Page 17 of Close to My Heart

No one would treat her like I did. Unfortunately, she couldn’t see it. She’d only ever seen me as a friend. Someone to lean on when she was upset and someone to take care of her when she was in an accident. I loved that role, but I was about to lose it to her new life partner. One who surely wouldn’t want me around.

By Sunday, I was a wreck. Sutton had gone on a few more dates. She limited them to drinks in case she didn’t like them; only one had continued to dinner. That was the guy she was bringing to the farm. Apparently, this guy had potential to be her husband, and I was dying to know what it was that this guy had that I didn’t.

I’d made sure I was lingering around the barn when Sutton said they’d be there. I took solace in the fact that they’d driven separately. If this guy was a gentleman, wouldn’t he have insisted on picking her up?

I met Sutton at her driver’s side door, opening it. She stepped out in skintight jeans, furry boots, and a red puffer jacket. She looked gorgeous.

When I closed the door, she threw her arms around my neck. “I’ve missed you.”

She pressed her body against mine, and even though I couldn’t feel anything beneath the layers, it still had me on edge. I shouldn’t want my best friend. I shouldn’t be thinking about her curves or how she’d feel with nothing between us.

We hadn’t spent any time together since the day after Thanksgiving when she was still recovering from her accident and her grandmother’s ultimatum. Now, she looked polished as if she’d fully recovered from the shock of both.

“Your car is fixed.”

She smoothed a hand over the red paint. “Just got it back today. Had to take it for a drive.”

“You should buy something more suited for winter weather.”

Sutton shrugged. “What’s the fun in that?”

I swear she did things like this to drive me crazy. She knew I worried about her. “But you’d be safer in something sturdier. Like that over there.” I pointed at the white Tahoe. “It’s like a tank.”

“I love the white. Perfect for winter.”

I shook my head. Sometimes it was hard to identify with Sutton, how money wasn’t an issue for her. She had a trust fund, but it wasn’t enough to buy the property from her grandmother. I think that was by design too.

Sutton patted my cheek, then lifted on tiptoes to kiss my cheek.

“What was that for?” She was being overly affectionate today when it seemed like she usually kept her distance.

“I’m nervous. I want you to approve of whomever I marry.”

“That’s not going to happen. I don’t like this plan or the rush to get married.”

Sutton merely rolled her eyes, used to my overprotective ways. “Give Ashton a chance. I feel good when I’m with him.”

“Marriage is more than someone making you feel good, and you barely know him.”

“That’s why we’re here, to see if he’s a good guy. Oh, there he is now.”

A sleek black sedan parked next to her convertible, and an impeccably dressed man got out. What was he thinking wearing pressed slacks, a wool peacoat, and polished dress shoes to a Christmas tree farm?

“Seriously?”

Sutton grinned at me, then touched my arm. “Give him a chance. Please? For me?”

I groaned. “Fine.”

She grinned wider as she pulled me by the wrist over to Ashton. The closer we got, the more obvious it was that he was wearing cologne. Probably some expensive brand that aired commercials.

Ashton’s brow furrowed as his gaze snagged on Sutton’s hand on my wrist. I tried to shake free, but Sutton had a death grip on me. Was she nervous and needed my support, or was it something else?

“Ashton, I’m so glad you could make it.” Sutton finally let go of me and hugged Ashton. Ashton’s hand gripped her hip in a possessive way that had me wanting to forcibly remove it. He probably didn’t need the use of his hand for his line of work.

He dropped his head slightly, whispering something in her ear. Sutton giggled as she stepped back. “This is my best friend, Wes Calloway. His family owns the farm.”

Ashton scrutinized me, probably taking in the worn jeans and farm T-shirt, dismissing me as lacking. “How quaint.”

---