Page 2 of A Miracle for the Confident Cowboy

“Pippa, that’s nonsense?—”

“I’m going to wish that you get some big breakthrough with your blog. When it happens, you’ll see.”

Sophie narrowed her eyes as she stared hard at her friend. “I thought you couldn’t tell me what you wished for.”

“It’s an experiment. One’s a secret and you’ll know the other one.” She grinned. “And when your life is better in a few weeks, you’ll know who to thank.”

A snort escaped Sophie’s chest. “There is only one way to survive in this world and move up. Hard work. You know better than anyone. If something does happen, I’ll know it’s because I made some good business decisions.”

“And it doesn’t help that your sister-in-law made a few wishes.”

Sophie shook her head, but didn’t argue with her. Instead, she glanced around the restaurant. “You really went all out with your decorations. It’s only missing one thing.”

Pippa frowned and glanced around where Sophie was staring. “It’s not missing anything,” she argued. “It’s perfect.”

“Santa,” Sophie snickered. “I would have thought the great and wonderful Pippa would have brought in a Santa for the kids.”

She laughed and grabbed her damp rag before flinging toward Sophie like a whip. “Now who’s being ridiculous? But I do hear they’re going to have Santa at the big event this year. They almost couldn’t find one who was available.”

“That’s good.” Sophie said with an absent tone. “I’d hate to see the kids miss out on seeing Santa.” Her thoughts drifted back to this mystery guy she might have already met. She couldn’t recall meeting anyone who called themselves Duke.

A cowboy pushed his way into the restaurant and Sophie stilled. The man was gorgeous even from this distance. She couldn’t see his eyes, but the cut of his jaw and the way his dark hair curled at his collar immediately caught her attention. He removed his hat the second he came inside.

He was a gentleman, too.

The man wandered up to the hostess and spoke to her. Sophie wished she could hear what was being said—mostly so she could hear his voice. A lot could be said by the way a man spoke. Her mouth went dry as she watched him be led to a booth near a window.

A sharp elbow dug into her side. Sophie didn’t know when or how Pippa had managed to come out from behind the bar to stand beside her, but she was there and her elbow was sharper than half of the knives in her kitchen. “There he is,” she hissed with glee. “See? I told you he was cute.”

That was an understatement. The neatly trimmed facial hair made him look rugged and respectable. She couldn’t tell from here, but it appeared he was an average height which meant he would come to about three inches taller than she was.

Pippa elbowed her again. “Well? You can’t keep him waiting. You need to go introduce yourself.” She tugged on Sophie’s arm and pushed her forward.

Sophie shuffled a few steps and glanced back over her shoulder to Pippa who waved her fingers in a flicking motion. Sophie couldn’t recall another time when Pippa looked more excited. Swallowing hard, Sophie wandered toward the table. She stopped a few feet away, considering what it would do to not only her reputation but her brother’s if she chose to bail.

Nope. She couldn’t do that.

Taking a deep breath, she strode forward and effortlessly dropped into the booth across from him.

Duke’s lashes lifted, revealing the greenest eyes Sophie had ever seen. She’d always been jealous of those with eye color. Her own dark eyes made it difficult to even see her pupils.

A lump formed in her throat and she forced a smile as she held her hand across to him. “Sophie.”

“Duke.”

Immediately, she frowned and settled back in her seat, the magic lost. “Please don’t tell me you’re one ofthoseguys.”

He shifted in his seat, his eyes narrowing. “One of what guys,” he asked, his English accent far too strong to be real.

“Boy, you’re really laying it on thick, aren’t you?” She folded her arms and looked out the window. She should have known better than to believe this was real. Her brother wasn’t going to set her up with someone serious. Sometimes it felt like he didn’t want her to date anyone at all. At this rate, she could end up a spinster.

“I’m not laying anything… on… anyone,” he muttered.

She glanced at him out of the corner of her eye then sighed as she rolled her eyes and faced him again. “Will you knock it off? I know your kind. I’ve actually dated a handful of them.”

He looked utterly bewildered.

“The accent. Just talk with your normal voice. You’re not fooling anyone.” She leaned forward and her voice lowered to a whisper. “Some girls might find it endearing or irresistible, but I don’t like it when people arefake.”

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