Page 15 of Always a Bridesmaid
Wanted to know why she’d gotten so worked up when he’d picked up her binder.
Was it wedding plans? Or had he jumped to that conclusion because of the meeting he’d come from?
She had mentioned wanting to lie low. Maybe she was a government spy, sent to infiltrate Uncertainty with a glittery binder. Yeah, that checked out. Most spies struggled with simple electronics.
If she was engaged, it’d be better to find out now so he could put her out of his mind. Not only did he not cross that line, the mere idea of a woman longing to get hitched made him want to run, so…win-win?
Easton nudged him. “Bro. It’s your turn.”
“I raise.” Not the greatest idea, taking into account that Ford had been thinking about Violet instead of paying attention to his friends’ faces or calculating probability.
Put her out of your head. It’s not like you have extra time right now, anyway.He was neck-deep in training a rambunctious litter, and that’d take him from spring to summer. Which, as a paramedic, was his busy season. People were fishing, hiking, and camping more. Kids rode bikes and jumped on trampolines and found “secret” stashes of fireworks.
While his friends often worried about his inability to relax, his career was what he enjoyed most about his life. No day was ever the same, feeding his appetite for adventure, and in a lot of ways, it was his way to help balance out the universe.
To use the survival skills he’d learned the hard way to help people whowantedto return to their families. Just because his story hadn’t ended up happy didn’t mean others’ stories shouldn’t.
At the end of the round, the three of them who hadn’t folded revealed their cards. Easton won by a mile, earning a curse from Addie. She hated losing.
Usually, Ford did, too. But over the next few rounds, his stack of poker chips dwindled, and he couldn’t bring himself to care.
Mostly because Violet’s face kept drifting to mind. Maybe it was the hero complex his friends accused him of having, but she had seemed like she needed help. The kind that went beyond putting out the fire in the oven.
You don’t have time for unstable and complicated.
Been there, done that, andlosta T-shirt.
There was that moment when she’d sagged against him, though. The James Bond joke and the way she’d giggled at Pyro’s name. The jolt that’d traveled up his arm after she’d slipped her small hand in his.
“In case you haven’t noticed, McGuire,” Easton said, “you’re losing. So what the hell are you smiling about?”
Ford blinked his way to the present and resisted the urge to stack his chips—an old delay tell he’d learned to suppress. “Can’t a guy be happy?”
“No,” they all said.
“Not when you’re losing,” Murph added.
Easton paused his dealing. “It’s Maisy’s sister, isn’t it? Is our boy thinkin’ about giving dating another go?”
Tucker put a hand on his chest. “Aww. They grow up so fast.”
“What is this, the Craft Cats?” Ford asked, referring to the group of ladies in town who specialized in crafting, meddling, and cat-sweatshirt wearing. “Less gossip, more poker.”
Shep reached over Easton to take the Doritos. “Stop acting like you don’t eat up the attention and spill the beer.”
NowShepwas the one with everyone’s scrutiny.
“What? I’m around teenagers all day. They have this phrase about spilling the tea, and I thought I’d make it more adult.” Since Shep had given plenty of teachers nightmares growing up, they teased him endlessly about becoming a teacher himself. He was on the school board as well, and a few of the older ladies in town volunteered simply because they were sure Will Shepherd still had some ornery in him.
“Whatever,” Shep said. “I’m cool, while y’all’s slang is becoming irrelevant.” He licked orange dust off his fingertips before taking up his cards. “Back to this chick you met at the bakery. She must be hot.”
“I didn’t say that.” Ford loudly raised after the flop, hoping his friends would drop the subject.
“You mentioned her twice already.”
“No, I mentioned her once, and you guys assumed I was thinking about her when I smiled. I was thinking of…somethin’ else.”
The entire gang burst out laughing, and he regretted bringing up Violet.
