"Something came up."
"And Paige said you didn't get home until late."
She and Paige needed to have a talk about boundaries—especially when it came to what she told Kenneth and her mom.
Lucy gave a half-hearted laugh. "I'm an adult woman. I didn't realize I had a curfew."
"Were you with Reed?"
Frustration built in the back of her throat. "I haven't spoken to him since he abandoned me at the auction."
A look of confusion crossed his face. "He didn't abandon you. He knew we would be there to take you home. He was taking advantage of a great opportunity, Lucy. You have to respect his ambition. You could learn something from his boldness."
Boldness? Was that what it was when you dated someone for their connections? Because she had other words for it.
And leave it to her stepfather to take up for Reed instead of his own stepdaughter.
"Paige seems to think you might be interested in the man you're catering with," he said. "That isn't true, is it?"
She looked to see if the slurping machine had finished her coffee. "This is far too many questions before caffeine, and I wish Paige would quit talking about my personal life with you and Mom."
"Oh, don't blame her. I pressed her to tell me."
She couldn't be angry at Paige. The girl had no backbone when her father pressured her. "Well from now on, you should come to me for that kind of information. Not Paige."
He set his cup down and crossed his arms. "Fine. Are you interested romantically in the cowboy?"
She couldn't shake the image of Dylan standing in her rear-view mirror, arms loose at his sides, as she drove away from the ranch. "There's nothing going on between us." Other than a couple of reckless, toe-curling kisses.
He gave a satisfied grunt. "Good. Don't get involved with him." His tone was now deep and serious.
Her body went rigid. "I'm going to be working with him for the next couple of weeks. We're catering this wedding together."
He walked around the bar, set the small cup in front of her, and looked at her dead in the eyes. "Make sure it's nothing more."
This tablespoon of coffee wasn't going to do the trick. She longed for her oversized mug at home. What right did Kenneth have to tell her who to spend time with when he'd been spending time with her mother when she was still married to Lucy's father? "I'd like to know what you and Dylan were talking about the other night at the charity auction."
He stared at her over the rim of his cup as he sipped. "I simply let him know where he stood on the restaurant job."
Had he resorted to trying to intimidate Dylan? "I asked you to let me do this on my own."
"I'm only helping."
She took a deep breath. "You can't keep going behind my back to try to manage my life for me."
"That cowboy got a shot because his rodeo buddy is the groom. Reed may land a big client for his firm because he had drinks with him at Mrs. Tornsten's charity dinner. It's the way the world works."
She wrapped her hands around the warm cup. "Not always. Some people succeed because they work hard and they've developed their skills."
"Lucy, I'm not saying you haven't done both of those things, but I've been in the business world for years. Anyone will act like your friend to throw you off your game. You can't get too close to this guy. You can't have a friendship with him if you expect to win. He wants you to lose focus on what's really important."
The leather groaned as she sank back into the stool. What if he was right? What if this was just part of Dylan's plan to get the job? After his meeting with J.T., she had no reason to trust him. What she had was a list of reasons she shouldn't. And if her own family had been lying to her all these years, what should make her believe that last night was anything other than an act to get what he wanted? Dylan had said she should give up on the executive chef job to open a bakery. Would he really stoop so low as to use the things she'd revealed against her? Would he manipulate her like that?
Kenneth finished his espresso and put his cup in the sink. "The worst thing you can do in a situation like this is to get too close to the enemy. Besides, you can't honestly see any kind of future with this guy."
She didn't answer. If he felt this way about Dylan, she could only imagine what he must have thought of her father before he'd died.
"You can't afford to be naive in a situation like this," he said. "This is the kind of thing that separates those who will reach the top of their fields and those who will be stuck at the bottom."
Lucy stood from the stool. "Thanks for the coffee and the advice, but I should go. Maybe I'll catch Mom another time." Deep down she knew he was right about one thing. She couldn't afford to be naive anymore. Not with Reed. Not with her family. Not with Dylan.
