Page 56 of Sheriff's City Girl

“That’s just so crazy,” I commented, trying to wrap my head around a theft that big. I didn’t have a clue about ranching, but I did know how big a cow was… And that just didn’t seem like an easy animal to steal.

People have their ways though.

“Anyway,” Lily cleared her throat as she pulled out onto the onramp for the highway. “We need to talk about the fact that you’re starting to show—and Mason still doesn’t know.”

I glanced down at my stomach, which was now pooching out just enough that I noticed it. “I don’t know. I work at a bakery; it could easily be played off that I ate too much of my own food.”

Lily rolled her eyes and laughed. “Oh, come on, Emma. I get what you’re saying but the only weight you’ve gained is right there.” She pointed to my belly. “You’re not going to be able to play that off forever.”

“No, and I don’t intend to,” I reasoned. “I intend to tell Mason… He’s just… Really busy or something.”

“Or you just don’t want to tell him,” Lily muttered, her disapproval apparent in her voice. “And that’s not fair to him or you. He needs time to prepare for it just as much as you do—and let’s not forget about Jess.”

I cringed at the thought. “She might hate me for it.”

“She’s not going to hate you,” Lily reasoned. “It means gaining a sibling for her. It might take her some time to come around, but I know she will come around. Ever since you picked her up at the party, she’s talked nonstop about you to Dara. She thinks you’re great, and I think you should nurture that relationship with her.”

I nodded. “Yeah, I just don’t want to overstep any of Mason’s boundaries. He hasn’t invited me over in some time, and I don’t think me skipping him to get to his daughter is a good idea.”

“I seriously think you’re overthinking way too much. You know what I think?” Lily cocked her head at me, catching my gaze for a second before going back to the road.

“And what’s that?”

“I think that he likes you. I think he really likes you, but I think he’s obsessed with helping Lucas and I think he’s worried like hell about his daughter and her new boyfriend—her first boyfriend, I might add. I think he’s just got a lot on his plate… And Mason is not exactly the most forthcoming kind of guy.”

“Um, he was very forthcoming about the gala being fake.”

“Meh,” Lily shook her head. “I think he was just trying to cover his ass, so that Lucas wouldn’t pry into his personal business.”

“Right,” I grumbled, leaning back against the seat and casting my gaze out the window. I wanted to believe her—and yeah, it was nice seeing Mason every morning at the café, but it wasn’t like it was quality one on one time. He hadn’t asked me on a date. We simply had a fifteen-minute conversation in the morning while he ate a bagel.

That was it.

And while that might constitute casual friendship, that was a far cry from dating.

“I think you should talk to him about your relationship,” Lily said after we rode for a while in silence. “I think you should ask what direction he wants to take it. You’ve known him long enough that I think it’s fair.”

She wasn’t wrong.

“Yeah, maybe I should talk to him about it after the gala?” I suggested, looking to her for advice. She had been in a relationship with Drew for as long as I had known her, and while they’d had plenty of rough spells, they always came through it. That counted for something.

“Yeah, I don’t think that’s a bad idea,” Lily agreed. “Maybe once you get past that this weekend, you can get a solid answer from him—and speaking of the gala, we have to find a dress for you to wear.”

“And one that will conceal this.” I rested my hand on my stomach. “I don’t want Mason to put it together before I have had a chance to tell him. That would be a nightmare.”

“Well, maybe during the same conversation about where things are going, you can end with that.”

“Information overload,” I said with a sigh, already dreading all of the conversation.

“Nah, you deserve to know where he’s at in the relationship as much as he deserves to know that he’s going to have a baby. It works both ways, and if he’s not serious about you, then move on. You deserve someone who loves you the way you want them to.”

“Or just loves me at all,” I pointed out, giving her a laugh devoid of humor. “It never seems to work out for me.”

“That’s only because it wasn’t the right one.”

“That’s probably true,” I agreed, though I had to admit I was skeptical of the whole soulmate thing. Love was a choice, rather than a feeling, and I had heard plenty of people say that…

And I wanted someone to choose me.

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