“It’s been seven years—maybe you’ve changed.”
He remained stoically quiet, telling her nothing yet everything. He hadn’t changed.
She tried to casually dislodge her heels from the cement-like ground so she could be on her way, but no go. Instead, her subtlety heightened Maverick’s attention. He glanced down her body, taking in what felt like every inch of her.
“Problem?” he asked, a playful glint in his eye.
“No.” She ran her hands down her white linen pants.
“You sure? Looks like you might be stuck.”
“I’m fine. Don’t you have somewhere else to be?”
His eyes moved over her head for a second before returning to hers. “Looks like Jenna and George made it to the barn.”
“Jenna?” Did he have a daughter?
“My niece.”
“And George is a…?”
One corner of his mouth quirked up ever so slightly. “Mule.”
She nodded like I knew that and was only making polite conversation. Which must be some sort of maturity side effect, since they had rarely been nice to each other in college. From the second they’d met, they’d rubbed each other the wrong way and made sport of it rather than try to be friends.
There’s a fine line between love and hate, Andrew always said.
Whatever. She knew which side of it she was on.
Since Maverick stood there staring at her, she stared back. Light blue jeans, black cotton T-shirt stretched by wide shoulders, scuffed cowboy boots. His light brown hair curled around his ears and was creased along the sides of his head like he’d recently taken off a hat. Unfortunately, the past several years had made him even more handsome. Not that she’d ever dwelled on his looks. Anyone would appreciate his appearance. Objectively.
“What brings you here?” he asked, his tone toeing the line between cordial and unsociable. Nothing new there, either.
“An overnight stay.”
His brows pinched. “Voluntarily?”
“What is that supposed to mean?”
He scratched the back of his neck. “You hate the countryside.”
That he remembered this fact rattled her. “Well, for your information, I have evolved, and my boyfriend surprised me with a night away for our anniversary.” Huh, maybe she could act her way through this, considering that lie had rolled off her tongue easier than she thought it would.
Right on cue, Andrew appeared at her side. He slid off his sunglasses and hung them on the V-neck of his shirt. “Hey, Maverick.”
The tall, distractingly good-looking cowboy in front of her moved his gaze to her best friend.
“I believe you’ve met Andrew before,” Kennedy said.
Maverick put out his hand. “I have. Hey, Andrew.”
Andrew shook hands, holding on a little too long. Jeez Louise, could the guy keep it together please? “It’s good to see you again,” Andrew said.
“I didn’t realize friends celebrated anniversaries.”
“Oh, we’re not just friends.” Kennedy wrapped both arms around Andrew’s muscled biceps and leaned into him.
“Really?” Was it just her or did Maverick sound like he didn’t believe her? Andrew had the kind of outgoing, affable, and confident personality that made both men and women fall for him. It just so happened he preferred the former over the latter. She didn’t think Maverick knew that, though.
“Really.” Kennedy gave Maverick the stink eye before turning her head and softening for Andrew. “Is our room ready, honey? Since we’re here for only a short time, I don’t want to waste it standing in this one spot.”
“Yeah, about that,” Andrew said. “Can I talk to you for a minute?”
“Sure.” Only when she tried to step away, her heel stayed stuck, so rather than put distance between herself and Maverick, Andrew simply canted his head and lowered his voice.
“What do you think about staying for the week? We’re both free and already here.”
Reed’s plea floated through her mind. Stay in town.
“Is there a room available for that long?” she asked.
“Funny thing happened when I got to the reception desk. The man in front of me checking in was the brother of the bride and the man of honor, and we started talking and then in a stroke of luck, the person who reserved our room starting tomorrow called this morning to cancel, so the room is available for the next week. Friends and family on both sides of the wedding party are the only guests at the ranch right now. The woman at the reception desk said she’d be thrilled if we’d like to keep the room.”
Stay.
The only way to stop a wedding was to be at the wedding.
“I know that wasn’t the plan. But Liam—the man of honor—was really friendly, and there was something about him that made me hot all over. I haven’t felt that since…”
Joaquin. Andrew’s ex, and the reason Andrew had fun but kept himself guarded.
“It’s up to you,” Andrew said. “But this gives you more time to make sure Reed truly wants to get married.”
She and Ava had watched Wedding Crashers at least half a dozen times. She could pretend to be Andrew’s girlfriend and a second cousin or something, right?
Andrew raised his brows, and his expression said pretty please.
“There’s something else, isn’t there?” she asked.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Yes, he did. He knew exactly what she meant. She knew him better than he knew himself. He might be in insta-love with the man of honor, but his eyes were sparkling like they did after one of his stage performances.
She thought back to the improvisational acting workshop he’d mentioned he missed last week. He clearly saw this situation as an opportunity—a chance to be someone else and hone his skills, and she couldn’t fault him for that. Not when it was her fault he’d missed the workshop. He’d rescued her from a disastrous dinner with her sister where Victoria couldn’t have cared less about hurting Kennedy’s feelings, taking dig after dig.
“The man of honor is Elle’s brother,” she whispered. If she had a red flag, she’d be waving it. She didn’t want to stir up any trouble or cause undue harm for the bride-to-be, no matter what Reed decided.
“I realize that,” he said like it wasn’t a problem.
For him, maybe. She mentally kicked herself for even thinking about staying the week. She could barely fake a stomachache. But she also never turned her back on a friend. “Okay, let’s—”