Page 19 of More Than a Good Friend

“What about my truck?”

He shrugs. “I guess we’ll get it tomorrow.”

Now I’m getting irritated. This truck is my baby. “I’m not leaving it in a parking lot overnight.”

“Then make sure you can drive home.” Archer smiles, which only ratchets up my irritation.

“Why? What’s the big deal about driving back to the ranch?”

He crosses his arms. “This whole thing with Goldie bothers you, and I don’t want you to drown that in a bunch of beer.” His eyebrows lift, daring me to argue.

So I do. “I’m over it. She doesn’t want to marry me. No big deal. We’re still friends.”

His expression doesn’t change.

I pull in a deep breath and reach for the door handle. Clearly, my lie isn’t convincing. “Okay, so it bothers me a little.”

He swings open his door. “What did you expect her to say? You spent years taking her for granted. Did you really think she’d jump at the chance to marry you?”

Those words bounce around in my head as I follow him into the bar. I haven’t taken her for granted. That’s a horrible thing to say.

He orders a beer, and I order a Coke. No way am I letting my truck sit unattended out here all night.

The place isn’t crowded yet, and we grab an open table near the dance floor.

Conversation is a bit harder because of the loud music, but I need to make my point. “I do not take Goldie for granted. But what happened bothers me because I just thought she’d always be there. No matter what.”

He shakes his head. “If you look it up, I’m pretty sure it says something very close to that for a definition.”

“Wait. No. Really?” I bury my face in my hands, remembering the look on her face when I proposed. “You think that’s what it is?”

He scrunches up his face. “Maybe.”

“Shoot. I don’t want her to feel like that.” I scan the room, and my gaze lands on Goldie as she’s being twirled around the dance floor. “Maybe that’s why she doesn’t want me.”

“You’ll have to talk to her about that. My guess is that it’s not what you think.”

Trying not to stare, I turn a little, and now Goldie and her date are only visible in my peripheral vision. “Why did your girlfriend break up with you? What makes it so hard to move on?”

“It’s hard to move on because I loved her. Still do, but I’m accepting that it’s over. And honestly, I don’t know why she ended things. I know what she said—it wasn’t working—but she was lying. And not getting the truth hurts. Maybe I took her for granted. I’ve spent five years thinking about it, and nothing has changed.”

I cannot tell him that his ex lives here in town. It will cause trouble between my cousin Nico and his fiancée. And then Nico will take it out on me. Thinking about Nico reminds me of how he used to be—dating all the ladies—until he met Layla. I mean, she’s cute, but in my opinion, she isn’t change-your-whole-life cute. But he met her, and it was like a switch flipped. He only wanted to spend time with her instead of going out with a different woman every weekend.

Nico and I had lots of fun together before that.

I tap the table. “Maybe one day you can ask your ex about it. You know, if you bump into her somewhere. Possibly.”

He rolls his eyes. “I’m not going to bump into her. Since my grandma’s funeral, I haven’t been back to my hometown. No reason to go there anymore. So there’s no chance I’ll see Lettie.” He takes a swig of his beer. “You going to dance? There are a few ladies who have been watching you since we walked in here.”

“Should we leave so that we don’t bother Goldie?” Knowing where she is and that she’s enjoying herself should make me feel better.

It doesn’t. Which makes no sense.

“Unless you intend to ruin her date somehow, I don’t think being here is a problem.” He motions behind me.

Before I turn around, a hand slides down my back. “Dag, baby. You didn’t text me back.”

“Hey, Regina. Sorry about that. You want to dance?” I stand and hold out my hand.

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