“I did…” Pippa drawled. “And before you ask, all he said was that it was a nice date but he didn’t think he’s interested in another one.”

Sophie didn’t realize she’d been holding out a degree of hope until her heart deflated in that moment. It was small—and more than likely related to the fact that she didn’t like feeling tossed aside. She’d had more than enough of guys who weren’t really serious about anything. This was nothing to do with Duke.

She still despised him, at least mostly.

“I don’t care if he looked like Brad Pitt. His looks will never be enough for me to overlook his attitude,” she insisted.

Pippa and Allie exchanged amused looks.

“If you say so,” Pippa said.

“I do. Emphatically.” Sophie dug into her purse to check that she still had her wallet—praying they would change the subject. She loved these women—more than she had thought possible. Nothing could make her want to hurt them. Right about now, she got the distinct feeling they really wanted her to like Duke. Whatever the reason didn’t matter. Sophie would never like him and her sisters would eventually get used to that fact.

Thankfully, they started discussing plans for their Christmas dinner. It was the biggest event at the Duncan household this time of year. This year Allie’s husband, Luke, wanted to make sure every chair was filled—even if that meant inviting some of the ranch hands that worked for him.

Sophie might just have to be prepared to interact with Duke if he was one of the men chosen to attend. She sighed. At least the town was big enough she wasn’t bumping into him at every turn.She saw him yesterday when she was out getting groceries, but she’d quickly ducked down the frozen food aisle and successfully avoided him. It had only been a few days since their date and she wasn’t ready in the slightest to have to go up against him again.

She followed her sisters down the street and into the coffee shop. Allie and Pippa chattered about their other Christmas plans. They had so much on their list of traditions. And what did Sophie have? Nothing.

Her parents didn’t live here. Her brother was married and starting his own traditions. All Sophie had was her job. Sure, she had her brother and the two women in front of her… dang, maybe she should have tried harder on her date with Duke.

Shaking her head to clear it, Sophie shoved down that preposterous notion. She didn’t need a boyfriend. She needed to stay busy. She stepped up to the counter and put in her order for a caramel macchiato and then stepped back to let the next person in line order. She stood near a bulletin board and skimmed some of the flyers.

There was a toy drive this month. Santa would be appearing in the makeshift village. A Christmas festival was in the works. So much community outreach.

Then her eyes landed on a flyer with an adorable logo involving the outlines of a cat and a dog.Volunteers desperately needed. She scanned the document of a local pet shelter. Their volunteer numbers were down and they needed people to sign up to walk the dogs during the holiday season. Beneath the flyer were some tabs with the website.

Sophie smiled and tore off a tab. She peered at it with glee. Who said she needed a guy to complete her? Service was better thana boyfriend—and playing with dogs was only a cherry on top of a good idea.

“Sophie?” the barista called.

Sophie shoved the paper into her pocket then hurried to the counter to grab her drink. The three women exited the coffee shop and turned down the street. She hung back behind Allie and Pippa as they walked. They crossed the street where there was no cross walk to get to another small store and Sophie had to pick up the pace. She looked both ways then hurried to the other side. She was about to step up onto the curb when a car down the street let out a loud honk.

Turning her head toward the noise, she didn’t slow her pace and unfortunately collided with a hard object. Not just any hard object—a person.

She gasped. “I’m so sorry—” she started, jumping back, grateful that her drink didn’t slosh out of its cup. Her eyes lifted and her stomach subsequently dropped. Sophie’s heart darted erratically around her chest momentarily as she got a hold of her bearings. “You,” she muttered.

Duke’s coy smile landed on her. It was short lived, hidden quickly by a look of boredom. “You should probably watch where you’re going.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but realized there was nothing she could say. She was the one who had been looking elsewhere. But that didn’t mean the same held true for him. Sophie didn’t have evidence of it and she wasn’t about to be argued with. She huffed, pushing past him.

Sophie only got a few steps up the sidewalk before she slowed and glanced over her shoulder. Duke was headed in the directionshe’d just come from. He was stopped in front of the coffee shop by a pretty, petite woman with blonde hair that went to her waist. The woman laughed and flirted, touching his arm.

He smiled at her in a way he’d never smiled at Sophie.

What was she thinking? She couldn’t be jealous. He wassonot her type.

At that very moment Duke glanced over at her.

Sophie froze. She literally couldn’t move as Duke’s eyes locked with hers. Dang it! Dang it! Dang it! She’d been caught staring. What was wrong with her?

Pippa nudged her with a laugh, breaking the spell Sophie was under. Sophie jumped and stared at her sister-in-law who wore the most pointed look known to man. “I told you,” she whispered.

“You told me nothing,” Sophie insisted. “He nearly made me spill my drink. I was just giving him my death glare.”

“Um hum…” Pippa drawled. “That’s exactly what it looks like when I’m trying to show someone I’m upset with them.”

Allie materialized out of nowhere to laugh at Pippa’s comment. Sophie groaned. She didn’t need them teasing her. She needed them to distract her from the fact that Duke had caught her staring at him. She motioned down the sidewalk. “Are we going shopping? Or are we here to make fun of me?”