Page 3 of Faking it with the Cowboy

“Who is he?” The way he said it, the mix of doubt and surprise, really pissed me off.

I should have told the truth, that there was no date waiting to escort me to the wedding. That I hadn’t gone out with anyone since I found out he was cheating on me and kicked him out of my bed over six months ago. But my damn pride got in the way. Without thinking, I tossed out the first name that popped into my head. “Birch.”

“Your cowboy friend from high school?” The smirk made its way back to his lips. He didn’t believe me.

“Yeah. We started talking and one thing led to another…” That part was true. We had started talking again. The part about one thing leading to another might have been a bit of a stretch.

“Well, I hope it works out for the two of you.” Scott held my gaze, his grin so wide that his eyes narrowed into slits.

“See? Nothing to be worried about.” Tessa snuggled against Scott’s chest. “I told you Jericho would be okay with everything.”

“I’d better get back to that report, so it’s ready in the morning.” Like I’d be able to keep my mind on the report now. Thanks to Scott, my world had just spun out of control. Why the hell had I tossed Birch’s name out there? I could have said anything. Why not throw out Mike or John? Or even an Aiden or Jayden or Brayden?

Scott eyed me like he knew exactly what kind of predicament I’d wedged myself into. “I can’t wait to finally meet him at the wedding.”

“He’ll be there.” I summoned my biggest, brightest smile, then forced my lips even wider, trying to literally blind them with it. “Enjoy happy hour.”

Tessa broke away from Scott long enough to give me an awkward hug. “I’m so glad this worked out. See you tomorrow.”

Scott shook his head, obviously doubting every word I’d said. “Yeah, see you tomorrow.”

I waited for the two of them to make their way out to the reception area before I twisted my hands into my hair and pulled. Now I needed to come up with some reason why Birch wouldn’t be able to make it to the wedding. There was no way I could actually ask him to come. We hadn’t seen each other in almost seven years. Once upon a time we’d been good friends, but had lost touch when he moved to Oklahoma and I headed off to college.

Sure, we’d reconnected a couple of months ago when my mom ran into his foster mom and passed his number along. Since then, we’d been talking on the phone a few nights a week. But asking him to take a weekend off, make the drive to Dallas, and pretend to be my boyfriend would be too much.

The only way out of this situation was to invent some crisis that would prevent me from going to the wedding or come up with some reason Birch wouldn’t be able to make it. I slumped back into my chair and scooted close to my desk. As soon as I got the report done, making up a believable excuse would be my top priority.

3

BIRCH

Finally… with the kitchen cleaned up after dinner and most of the other guys heading to town to blow off some steam, I laid down on my bunk and dialed Jericho’s number. Maybe she’d be able to help me think of a way to get out of taking part in Cody’s dumbass idea. The other guys couldn’t stop talking about it at dinner. Half of them were just as pissed off as me, and the other half were just hoping to get laid.

She answered on the second ring. “Hey.”

Hearing her voice immediately took the edge off my nerves. “Hey. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

“No. I actually just got into the tub with a glass of wine. You don’t mind talking while I take a bubble bath, do you?”

Visions of Jericho lowering her curvy frame into an antique clawfoot tub forced their way into my head. I tried to push them out again. We were friends. That was all. “Um, fine by me if it’s okay with you.”

“What a day.” She let out a breathy exhale over the sound of trickling water.

“Everything alright?” I could hear the weariness in her tone. My own problems faded into the background. If she needed to bare her heart to a friend, I wanted to be that guy.

“It will be. I got some weird news at work. What did you do today?”

“Wrestled with barbed wire. You know, the usual. What kind of weird news?” Jericho worked at some high-rise office building in downtown Dallas. I couldn’t pretend to understand what she did. Something with spreadsheets and numbers. Just about as opposite as a job could get from mine.

“Our CEO is getting married next weekend. Remember? I told you he rented out the entire DFW Yacht Club for his reception?”

Yeah, I remembered. He’d spend more on one night than I’d probably spend on an entire ranch. “Go on.”

“Today I found out that Scott’s bringing a date.”

My gut tightened at the mention of her ex’s name. They met in college, so I’d never gotten to know him, but he sounded like a top of the line douchebag to me. Jericho had given me the highlights of their relationship: the back and forth, the cheating, and the way he took her for granted. I thought she’d finally gotten over him, but maybe I’d been mistaken.

“How do you feel about that?” I asked, being careful to keep my tone neutral.

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