Page 38 of My Best Friend's Mardi Gras Wedding

If it was strange for a woman’s ex-husband to be complimenting her new boyfriend, no one else in the bar gave any sign they thought so.Tori nodded, as if she totally understood this.

“And he’s twenty years younger than me,” Ellie added with a sly smile.“We met five years ago.He was only forty-four when I seduced him.”

Tori swallowed hard.“Oh.”She had no idea what else to say.

Ellie seemed to realize it and laughed.“If it doesn’t make your heart pound, it’s not worth doing.”

Leo nodded.“No one around here is gonna die of boredom.”

“Or with any regrets,” Ellie said.

“Wow.”Tori took it all in.This was fascinating.And very different from her life.It seemed that most people she knew—her family, certainly—worked hard to keep things from getting too exciting.Pounding hearts meant you were scared or at least stressed.She knew for a fact that her father avoided things that made his heart pound.Steady and solid were Patrick Kramer’s favorite words.“The last time my heart pounded was when one of our cows had twins.”

She looked up from her glass of tea and realized they were all watching her.

“I’m a vet,” she said.“Twins are often a problem for cows.They almost always need help.”No one said anything.“Sheep and goats all have twins without much trouble, but cows are different.”She paused, and again no one said anything.“Delivering two heads and eight legs out of the same hole can get complicated.”She should probably stop talking.“Goats can also have triplets, by the way.I delivered a set last spring.”

Finally Ellie reached out and squeezed her hand.“I’m really hoping my grandson made your heart pound harder than birthing a set of twin calves.”

Tori managed a smile at that.“Yeah.”She nodded.“Yeah, he definitely did.”

“Great love stories run in our family,” Ellie said.

Tori felt her heart give at least one hard beat right then.They were already talking about a love story involving her and Josh?That was fast.And crazy.And…fun.They were blowing this all out of proportion, but it was making her smile.This felt like a train that she just had to board and hold on tight as long as it was running.

“Ahem.”Jeremiah cleared his throat.“You haven’t even told her the best one yet.”

Tori looked at him.“I’d love to hear it.”

“It’s about me and Josh’s mom,” he said.“It’s legend around here.”

Tori was instantly intrigued.“Legend, huh?This I have to hear.”

“I met Hannah at a dance over in—”

“Oh, you don’t tell it as good as Cora does,” Ellie interrupted.“Cora!”she shouted toward the swinging door behind the bar.“Cora!Get up here!”

“Good God, what the hell are you screeching about?”A woman with short salt-and-pepper curls and a round face came through the swinging door, wiping her hands on the red apron she wore.

“This is Tori,” Ellie said, pointing.“She’s Josh’s.”

Cora’s eyes got wide.“The one he’s been mooning over?”

Tori rolled her eyes but also smiled.Maybe he really had been.

“Yep,” Ellie said, happily.“She came to find him today.She’s takin’ him to a wedding at Buckworth.”

“Nice.”Cora studied Tori.“You’re a beauty.”

Tori blushed.“Um, thank you.”

“Gus liked her too,” Jeremiah added.

Cora nodded.“It’s official then.You’re a keeper.”

“Who’s Gus?”Tori asked, again glancing at the other men at the bar.

“The otter,” Jeremiah said.“He doesn’t come up to people often.”

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