Page 47 of Any Cowboy of Mine
“Yes. Better,” she whined, her voice muffled.
“Well, forget about him. We have to leave in twenty, and with the canvas you left me to work with, that’s a tall order.”
“No way. Not going. Uh uh.” Sophie pulled her head from the nest, her hair feeling like an actual bird had taken up residence inside the locks.
“Bullshit. There’s no way I’m going to let you sit here and wallow on the last day of the year.”
“It would make for a fitting end to this shitshow of a year, though, wouldn’t it?”
“No. Now get your ass in the shower and do exactly what I say for the next…” Jackie looked at her watch as she pulled the layers off Sophie with prejudice, “eighteen and a half minutes.”
“Traitor,” Sophie huffed. She slammed her feet on the hardwood floors and stormed off to her room.
“Whatever, just shower fast. Critical parts and shave. That’s it.”
“You’re a monster,” Sophie yelled back to the living room.
She wrestled with a mild pang of guilt as Jackie banged around in the kitchen, cleaning up after her. She turned on the water as hot as it would go, and as the spray hit her, a surge of the fiery lawyer inside her sparked and ignited. The steam enveloped her in a cloud of anonymity, and she practiced what it would feel like to wipe the scowl from her face after a week of it being hardwired into her complexion. She smiled, her smug “you’d-better-not-underestimate-me” grin used best just before she gave her closing arguments in the courtroom, and damn if it didn’t come back to her like riding a bike.
Itdidfeel good to be joining the human race again, to leave the unrealistic Hollywood men behind her and potentially kiss some real ones tonight. For the first time in a week, hope crept up her spine, warming her more than the scalding water that fell on her shoulders.
Sophie showered fast, not out of fear for what Jackie would do to her if she didn’t, but because she actually wanted to go out. She towel-dried her hair, threw some mousse in it, applied some light makeup, and came out to find the tiniest dress in her closet—a gift from Jackie from her previous birthday that she’d never been brave enough to wear—on her bed, matching shoes she’d never seen beneath it. Sophie gasped, and Jackie chuckled from the hallway.
“Pretty, aren’t they?”
“Jackie, I’ll break my neck in them!” Sophie screamed. But,God, they were gorgeous, all shiny rhinestones that seemed to change from blue to green depending on the light and the vantage point of the viewer. She wasn’t kidding, though. She’d barely be able to put them on without toppling over, let alone navigate a crowd after a couple drinks.
And by God, she was having a couple drinks tonight.
“Yeah, but you’ll look sexy doing it,” Jackie yelled back.
“Ha-ha. Seriously, where did these come from?”
“Call it an ‘I’m-sorry-I-bailed-on-you-at-the-wedding’ present,” Jackie said, coming into the bedroom just as Sophie was slipping the black barely-a-dress on. Jackie whistled, and Sophie’s traitorous cheeks reddened involuntarily. She was so desperate for a compliment that she was embarrassed to admit how good it felt to hear one, even from her biased best friend.
“Thanks. It feels good, I’ll give you that.”
“It’ll have every guy there wishing he was the one to reveal what’s behind little black door number one, that’s for sure.”
Sophie laughed and tried to put the shoes on. She almost fell, twice, but regained her balance and found that they were surprisingly comfortable, albeit a little taller than her normal pumps.
Stepping in front of the full-length mirror, her jaw dropped. She looked amazing. She wasn’t shy or overly modest—she knew she was pretty and her runs through the mountains kept her fit—but wow. A simple wardrobe made the difference between cute and traffic-stopping sexy. Jackie might be right about the dress and the attention it would generate.
A swell of pride and excitement about the night ahead of her surged through her veins. She was in desperate need of a change of pace, and this was her ticket.
Walking out, she did a little spin for Jackie, whose brow was furrowed, her smile thin and tight. Sophie paused, but then Jackie came rushing over to hug her.
“You’re perfect. I mean it. And for what it’s worth, I really am sorry about the wedding. Julia’s, I mean. I bailed, and that wasn’t cool, no matter what the reason. Even a super sexy, smokin’ hot reason like Steve.”
Jackie hadn’t so much as brought up the fateful night that had delivered both of them to the men of their dreams before violently ripping Sophie away from hers since they’d gotten back a week earlier. Sophie knew it was because her friend was conflicted. Jackie had inadvertently met the perfect man for her, and they’d fallen head over heels in love instantly, while Sophie had been dumped for the ex-girlfriend without even the decency of an explanation. And to make matters worse, it was after the most incredible sex of her life.
Sophie was thrilled for her friend, but needed space to grieve her own loss. It was nice that Jackie understood.
“Thanks. I know you are, but none of this is your fault. I just fell for another asshole, that’s all. I’m starting to feel like that’s my curse.”
“I don’t believe that for a minute. Your Mr. Right is out there right now, I can feel it.”
“Who are you, and what have you done with my best friend?” Sophie asked.
