Page 66 of Flippin' Cowboy
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll tell Kelsey I’m skipping dinner with her and Kegan tonight.”
∞∞∞
Winnie hadn’t been wrong when she described The Elk’s Head Tavern as a dive, but it wasn’t the worst place Nick had ever seen. Sure, it was dark and noisy with country music on loudspeakers competing with a football game on a large TV mounted behind the bar, but the floors and tables were reasonably clean and the pizza was excellent.
Best of all, it was half-empty, which meant that the tables at the back had a reasonable amount of privacy.
“… ‘I apologized, what more do you want?’” Winnie quoted angrily in a mocking, sing-song voice. She slammed her empty beer mug down on the tabletop, squashing an olive slice. “Thenerveof him! That jerk destroyed my life and he thinks that ‘Oops, I’m sorry for running out on our wedding and marrying someone else’ means he can just stroll back into my life?”
She’d vented about the situation all during the drive from the ranch. Recognizing that she needed to get it out of her system, he’d quashed his instinct to fix the situation and simply listened to her as he drove and kept his eye out for the landmark gas station.
Previously, Winnie hadn’t talked much about her ex or the Wedding From Hell.
Now, Nick learned some things about Geoff Schaefer that made him regret not punching Dickweed in the face when he’d had the chance.
It was painfully apparent that Dickweed had utterly failed to recognize what an absolute treasure he had in Winnie Snowberry. He’d betrayed and abandoned her, and now he expected her to forgive him instantly, no hard feelings?
How could anyone be that oblivious? Or entitled?
Winnie sat back in her chair. Then her shoulders slumped. “I’m sorry, Nick. I just realized I’ve been ranting about Geoff nonstop for the past hour.”
“No problem,” he assured her, refilling her mug from the pitcher of beer on the table. “And for what it’s worth, ambushing you like that was a truly shitty thing to do.”
Her expression softened. “You’re a good friend, Nick.”
“I try,” he replied, helping himself to another slice of pepperoni and olive pizza. “I’m still trying to make up for being such a dick to you when we first met.”
She laughed bitterly. “Believe me, nothing you’ve ever done or said comes close to Geoff boning Melanie the whole time we were planning our wedding.”
“He’s an idiot. And a real dickweed,” Nick said with feeling. “So, what do you want to do about him?”
“Smack him over the head with a two-by-four,” Winnie replied promptly.
Nick guffawed and nearly choked on his pizza.
“But realistically, I just want him to just go away so that I can put the wholeRestoring Seattlewedding fiasco behind me forever.”
“Okay, that sounds doable,” Nick said.
Winnie shook her head. “You don’t know Geoff. He considers the word ‘no’ as the start of the negotiation instead of the end, like a reasonable person. He’s persistent as hell, which is why our renovation business in Seattle became so successful.”
Nick began to protest, but Winnie held up a hand.
“I mean, I know I do good work,” she said, “but Geoff’s sheer unwillingness to accept refusal launched our careers.” She paused, then added grudgingly. “That, and his crazy-good Instagram skills.”
“But he can’t really force you to quitReviving Snowberry Springsand go back to working onRestoring Seattle, can he?” Nick asked.
Chapter 21: Heart-to-Heart
Nick was pretty sure the answer to that question was no. But Winnie was so worked up about Dickweed’s unexpected appearance that she probably wasn’t thinking clearly right now.
“I wish.” Winnie took a long pull from her beer. “But if Donna Morris is really behind this crazy stunt and wants to bring back my old show, then Karla and I might not have much choice if we want to keep working at The Renovation Channel.”
“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” Nick said in disbelief. “There’s no fucking way I’d ever want to work with that dickweed. And I just met the guy a couple of hours ago.”
“Hey, at least you figured it out faster than I did,” Winnie pointed out, a trace of bitterness shading her voice. “Took me, what, nearly four years?”
Nick shook his head. “That’s because he wasn’t trying to get intomypants. I’ve met his type before. He probably poured on the charm while he wanted something from you.”
