Page 4 of The Rancher's Amnesia Bride

She pushed the folders towards Charlee-Mae over her desk in a sliding motion. "All the information you need to know about both men is inside these folders. No pictures of their faces, per agency rules, but..." Charlotte couldn't help grimacing at this. "Just as you requested, I've asked both men for the most recent photos of their abs—-"

Charlotte saw her sister-in-law fighting back a smile and knew all at once she had been had.

"Cha-Cha!"

The other woman burst into laughter, and Charlotte was torn between wanting to throttle Charlee-Mae for playing such a trick on her...and kicking herself in the head for actually falling for it.

Charlee-Mae was laughing so hard she could barely catch her breath as she sought to defend herself. "I'm sorry! I didn't know you'd take it seriously!"

"How can I not," Charlotte growled, "when the request is just so...so...you?"

"Well, what's done is done, and don't worry, Char—-" Charlee-Mae flipped both folders open so she could compare the two photos side by side. "I'll make sure your efforts aren’t in vain and—-ooooooh."

While the photo from the blue folder was of a guy in swimming trunks at the beach, the one that made her heart skip a beat was the photo from the red folder: the man in it was standing in front of his bathroom mirror, his white dress shirt unbuttoned to reveal his washboard abs. The awkward angle of the photo spoke volumes of how much Mr. Red Folder (dis)liked selfies while its blurred edges told Charlee-Mae he had emailed Charlotte the first photo he had taken.

No vanity at all, Charlee-Mae thought in awe, and in today's image-conscious world, that was as rare as finding wasabi-flavored KitKat in a 7-Eleven store in Texas.

Charlee-Mae pointed to Mr. Red Folder. "I choose him."

The speed in which Charlee-Mae made up her mind had Charlotte's head spinning. "Don't treat this like it's no different from choosing your starter Pokémon."

"And I'm not," Charlee-Mae protested. "I'd have taken much longer to decide if I were choosing my starter Pokémon—-"

"Oh my God, Cha-Cha!"

Charlee-Mae was genuinely bewildered. "I'm just being honest. Pokémon is a game of numbers. Finding my one true love is all about feelings. And my heart chooses—-"

Charlotte, however, was already shaking her head before Charlee-Mae had even finished speaking. "Consider this at least." She pointed to the blue folder. "It's my personal opinion that this guy is a much safer bet—-"

"Really?" Charlee-Mae dubiously cast a second glance on the guy in swimming trunks.

"Don't judge a man by his photo shoot."

"Oh. He's a model?"

"Doctor."

"And he did that?"

"Because he lost a bet...and he actually doesn't know you've asked for a photo of his abs. I grabbed this from the Internet."

"What about Mr. Red Folder?" Charlee-Mae held her breath. "How - where - did you get it?"

"Now that, I had to personally ask for..." Charlotte scowled as she was reminded of how mortifying it felt to ask the other party for a photo of his abs. It had made her feel like a brothel owner asking a sex worker for proof of goods—-

Charlee-Mae, upon seeing Charlotte's expression turn darker by the second, knew right away what the other woman was thinking. Uh-oh. She started to lean back...but it was too late, and Charlee-Mae could only yelp in pain as Charlotte suddenly rolled a sheet of paper and started swatting her arm like it was covered by mosquitoes.

"I can't believe you made me ask for photos of their abs!"

Swat!

"I'm sorry—-"

Swat!

"I really am—"

SWAT!

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