by A. J. Pine
“No. We knew. Just thought he could use a couple hours of silent reflection.”
She was still laughing when she emerged into the office space once more.
Jack rose to meet her, shaking out his right leg, the one he’d broken last spring.
“Still hurts?” she asked.
“Just a little stiff,” he admitted. “Must be a storm coming in. Hell, we need rain after the summer we had.” He held the door open for her. “I’ll get back to you no later than tomorrow afternoon if we need to contact Tucker’s attorney for any last-minute issues. But I’m thinking we’re all good.”
Lily almost tripped over a dusty cowboy boot as she exited the office. Luke Everett straightened and caught her elbow before she went down. Talk about mixed signals—ignoring her birthday/divorce day and then saving her from face-planting on the wood floor. Then again, he had been one big pile of mixed signals the night she first met him.
Was his grip this strong three years ago? Or his fingers this warm?
“Shit. Sorry. I was waiting for Jack.”
“It’s all worries,” Lily said. Then she shook her head. “I mean, no good.”
Luke’s brows drew together, and Lily jerked her elbow free as she willed her brain to unscramble.
“What’s up?” Jack asked, but he was already glancing over his brother’s shoulder to the tall, slender blonde circling the perimeter of the space.
“Can I help you?” Jack called, walking toward her.
“Jack, I—” Luke stammered, but his brother ignored him in favor of the stranger, who seemed to be casing the premises.
Lily and Luke were on Jack’s heels, and if she didn’t know better, she would have thought Luke was racing her.
When he stepped in front of her, effectively cutting her off, she slammed into his back.
“What are you doing?” she asked, but he held up a hand, waving her off. “Hey!” she said, poking Luke in the shoulder. “What’s your problem?”
He spun to face her, blue eyes full of ice and his jaw tight. “Jeez, Lily. Not now, okay?”
“Screw you,” she whisper-shouted, but Luke had already turned back toward his brother.
She maneuvered in front of him, trying to keep him from whatever he wanted to say. She didn’t care what it was, only that she came out victorious in this little battle of wills.
“Jack,” Luke said again, but his brother had already caught up to the mystery woman who was several paces ahead, squatting on the floor, running her hand along the unfinished baseboard.
“Knotted pine,” she said, standing. “Very rustic and ranch-like. A good fit.”
“Thanks,” Jack said, his brows pulling together. “We’re not open till late next summer, though. Maybe even early fall. Depending on the crop, that is.”
She smiled and rested a hand on her flat belly. She wore a simple blue T-shirt and dark skinny jeans that ended at a pair of ballet flats, though her legs seemed to go on for miles. Her hair was in one of those messy buns, her face seemingly free of makeup, and she was—gorgeous. Lily had this niggling feeling she’d met the woman before, but she couldn’t place her.
Instinctively, she ran a hand through her still-growing-out blond pixie. She glanced down at the wedges she wore to make her five-foot-four frame seem longer. Then she silently chastised herself for the comparison.
“I know,” the woman said. “But I heard about your place from my boyfriend. I mean fiancé. Wow, I’m so not used to calling him that.” She was talking like she was on fast-forward. “And anyway—okay. This is gonna sound crazy, but my fiancé and I are unexpectedly expecting, and we want to get married before the baby comes. And while I can still fit in a dress. So I thought, a Thanksgiving wedding! But it’s October, and everything’s booked, and we’re not looking to have a giant affair. Just our family and close friends, and even unfinished the winery would do. Then I’d just need music and a caterer and—”
“I’ll do it!” Lily interrupted. “The food, I mean.”
This was definitely not in her planner. But hell, she was making a U-turn, right? She was almost officially divorced and absolutely officially jobless. And what safer place to cater her first party than with the moral support of her friends?
“Fuck. No,” Luke said, glaring at her as the two of them caught up to Jack and the stranger.
Okay so Jack and his fiancée Ava were her friends. She could ignore the second eldest Everett—if he would just stop talking.
