, emerging from another foray into the kitchen with five paper cups filled with tap water. “We can have a toast to your new home.”
They lifted the cups into the air and Karen said, “To Lauren. May she find the same kind of happiness here that the rest of us have found, and may it last forever.”
“To Lauren,” the others chorused.
Tears welled up in Lauren’s eyes as she looked around her. She had a house. She had her friends. Now if only she could get Wade to come back, she would have everything any woman could possibly want.
“Oh, no,” Cassie murmured. “She’s crying.”
“I am not,” Lauren said.
“She’s just realized what she’s done,” Emma said. “I can always call and say the deal’s off.”
“Don’t you dare. This is exactly what I want.”
“A falling-down house?” Emma said skeptically. “It’s not too late. I can get you out of it. There’s a grace period for buyer’s remorse.”
“Absolutely not. I want a home where I can build a family, and this is it.” Her voice quivered slightly. “There’s just one thing missing.”
“If Wade Owens has an ounce of sense in his head, he’ll be back,” Karen assured her. “In the meantime, there is a lot of work to be done if this place is going to be ready to welcome him.”
“Tomorrow’s Saturday,” Gina pointed out. “I can spare a few hours in the morning. So can Rafe. What about the rest of you?”
“Cole and I will be here,” Cassie promised.
“And Grady and I,” Karen added. “Though he’ll probably insist I sit in a corner and watch all the activity.”
“I’ll be here, but I’m not sure I trust Ford on any ladders,” Emma said. “It’s not that he’s clumsy, but he gets some idea in his head for a story and he gets distracted.”
Funny, Lauren thought as she fought off more tears. Compared to her place in California, this place truly was a disaster. It didn’t even have any real charm on its side. But despite that, it still felt more like a home than any place she’d ever lived.
Or it would once Wade stepped through the door and declared that he was back in her life to stay.
Chapter Fifteen
Wade hadn’t intended to go back to Winding River, not ever. The memories there were too painful. The prospect of bumping into Lauren was even worse. When he thought of how she had deceived him, it made him physically ill. When he thought of how desperately he loved her just the same, it made him curse the day they’d crossed paths.
For the first couple of months after he’d left, he bummed around the rodeo circuit, caring for stock, looking for…something. Work, maybe. A stud he could build his ranch around one day, one with half the spirit and bloodlines of Midnight. A pair of green eyes that could dazzle him or a soft body that would fit his as perfectly as the one he’d left behind.
He found none of that. In fact, his head was filled with memories of Winding River and a woman who’d given him something he’d never expected to find, then ruined it all by betraying him.
When the memory of her face began to dim, he found himself in a video store, searching for all her old movies. He wanted to see for himself the woman she’d kept from him. Watching her face light up the screen, listening to her voice, he’d been as captivated as he’d once been by the real woman. It was little wonder that she had legions of fans, little wonder that she hadn’t been able to turn her back on all of that for the life he could have offered her.
Not that he’d given her a chance to say no, he admitted grudgingly. Because he’d known what the answer would be. No way could what he was offering stack up to the millions she was making in Hollywood or the adoration of thousands of fans. He had a hard time admitting it was pride that had made him leave town without confronting her,
