Page 25 of Marrying Mr. Majestic

Her eyes widened. “Oh. Oh, well… that’s good, at least.”

“And as to the rest… I don’t know yet. Maybe you’re right. Maybe it was a little reckless.” It was. It surely was. “But I promise none of it will come back on you or ZuZu or Wynn, okay? I won’t let the family down.”

“I know you won’t. I just… I want you to be happy, Way.”

“Well, I am.” I thought for a second about my crazy schedule, my pathetic bank balance, and the expiration date she’d just reminded me of, then added, “Mostly.”

“Good.” She leaned forward and patted my hand, then sat back with a grin. “I admit, it’s kinda cute to see him wearing your shirt.”

I blinked at her. “My… shirt?” I’d noticed, too, that the old flannel Silas wore looked like one I’d donated weeks ago. It wasn’t—couldn’t be—the same one, but I didn’t correct her. It was probably a happy-husband thing to share clothes like that… at least, if the secret, possessive thrill I got from the idea of him wearing something of mine was anything to go by.

“And did you notice the back of his neck got red when Janice Godfrey said she’d caught y’all kissing in the alley? So cute. Then he grabbed your hand and kissed your knuckles one by one. I thought Stella’s eyes were going to pop out of her head.” She sighed. “And she was there with the PTA moms. They were all swooning. And him with your hat? Jesus, Way. I guess that means it has to be serious, doesn’t it?”

Silas hadn’t worn my hat… that I knew of, anyway. He’d simply held it.

Held it against me while we’d danced.

And while we’d kissed.

Held it the whole way from Vegas to give it back to me.

I sucked in a shaky breath and jumped to my feet. “I should probably go, ah…” I jerked a thumb in the direction of the barn. “…get my chores done while Silas is occupied.”

“Sure.” Sheridan stood. “By the way, I called ZuZu right after you left the cafe, so she knows.”

“Shoot.” Suddenly, I remembered I hadn’t thought to warn my little sister about any of this. “What’d she say?”

“She didn’t seem surprised. She said she always thought you had a crush on Lake McNair and that when he and Jackson got together, you went into a deep depression.”

While Lake McNair was a good-looking man, I’d never had a crush on him or thought of him in that way at all. If anything, I thought his husband was hotter. “Didn’t he and Jackson get together right around when Dad died?”

“Oh.” Sheridan looked startled. “Yes. God. Well, ZuZu had it half-right.”

It was nice to share a laugh.

She moved past me to the canvas bag she’d left on the porch floor. “Almost forgot. I stopped by Pete’s and picked up a take-and-bake pizza for you. Decided I didn’t feel like cooking after all. Hope that’s okay.”

“Course it is. Thanks.”

She opened the bag to show me a big pizza and six-pack of beer. I also recognized a large cardboard to-go box from the Love Muffin.

“Toffee bars, fresh this morning. You can have those for dessert. And there’s also coffee cake for the morning.”

I gave her a hug. “Thanks. You’re the best.”

She squeezed me tight. “You know I love you, right? And I only want the best for you.”

Her words were probably kinder than I deserved. If she’d shown up suddenly married to a stranger, I would have lost my damned mind, and we both knew it.

“I know. Thank you.”

When she pulled back, she shot me a wink. “Don’t love you enough to take the afternoon feed, though. That’s all you. I’ve gotta get back to the cafe.”

I thought about all the work that was left to do on the ranch and groaned. But at least if I was at the barn, I wouldn’t be tempted to assert my marital privileges in the world’s tiniest house.

TEN

SILAS

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