#
Dylan spotted Wyatt behind the bucking chutes, removing his helmet and unzipping his protective vest. His chaps flapped against his jeans as he walked.
"I thought you were giving up bull riding," Dylan called out to him.
Wyatt spotted him and broke into a wide smile. "Dylan! Did you see me ride?"
Dylan nodded. "Nice one. A good score, too."
"It wasn't bad. Just waiting to see what the guys behind me do. What are you doing here? Are you entered?"
"Nah. I had some time off and thought I'd come cheer everyone on. Is your fiancée around?"
Wyatt's smile dissolved. "No. She's not happy that I'm even here, but I figured it wouldn't hurt to get another event or two in before the big day."
"You two couldn't be more different. How do you make it work?"
Wyatt scrubbed his hand across the stubble on his chin. "It seems crazy, but I guess opposites really do attract." He smiled. "And I love her, even if I'll never understand how she can spend an entire day shopping."
They walked together to the fence to watch the next rider. "How are things going with the wedding? You figure out what we're eating yet?"
Dylan watched as a young contestant got thrown off the bull. "I wish I knew. Things with the other chef have been...challenging."
"What's her name? Lucy?" Wyatt jabbed at him with his elbows. "Seemed like you had a little thing for her that day we tried out your ribs."
Dylan had been trying to talk himself out of his thing for Lucy ever since. "We still haven't figured out how to make this partnership work."
As one of the barrel men helped the young guy back toward the chutes, Wyatt turned his back to the arena, propping his arms up on the fence. "Been there. Heather and I didn't know what to do with each other for the first six months we dated."
"Lucy and I aren't dating." Dylan had known Lucy when she was fourteen, and he still couldn't make heads or tails of her.
Wyatt chuckled. "Never said you were."
What he and Lucy had didn't have a name, but it certainly wasn't dating. All he knew was that when she'd been hurting, she'd come to him. When she found out about her mom and Kenneth, she'd driven all the way out the ranch to see him. And every time they got close, she bolted out of there in less time than it took for that newbie to get thrown off the bull. Despite all the warnings going off inside him to beware, he couldn't deny his feelings for her.
Wyatt picked up his hat and put it on. "As long as there is some real food at the reception, I don't care if y'all are worst enemies or best friends. You being at the reception is still the only battle I've won in this wedding."
"I thought you were going to talk to her," Dylan said. "Tell her you wanted more say in everything."
He shook his head. "I'll tell you what. Marrying Heather will make all this worth it. Dealing with her loony grandmother, the times Heather has dragged me to flower shops." He stared out toward the arena. "Maybe even giving up this. It's all worth it to be with her."
That was sacrifice, giving up everything, even the thing Wyatt loved most, to be with his bride. It might've seemed crazy to Dylan a few months before, even a few weeks, but it was all starting to make sense now. Dylan would give up just about
anything for one more shot to have Lucy in his life.
#
Lucy waved at Paige from their regular booth in the corner as her sister rushed through the dining room of their favorite sushi place.
"I went ahead and ordered," Lucy said. "A spicy tuna roll, shrimp tempura, and a California roll."
Paige let her big purse drop into the seat beside her. "Perfect. Sorry I'm late. Nana and Heather could not agree on the candles for the ceremony."
Lucy poured soy sauce into the small dish in front of her. "Who won?"
Paige stuck a straw into the water Lucy had ordered her. "It took twenty tries, but we finally found something they both loved."
Heather was a saint for letting Nana have so much control over her wedding. "That woman is impossible."
"Speaking of Nana... She wants to meet with you."
Lucy unwrapped her chopsticks and broke them apart with a crack. "What are we meeting about?"
"I suspect it has something to do with you showing up to Heather's dress fitting. She wants you to meet her before her salsa class on Tuesday."
The fact that Nana took Latin dance lessons didn't surprise Lucy. What was most disturbing was that Lucy had the sneaking suspicion that Nana would be far better at shaking her hips than Lucy would ever be.
