Must Love Cowboys: This steamy and heart-warming cowboy rom-com is a must-read! (Once Upon A Time In Texas)

by Carly Bloom

Fake. Fake. Fake.

  Fuck.

  “Are you sure you wouldn’t like a margarita, Miss Martin?” one of the bridesmaids asked. “We’re going to be getting ready for a long time.”

  It’s not even noon. “No, thanks.”

  They’d already had pedicures, which was silly, since they were wearing cowboy boots with their yellow dresses. Beau had taken her to the RCV Mercantile to help her pick out a nice, moderately priced pair. He’d said she could also wear them horseback riding and that they’d be good for walking on trails.

  She smiled dreamily, thinking about sunset rides with Beau. Rides that ended on the bluff, where they’d wait for the stars to come out, big and bright—she quietly clapped to herself three times—deep in the heart of Texas.

  Beau was deep in her heart. There was absolutely no way to deny it. And having him in her heart had changed everything, including her. She was a different person, more willing to take risks. And tonight, she was going to take the biggest one of all.

  She was going to open her heart to Beau and tell him how she felt. She wanted to extend their contract. Indefinitely. Because nothing about their relationship felt fake, and although she wasn’t all that great at reading people, she was almost certain that Beau felt the same way.

  “Alice,” Brittany said. “You’re next to get your hair done.”

  “Oh, I was just going to pull it back—”

  “No. You’re getting an updo. Everybody is.”

  God. The dreaded Texas updo. Alice had lived thirty-two years without ever having to suffer the “do.” Not for prom (she hadn’t gone) or homecoming (she hadn’t gone) or to serve in the Apple Festival court (she hadn’t been asked).

  Lisa from Lisa’s Locks walked in the room and popped her gum. She wore what looked like a utility belt around her waist, and it was loaded with various bottles and spray cans and tools that looked like weapons. Her blond hair was curled and shellacked. She wore false eyelashes, dragon-length nails with rhinestones on them, and platform shoes that couldn’t possibly be comfortable for someone who stood on her feet all day. “Whose do am I doing next?”

  Brittany pointed at Alice. “Hers.”

  “My hair isn’t very thick. Nor is it all that long. I don’t think it’s going to even go up in a do.”

  Lisa blew a bubble and popped it. “Honey, your hair will do just fine in a do. Hell, I got Misty Barnes’s hair up in a do. That girl’s got nothing but little baby hairs. Wispy like cotton candy. My mama says it’s a vitamin deficiency. Anyway, did y’all see her prom pictures?”

  All the bridesmaids nodded enthusiastically. “Magic!” one of them said. “Lisa is a magician.”

  Alice swallowed. There was no getting out of it. “Where do you want me?” she asked meekly.

  “I’ve got my torture chamber set up in the adjoining room,” Lisa said, gesturing at the door.

  “Don’t do just any do,” Brittany said. “I want all the updos as big as you can get them.”

  Of course she did.

  Alice followed Brittany into the other room, and suddenly, she didn’t even care how awful her hair would look. Heck, she wanted the updo! She wanted the full Texas bridesmaid experience. The new Alice was in it for the fun of it. She wanted to live it up.

  Beau’s irresistibly fun nature had rubbed off on her. Actually, he’d more than rubbed off on her. He’d rubbed all over her. And in her. And—

  “Goodness, Alice,” Lisa said. “What on earth are you thinking about?”

  Alice’s cheeks became very warm. “Pardon?”

  Lisa gave her a knowing smile. “Never mind. It’s not a what. It’s clearly a who. Now, let’s get you all dolled up.”

  Chapter

  Thirty-Five

  Beau slipped into the back row of chairs just as the music began. He’d had to squeeze past the bridesmaids on his way in—they were lined up and ready to go—and he’d somehow managed to smile at Alice as he passed.

  He wanted to loosen his tie, because he was hot. And yes, he’d worn a suit and tie and a brand new dressy felt Stetson even though half the men in the room were in jeans. Because he’d wanted to look nice for Alice. He’d wanted her to feel proud when she was on his arm.

