Page 17 of Faking it with the Cowboy

“You’re still coming to the wedding, aren’t you?” She leaned against Scott’s chest.

“Unless she wants to kill her career, she’d better be.” Scott laughed. “I heard old man Blair is going to have his admin take attendance.”

Great. My plan to cancel with Birch and spend the weekend wallowing in the bottom of a quart of mocha almond fudge faded. “Yeah, I’ll put in an appearance.”

“See you then. It’s too bad about Birch, though. I was really looking forward to finally meeting him. I mean, you’ve talked about him for so long and I haven’t seen so much as a picture. It’s almost like he doesn’t even exist.” Scott’s upper lip curled into a sinister grin.

“Don’t be such an ass.” Tessa halfheartedly swatted at his chest.

“We’ll see you at the wedding.” Scott wrapped his hand around hers and tugged her toward the elevator.

In less than seventy-two hours, the wedding would be over. Scott would find someone else to pick on and I could get back to my ordinary life… a life that hadn’t seemed so unappealing before I went to Oklahoma.

Sure, I was lonely, but wasn’t that every twenty-something woman who left the country behind to pursue opportunities in the big city? I’d been comfortable with the way things were. My job was secure. I had a great apartment, and I got to talk to my best friend several nights a week.

But now, I’d ruined all of that. Birch and I hadn’t spoken since I drove away on Sunday morning. He’d sent a text saying he’d be off the grid for a few days while he was working on the outer edge of the ranch. The truth was, I didn’t want to talk to him. Didn’t want to see him either.

I pulled out my phone and typed up a quick text before I let myself change my mind.

I think it would be best if you didn’t come to the wedding this weekend. I’ll call you on Sunday. Please don’t try to contact me before then.

My finger hovered over the “send”button. It was for the best. I’d get through the wedding, then call him on Sunday and see if our friendship could be salvaged. That’s the way I wanted it. That’s the way it had to be. Nodding, I pushed the button, sending my text all the way to Oklahoma and shutting my heart down for good.

* * *

Birch

I madeit halfway to Dallas before I gave up calling Jericho’s phone. She’d said not to reach out, but this was bullshit. I wasn’t about to stand by while she ruined the best thing that had ever happened to me. Not if there was a chance I could do something about it.

Showing up at a stranger’s wedding probably wasn’t the best way to get her attention, but it would have to do. She’d given me the details of the wedding before she decided to uninvite me, so I’d pulled out the one suit I owned and with my fingers crossed, I packed an overnight bag, hoping I’d actually need it.

The sun sat high in the sky by the time I made it to the yacht club. My dark suit and cowboy boots looked out of place among all the bright summer colors. One guy walked by in a baby blue sports jacket that would have gotten him laughed off the ranch. If I needed some sort of sign that I was way out of my league, I didn’t need to look any further than the parking lot. Full of Corvettes, Mercedes, Teslas, and some foreign models I didn’t even know how to pronounce, I’d never felt as out of place in my home state as I did pulling up to the valet in my twenty-year-old pickup.

Jericho was worth it. I’d walk through hell and back for one more look at her. Surviving the snide looks the staff shot to each other behind my back was nothing.

The actual wedding was taking place on a huge yacht. A woman wearing a well-disguised headset directed me to board at the end of the dock. Once on the boat, I searched each level for Jericho until I saw her standing against the railing at the back of the boat. She had on a coral-colored sundress that tied halter-style around her neck and left her shoulders bare. Even from fifty feet away, I could make out the faint freckles that dotted her skin.

Huge round shades shielded her eyes from the sun, but I could tell the moment she spotted me. Her shoulders tensed and a giant smile spread across her lips. I navigated through the crowd to reach her side.

“What are you doing here?” She pulled her sunglasses away and looked up at me with a mixture of happiness and confusion in her eyes.

“You didn’t think you could get rid of me with a text, did you?” I slid my arm behind her back and leaned over to kiss her cheek. She smelled like expensive perfume. It was nice, but I preferred the scent of rain and earth that clung to her when she’d been with me last weekend.

“Birch,”—she gently pushed me away—“I told you not to come.”

“Hey, Jericho.” A woman’s voice came from over my shoulder. “Is this him?”

Jericho tensed, and her smile froze on her lips. “Tessa, hi. Yeah, this is Birch.”

I turned and came face-to-face with a pretty blonde. She held out her hand. “Hi, Birch. Jericho’s told me so much about you. We work together.”

This had to be the woman her ex had been fooling around with behind Jericho’s back. I slid my hand into her clammy grip and bit back what I wanted to say. “It’s nice to meet you.”

“No way.” A guy with dark, slicked-back hair stepped up behind Tessa. “I could have sworn you were a figment of Jericho’s imagination.”

I shot a quick look at Jericho. A muscle ticked along her jaw. “Birch, meet Scott.”

Scott held out his hand, but I ignored it. He waited a beat, his fingers hovering in the space between us, before he shoved his hand into the pocket of his white dress pants. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”

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