"Three o'clock at Cut a Rug dance studio." Paige laughed. "She said to bring your dancing shoes."
Great. Lucy's imaginary dancing shoes were waiting in her closet right beside her nonexistent cowboy boots. "Can't you work your magic and get me out of this?" Having to meet Nana at dance class felt like getting called into the principal's office—if the principal was the crazy old lunch lady.
With a frown, Paige shook her head. "You got yourself into this. After what you did at the dress fitting, I was afraid she might fire you."
Lucy stiffened. "Fire me? I just..."
A waitress slid bowls of miso soup in front of them.
When the woman disappeared back into the kitchen, Paige stared at Lucy. "What were you thinking?"
"Coming to the dress fitting? I had to do something. I can't let Dylan take the job out from under me."
Paige pointed a finger at her own chest. "You should have come to me first? We could have talked about it. Come up with a plan. I might just be your baby stepsister, but I'm also the wedding planner. You going rogue like that makes me look bad."
Lucy hadn't even considered that the whole plan could blow up in her face. She'd only known that she couldn't let herself get sucked in by her feelings for Dylan. When she was around him, her thinking got fuzzy, and she couldn't afford to let that happen. "I'm sorry. I should have told you ahead of time, but it's been a crazy few days."
Paige held her spoon over the steaming soup. "What's been going on with you? You missed family dinner."
Now she sounded like Kenneth, but she couldn't tell Paige about the photo. At least not until she decided how to handle things with her mom. Lucy breathed in the salty smell of the soup. "I missed dinner at Mom and Kenneth's because I was with Dylan."
Paige raised an eyebrow as she ate. "Were you working on the menu or was it something more than that?"
"It was a mistake."
She wiped her mouth with her cloth napkin and cleared her throat. "Okay."
"I can't work with him." She swallowed a spoonful, and it burned all the way down. "But let's talk about something else."
A smile spread across Paige's face. "I have some news that might make you feel better."
"Nana sprained her big toe, and she can't meet with me before her dance lessons."
Paige laughed. "No, but all the hassles with Nana might be worth it now that Lone Star Monthly is covering the wedding."
Lucy drew in a sharp breath. The magazine was the biggest in Texas and was known for covering only the best events. "You're serious?"
"They're doing a feature on wedding trends," Paige said.
She leaned forward. "Do you know what this could do for my career... for both of our careers? Have you known all day? Why didn't you tell me?"
Paige's eyes gleamed with excitement. "The editor called me yesterday, and I didn't want to say anything until I got the okay from Heather."
"You mean the okay from Nana."
Paige shrugged. "Same thing."
"It's going to be a full page feature about the ceremony, the reception—"
"The food."
Paige smiled, her eyes wide. "It could be huge for us."
The pressure built in Lucy's chest. "Or it could be a disaster."
"It won't be. We'll make sure everything goes well."
Except right now, Dylan still wasn't out of the picture. "But there's only two weeks until the wedding, and I still have to figure out how to work Dylan's food into the plan."
The waitress reappeared with a long black plate of sushi rolls.
Nerves fluttered in Lucy's stomach. "We'll figure it out. This is our chance."
Chapter Seventeen
Dylan opened the door to Cut a Rug Dance Studio to find Lucy sitting in one of the chairs against the front wall of windows in the large open room. She glanced up at him, her eyes wide with surprise.
Nana had called and insisted he meet her here, and she'd refused to tell him why. He didn't know if it was stupidity, pure curiosity, or fear of the little lady that made him agree to it, but here he was. As if he didn't feel uncomfortable enough walking into a dance studio, this place was in an upscale shopping center. He could feel the stares of the rich old ladies all the way from his truck.
He slipped off his cowboy hat as he walked toward her. "Lucy? I wasn't sure if you'd be here." And obviously she hadn't been expecting him to show up.