  He swallowed. She’d kept her end of the bargain—it wasn’t her fault he kept fucking up on the ranch—and he was going to keep his. He only had to make it to midnight without falling apart.

  The first two bridesmaids walked down the aisle. Next came Alice, and the entire world stopped spinning as she passed, although nobody else seemed to notice. She gave him a sweet smile. And even though he was hurting, he returned it. Genuinely. The joy of seeing her, of having her smile at him, cut through the pain of knowing he was going to lose her.

  He’d never really had her.

  He watched silently as she floated down the aisle in the big, fluffy yellow dress. She was breathtaking, even though he knew she hated the gown. She probably also hated the way her hair was piled up in ringlets and curls, but she looked like a dream. And even though she didn’t need to be dressed like a princess to render him utterly speechless, something about the way she looked right now appealed to the little boy inside him. The one who’d fallen for the babysitter.

  Dammit. He had to get a grip. Otherwise, he was going to completely lose it right here in front of everyone.

  It was time to let go of his childhood crush. He’d had a fantasy, and he’d been lucky enough to live it out for a few weeks. With time, he’d—

  No. He wasn’t a kid. He was a man who’d fallen in love with a woman. A real one. And he would never recover from it. Not in a million years.

  He briefly closed his eyes. He had to grasp this moment and hold on tight. Instead of suffering, he’d will himself to enjoy every minute of it. He was going to shower Alice with attention. He’d hold her in his arms and spin her around the dance floor. He’d even kiss her if she’d allow it.

  Because tonight was his last night as Alice Martin’s fake boyfriend, and he’d be damned if he was going to miss any of it. He’d love her with every ounce of his being, right up to midnight.

  And for every moment after.

  The processional began, and everyone stood and turned to watch Brittany come down the aisle. Everyone except Beau.

  He only had eyes for Alice.

  Whew! The wedding had gone smoothly (except for the ringbearer refusing to walk and the unity candle refusing to light and Miss Mills refusing to hit the right notes on the organ), and this was absolutely the most fun Alice had ever had at a reception. She felt like the belle of the ball. But holy guacamole, she looked a mess!

  She hardly recognized the woman staring back at her in the bathroom mirror. Smudged mascara, pink cheeks, and an updo that was slowly becoming a down-do.

  She had no intention of fixing any of it, so she simply washed her hands.

  The door opened, and Claire walked in with little Rosa. “Hey there, Alice. Are you having a good time?”

  “I’m having a freaking blast. How about you?”

  “I’m about to change a poopy diaper before calling it a night,” she said, pulling down the wall-mounted changing table. “Does that sound like fun?”

  Alice laughed. “Not really. But can I help you with anything?”

  “You can reach into my bag and get out the wipes.”

  Alice dug around in the bag, which was filled with many things, most of them not wipes or diapers, until she finally found the little package. She handed it to Claire, who was holding down a fussy Rosa.

  “Thanks,” Claire said. “So, you haven’t mentioned when you’re starting your new job. Are you excited?”

  Holy guacamole! Alice had practically forgotten all about it. “I’m not taking it.”

  Claire’s head snapped up. “You’re not? Oh, Alice. I’m so happy to hear that. Everyone would miss you so much.”

  “I think I was just excited over the prospect of doing something new. But I can do new things here. I am doing new things here.”
<
br />   Claire raised an eyebrow, and Alice’s cheeks went warm.

  “Anyway, I never really wanted it. I kind of enjoy wearing all the hats at a small-town library. Probably because I’m such a small-town girl at heart.”

  “Of course you are,” Claire said. “You always have been.”

  “And there are so many things keeping me in Big Verde.”

  Claire tossed the dirty diaper into the trash. “Three points, and the crowd goes wild.” She handed Rosa to Alice and went to the sink to wash her hands. “Is one of the things keeping you in Big Verde named Beau?”

  A little thrill traveled up and down Alice’s spine, making her shiver. “He is definitely one of the things. And so are you.”

  “Aw, Alice,” Claire said. “Come here.”

  Alice and Rosa were enveloped in a Claire hug, which was warm and soft and scented like milk and baby wipes and—

  “I’m sorry it smells like baby shit while we’re having a moment,” Claire said.

