Page 82 of Things Good Girls Don't Do (Rock Canyon, Idaho 1)

Drat, too late. She walked to the counter and said, “Sure, that sounds amazing.” Her eyes shifted to Ryan, and she asked, “How are you, Ryan? Getting excited for the wedding?”

Holding up the stack of magazines, which appeared to be all wedding related, Ryan laughed. “Can you tell? I never knew how many things were on a bride’s to-do list.”

“I can imagine,” Katie said a little bitterly.

Ryan must have caught her tone because the look she gave Katie was pensive. “Yeah, hard to imagine that six months ago I was sure I was going to end up an old maid, living alone with lots of yarn and cats. If it hadn’t been for Gracie, I probably would’ve.”

“Please, your inner sex goddess would have come out eventually,” Gracie said.

Katie smiled. “Yeah well, at the rate I’m going, you can add a bit of hoarding to my future.”

Ryan’s expression was confused. “But I thought Chase was back, and from what everyone has said, is wooing you like crazy?”

“He is; at least I think he is. But he can’t take a hint that I’m ready to forgive him and move on. Instead he just keeps teasing and pulling back, and I just want him to man up!”

Katie’s face turned red when she noticed a couple of patrons were looking at her oddly. Great, now she was having a meltdown in public.

Gracie set her caramel mocha down and said, “You know, jealousy is always the best way to push a man over that edge.”

Katie took a small sip and made a soft moan. “Mmm, so good.”

“That is genius, Gracie! How fast can you throw together a bachelorette party?” Ryan asked.

“Do you know who you’re talking to? I’ll call Gemma. All hands on deck. When are we doing this?” Gracie asked.

“Tonight!” Ryan said.

Katie had no idea what was going on, so she said, “Well, you guys have fun with that. I’m off to work.”

Ryan laughed. “Hey, where are you going? We are scheming for your benefit, you know.”

“Me? You hardly know me? Why?” Katie asked.

Ryan’s blue eyes were slightly dreamy. “Because I think everyone deserves a happily ever after. Especially a guy like Chase. He’s not as tough as he looks.”

“And I like to meddle and party,” Gracie added.

“But how is a bachelorette party going to help me?” Katie asked, confused.

“It’s simple! Men love competition. If he feels like he’s losing you to someone else, it might be just the shove he needs to seal the deal,” Gracie said with a wicked grin.

Katie looked from one woman to the other and grinned. “Why not? But don’t worry about decorations. I have everything you need at my house.” As they sat down at a table to plan, Katie explained why she could supply a huge, puffy veil with neon condoms all over it.

Surprisingly, the other women didn’t think it was strange. Gracie called an un-bachelorette party a brilliant idea and, if she never found the right guy, was going to have one of those for her thirtieth birthday. Katie laughed and found that the longer she talked to Ryan, the more her initial jealousy faded. Ryan was sweet, funny, and completely in love with her fiancé. Plus, Ryan told Katie that when he’d dropped off the wedding gift, Chase wouldn’t stop talking about her, and that she shouldn’t have to push him too far to get him to declare himself.

Katie left the coffee shop praying she was right.

SATURDAY NIGHT AT work was crazy for Chase and he found himself unable to leave the parlor until eleven. As he was closing up, he looked at his phone and saw a missed call from Katie.

Chase called her and the phone rang a couple times before she picked up.

“Hello!”

“Hey, where are you?” he asked, listening to the shouts and music in the background.

“I’m at a bachelorette party at Buck’s! Where are you?” she said, and he heard a collection of female voices cheering.

Chase nearly ran to the chopper, thinking about how crazy bachelorette parties could get. “I’m heading there now.”

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