She swallowed. "Mrs. Tornsten is full of surprises."
"So...Nana called you too?" Dylan asked.
Lucy glanced at him and then back to the scuffed wood floors. "Something like that." She seemed nervous.
Several people stood by a wall of mirrors and long bar that ran the length of the back of the room.
"What are we doing here?"
A couple walked by them. The woman glanced at Lucy, took a little longer with him—probably never seen Wranglers before. The man dropped a CD in a boom box, and Latin music blared in the room.
"I'm not sure," Lucy said. "Maybe she wants to help work out the menu."
He had fallen for Lucy, and as much as he wanted the restaurant job, he didn't want to do anything to hurt her. But handing the job to Lucy didn't feel like the answer. Did she really want that job, or was she just reaching for it to earn her parents' approval? He wanted Lucy to have her dream, but would working for J.T. make her happy?
And he couldn't help but think about how much closer to Reed she'd be if she worked at his uncle's restaurant.
But if he didn't bow out of the competition or refuse the job offer if it came, would she ever forgive him?
Too many unanswered questions, and in the end, none of them would matter, because if her parents' approval was that important to her, she'd never end up with a guy like Dylan.
Nana blew through the front door like a whirlwind. She carried a pink duffel bag over her shoulder. "I'm sorry I'm late, but I'm glad you're both here."
She waved at the group of dancers across the room but moved her attention right back to them. "Lucy told me that you two were having trouble working together."
He glanced at Lucy. They'd been talking about him? "Well, ma'am, we had a rocky start, but I think we're getting along okay now."
Nana closed her eyes and waved her pointer finger at them. "No. No. No. Not according to Lucy. She doesn't think your food meshes with hers. She came to Heather's dress fitting the other day and suggested we not use you for the wedding."
She'd tried to get him kicked off the job? He felt like Nana had just smacked him across the face. He turned to Lucy. "Is that right?"
Lucy's face flushed with color.
Nana stood above them and pointed a skinny finger as she scolded them. "But I'm not going to do
that, because you two need to work out your problems."
Lucy stood. "Mrs...Nana. I'm sorry for going straight to Heather. Next time, I'll come to you or Paige first, but I was just looking out for the best interest of the wedding."
The words sliced through him.
A man in a tight pair of black pants and a shirt unbuttoned halfway to his naval clapped his hands. "Okay, everyone. It's time to get started."
Nana sat beside Dylan, pulled off her tennis shoes, and took out a pair of strappy heels. "I want you both to stay for the class."
Dylan laughed. There was no way he was shaking his rear end with Mrs. Tornsten and the man with the slicked back black hair. "I apologize, ma'am, but I forgot my dancing shoes."
"Your boots will be fine," Nana said.
"Thank you, but I really need to be—"
"It's not optional. I called ahead and paid for the lessons. I also put a call in to the caterer who did the food for the Penelope Foundation fundraiser, and she's available. So unless you can prove you can work together, I'll hire her. There's no better place than on the dance floor to show me whether or not you can make this little partnership work."
The male instructor turned the volume of the music louder as he took his place at the front of the room.
Nana cleared her throat. "I know you're both competing for J.T. Shaw's restaurant. I don't know any other details, and frankly, I don't care."
Lucy glanced at him and their eyes met.
Nana put her hands on her hips. "What I do know is that this is my granddaughter's wedding, and I won't let you ruin it."
Lucy ducked her chin down. "We would never let anything go wrong at the reception."
Dylan nodded. "We can promise you that we won't let this get in the way."
Nana's eyebrows, which looked like they'd been drawn on with a crayon, rose. "Marvelous. That's what I like to hear, but that still doesn't get you out of dance lessons."
#
Her hands hanging at her sides as she stood beside Dylan, Lucy wondered how she'd gotten them into this mess.
The male instructor clapped his hands. "Okay, everyone," he yelled over the salsa music. "We're going to begin in closed position."
Kiss the Cowboy Page 14