  Alice laughed again, because everything was perfect. It really was.

  “You’d better get back to that man of yours,” Claire said. “He hasn’t taken his eyes off of you all night.”

  “I haven’t been able to spend as much time as I’d like with him,” Alice said. “The photographer constantly has us posing for pictures. And when we’re not doing that, we’re doing some kind of silly ritual.”

  “He’s handsome tonight,” Claire said.

  Alice sighed dreamily. A lot of the men hadn’t dressed up at all, which was typical of ranchers and farmers attending weddings. But Beau had gone all out with a suit, tie, dress boots, and a fancy black Stetson. There wasn’t a single man who could hold a candle to Beau Montgomery, and that included his twin.

  And even though Alice was constantly being yanked here or there for this or that, Beau was quietly waiting on her hand and foot. He’d fixed her a dinner plate so she wouldn’t have to stand in the buffet line. He’d refilled her water glass and brought her champagne. And after Brittany and Zachary had cut the cake, he’d made sure she got a piece of both the bride’s and groom’s cakes.

  They’d snuck off to make goofy faces in the photo booth, and he’d dragged her onto the dance floor for the chicken dance, which he’d managed to do while looking devilishly sexy.

  Claire took Rosa back. “You’d better get going before you’re missed.”

  Alice gave Claire another quick hug, and then she headed back to the party. Beau was waiting just outside the door. “How about another dance, darlin’? It’s getting late.”

  Would she ever tire of hearing him call her darlin’?

  No. Never.

  She took Beau’s hand and followed him onto the dance floor. A slow song had been playing, but it ended. A faster one started up, and everyone started grooving. Bubba moved to the center of the dance floor, and a small crowd gathered around to egg him on. Poor Trista knew to just get out of the way when that happened, because Bubba enjoyed putting on a show.

  Hopefully, Beau would want to watch Bubba, too. Because the most Alice ever did during these types of songs was an awkward little step back and forth. Although maybe tonight would be the night she could finally shed the last of her inhibitions and get down.

  Beau started moving, without taking his eyes off of her, and oh boy. He had moves galore. And rhythm. And timing. And a simmering sexy gaze.

  She swallowed nervously, but then she started to dance. She closed her eyes and let the music enter her. The bass beat vibrated her bones. It was as if her heart started beating in time with the music, and soon, her hips were moving, her arms were in the air, and her head was thrown back.

  She was dancing. Like really dancing. And she didn’t care how she looked, or if she was doing it right. She just moved her body the way it was meant to move. The way it wanted to move. The crowd cheered—Bubba had probably dropped into the splits—and she opened her eyes.

  Beau had stopped dancing and was just standing there, staring at her.

  Oh God. Maybe she had looked stupid. So stupid that Beau had frozen in mortified embarrassment over being her dance partner.

  He suddenly grabbed her, pulling her close. “Oh, Allie. You’re so beautiful. I’ll never forget tonight.”

  She wanted to say something back, but she couldn’t find the words. She thought she might cry if she tried to speak. That’s how freaking happy she was to be in this man’s arms. And she never wanted to leave them.

  Beau pulled her even closer, and she felt his desire. He moved his hips in time to the pulsing bass beat and forced a leg in between hers. She gasped. Could anyone see? Probably not—his leg disappeared into the yellow layers of the dress—and anyway, there were people doing worse things on the dance floor.

  By the time the song ended, she was heated. Worked up. Super turned on and looking forward to all the things she and Beau were going to do when they got back to the room. Beau brought her wrist up to his lips and planted the sweetest kiss.

  Bubba walked by, drenched in sweat, and smacked Beau on the back. “Decent moves,” he said. “But I’m still the master.”

  Alice wasn’t sure about that, but Bubba was a good dancer. Beau gave him a little nod and a hat tip.

  The DJ’s voice rang out. “All right, all right, all right! I need all the single ladies out on the dance floor.”

  Oh no. It was time for Brittany to toss the bouquet. This was usually Alice’s cue to head to the ladies’ room, but tonight she was a bridesmaid.

  “Knock ’em dead, Alice,” Bubba said.