The other woman’s eyes darted toward the younger of the two brothers.
“Luke!” she said. “I thought that was you. Wow do you two look alike.” She glanced back and forth between the brothers.
He opened his mouth to say something, but Lily didn’t care who the woman was or what this little reunion between her and Luke meant. She was going to seal this deal. Now.
“Jack,” she interrupted, “the interior should be done by the beginning of next month, right? That’s what Ava said. You could put the place on the map before it even opens, and I can do this, my first catering job.” She turned to the other woman. “I swear I can cook. I used to run a restaurant, but I left it to open my own business. I can even cook up some menu samples this week as a résumé of sorts.”
Jack scratched the back of his neck, and the beautiful stranger beamed.
“A wedding?” he said. “That was never the plan for the winery, but it’s not a half-bad idea.”
Luke grabbed his brother’s shoulder. “It’s a whole bad idea. Trust me.”
Jack narrowed his eyes. “I’d have to talk to the contractors first. Then I’d have to draw up some sort of contract. You really up for this, Lil?”
“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Luke said under his breath.
He was the only one who seemed put off by the situation, which made zero sense, but she didn’t care. Not one little bit. She was making her U-turn right here and now, and hell if she was going to let Luke Everett ruin it for her.
Jack shrugged. “Why don’t we all head on up to the ranch, where we can iron out the details.” He held out his hand. “Jack Everett,” he said.
She shook. “Sara Sugar.”
Lily gasped, recognition finally setting in. She had seen the woman before. On television. She looked so different that she hadn’t put the pieces together. But that’s not how she knew her. “You—you have that show on the Food Network.”
Sara beamed. “Sugar and Spice. Yeah. The baking show. I know. I look nothing like my TV self, right? I get that all the time. It’s the hair and makeup, I guess.”
Her heart beat like a sledgehammer against her chest. She’d finally gone and done something impulsive—put herself out there like she never had before—and look what she’d done.
She should run out the damned door and never look back. Except then she’d leave Jack in one hell of an awkward situation after he’d just done thousands of dollars of work for her for free. And the buyout she’d received from Tucker for BBQ on the Bluff? She couldn’t live on it forever, especially if she was going to use it as seed money for her own business…and that whole paying-the-mortgage issue.
She needed a job. And this was so close to being the perfect one.
“Tucker Green is your fiancé,” Lily finally said, trying as hard as she could to make her wince look like a smile as she shook the woman’s hand.
“Aw shit,” she heard Jack say under his breath, but Sara must have missed it. She just smiled and nodded.
“Yes!” she said. “How did you know?”
“I’m Lily Green.” She fought to keep her voice steady. “Tucker’s ex-wife.”
Acknowledgments
Thank you, wonderful readers, who helped put the fictional cowboy town of Oak Bluff on the map! I’m so thrilled to share Cash and Olivia’s story with you! Thank you, Madeleine, my fabulous editor for wanting more in the Crossroads Ranch world and to my wonderful agent, Emily, for sealing the deal. Cash and Olivia were such a delight to write, and they exist in par
t because of both of you. To my #cruiseycrew, Lia, Jen, and Chanel, here’s to Saturn! Someday. And to my biggest cheerleaders, who suffer through Mom wearing her laptop as an accessory, I owe you infinite huggles.
Also by A.J. Pine
Tough Luck Cowboy
Second Chance Cowboy
About the Author
A librarian for teens by day and a romance writer by night, A.J. Pine can’t seem to escape the world of fiction, and she wouldn’t have it any other way. When she finds that twenty-fifth hour in the day, she might indulge in a tiny bit of TV to nourish her undying love of vampires, superheroes, and a certain high-functioning sociopath detective. She hails from the far-off galaxy of the Chicago suburbs.
You can learn more at:
AJPine.com
Twitter @AJ_Pine
Facebook.com/AJPineAuthor
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