  “I’ll be back,” Alice said, rising on her toes and kissing Beau on the cheek. “I’ve got to go dodge a bouquet.”

  Only she didn’t dodge it. She caught it. Or at least that’s what people said when the dang thing smacked her in the face. She ran back to Beau, carrying the flowers. “Don’t freak out,” she said jokingly. “I didn’t do it on purpose.”

  “I wouldn’t think so. Listen, darlin’, it’s getting late—”

  Someone tapped her on the shoulder. “We need a picture of you and Zachary’s brother.”

  Zachary’s brother had caught the garter.

  “Oh, okay . . .” She looked at Beau.

  “I’ll be waiting,” he said. “But it’s almost midnight, Allie.”

  She started to laugh, but then something about the way Beau looked made her stop. What was it? She was so bad at reading people, maybe it was nothing. But Beau wasn’t laughing. Nor was he even smiling. In fact, he looked almost sad.

  The picture taking took way too long, and when she finally made her way back to Beau, he was standing at the back of the room, near the exit. Maybe he was ready to go. That was fine, because she was, too.

  No matter how much fun she’d had at the wedding, she was looking forward to even more fun with Beau. “Ready to leave?”

  “Yes, I think I am. It’s a little past midnight now, and well, I should be getting back to Big Verde.”

  She started to laugh, because surely, this was a joke. But Beau wasn’t laughing. There was no twinkle in his eyes. No dimple threatening to make an appearance in his left cheek.

  “But I thought you and I were going to . . .”

  She closed her mouth. Willed herself to shut up.

  “The pump is broken at the ranch, and well, I’ve got to be up early to take Nonnie to church. Our deal ended at midnight, remember?”

  Alice couldn’t breathe. All the air in the room had been sucked out. Would she actually suffocate? She looked around frantically. How were other people breathing? And how could she have been so stupid?

  Of course, Beau was going back to Big Verde. None of this had been real. She’d drawn up the contract herself. And, as Beau just so helpfully pointed out, it expired at midnight. Beau had turned back into a playboy who never slept with the same woman twice.

  Her knees shook, and something that felt like a sob was working its way up her throat, threatening to come out of her mouth. She had to swallow it down. What good woul
d it do to let him see her cry?

  When she spoke, her voice sounded strangled and froggy. “I see. Well, thank you for being my plus-one.”

  “It was my pleasure,” Beau said. “Thank you for all you’ve done for me, and Allie Cat, you can tell folks whatever you want. I’ll go along with it.”

  And with that, Beau Montgomery tipped his hat and strolled out the door, as if shattering Alice’s world was the easiest thing he’d ever done.

  Maybe it was.

  Chapter

  Thirty-Six

  Beau walked up the steps to the Kowalski ranch house. It had been a week since the wedding, and he’d crawled through it like a zombie. This morning’s herd report indicated they were missing two bulls, which wasn’t the case. So, he’d entered the wrong number in the system after the auction. Or maybe he’d entered the right number but in the wrong place. Who knew? The bottom line was that he kept fucking up.

  He was here to do the only thing that made sense. He was going to talk to Ford and suggest that Worth be promoted to foreman. Beau could be head herdsman. There was absolutely no paperwork involved with that. And honestly, none of it mattered. He’d be happy to just do the mind-numbing work of pounding in fence posts from sunup to sundown. He longed for that blissful state of exhaustion that made thinking or feeling impossible.

  He was about to open the front door when it suddenly opened of its own accord. And there stood Claire, glaring at him as if he’d just kicked a puppy. What the fuck had he done now? Whatever it was, he wasn’t in the mood for it. “Excuse me,” he said, trying to get around her.

  She didn’t budge.

  Her nostrils were flared. Her eyebrows were drawn into a menacing scowl. Hell, she practically had steam coming out of her ears. Claire wasn’t just mad. She was what Gerome called redhead mad.

  She poked him in the chest. “What the hell is wrong with you?”

  “We don’t have time to start that list. Now pardon me, I have a meeting with your husband and your father.”

  She poked him again. Harder.

  “Ow. Jesus, Claire. Get out of my way.”