Page 15 of Love You Already

She shakes her head slowly as her smile drops. “We've never been the same, little sis. You're driven in ways I could never be. I can't stick to any one thing, yet you've now conquered two careers before thirty. Who the hell does that?”

My smirk brings her smile back to the mega-watt level. We stay in that state for a beat more before I clap my hands and start formulating a plan to get myself out of Verle's web.

“You've been here while I was gone. Is there anything I can do to distract her? Something I can make happen to get her to stop?” I wave to a few people who walk in as I wait for her reply. They seat themselves, giving me half another minute or two before I need to grab their orders.

As a one-woman business for the first few hours of the day, I have to take care of the orders at the bar top and the tables around the room. All of it is mine until one of my backups arrives to take over one or the other. I usually let them choose since it can be a toss-up how they're doing that night. Since I try to be the type of boss I would have wanted, I'm pretty flexible about most things.

“I really think she's hung up on this for some reason. She's only going to be happy if you're dating someone,” Bridgett says.

“There's no time for dating right now. I've got to keep things going here. And when I'm not here, I'm at the ranch. I don't want to add another person into the mix. That's the whole point of dodging her attempts.” The guys at the table wave a hand at me. I motion for Bridgett to wait a minute for me. She's used to the routine of the bar these days, and she settles onto a stool to wait me out.

As I approach the table of five guys, I recognize a couple of them from years ago. They're Nate's age, which puts them closing in on forty. You can see it in their appearance. Pouched bellies, graying hair, and weathered hands are the giveaway. It's the look that can come from being settled in a happy-go-lucky type of life. The kind that comes after having a family and working the same job for nearly twenty years.

I don't have any of that. My body is still in riding shape thanks to the hours of work on the ranch. My curves remain despite the grueling work, though I don't mind them much these days. Not after a particular man worshipped them in a Vegas hotel room one night months ago.

“How can I help you men?” I ask the group.

They grin up at me with a round of “Hey Rose” and “Hey Rosie” greetings. I nod to them all, then take in all their requests for beer and one whiskey.

I leave them with a “coming right up,” then I'm off to the bar to mix it all up. The second I'm back in front of her, Bridgett beams at me.

“Did you think of something?” I ask as I tilt the frosted glass mug under the beer dispenser.

She nods quickly as she leans over to where only I can hear her. “You get a fake boyfriend to trick them all. Someone you can convince to play along, you know?”

Her words sound too good to be true. Could I really convince someone to pretend to be my boyfriend for the sake of getting Verle and her team off my back?

“OK. Let's say I do get a guy to go along with this, what does it look like? And who the hell would it be?” I glance past her to look at the table of guys Nate's age, and I note how many wedding bands there were at the table. Even if almost all of them weren't married, I didn't know if I could pretend well enough with any of them to make it convincing.

Bridgett confirms my thoughts when she keeps on as I continue to make the drinks. “Well, first of all you'd have to like the guy. Like at least find him attractive. She's going to need to see the heart in your eyes look you two throw one another. Which almost means the other guy has to be a good liar. Or good at acting at least.”

“Are you saying I'm not lovable?” I gasp in outrage.

“Not at all,” she rushes out with a grin. “You're one of my favorite people on this big hunk of rock. But I also know that you’re hard for some people. That sass of yours is tough as nails.”

I load the finished drinks on a tray and walk them over to the table as my mind goes over her words. It's no surprise to me that I'd be the harder person to manage in a fake relationship. I'm not everyone's cup of tea.

A memory comes to me as I'm setting down the last beer on the table. It's of a certain man who looked like sex on a stick teasing me as his Ace. I remember the teasing glint in his gaze as it raked over me, all hot and hungry. That man would be the best candidate for a fake boyfriend. There wouldn't be a need to pretend. The attraction between us was hot enough to set the roof on fire.

“Who are you thinking about?”

Bridgett's voice sends the memory flying back to the past as my focus turns to her. “No one.”

“Nuh huh. That was definitely a someone. Are you actually dating someone already? Or should I say, 'talking to them' like you young people do on these apps and such?”

I choke out a laugh at her teasing. “You're only six years older than me, grandma. You know what online dating is, and no, I don't have anyone. I haven't been with anyone since...”

Shit. I realize my mistake a second too late.

“Since Vegas?!” I reach across to cover her mouth before she can tell the entire bar our business.

When I think she's calmed enough not to scream again, I pull back my hand. “Yes, since then. No need to tell everyone.”

“I'm sorry, little sis. This isn't something I was expecting from you. I figured your welcome back brigade would be long and thorough. There are enough men here and in the surrounding area for you to get a ride or two with. And I don't mean bulls or horses.” She shimmies her shoulders at me.

“Don't you start too. It's bad enough I got the matchmaking grannies on my case. You're supposed to be on my side.”

“I'm on your side, Rose. Always. I just think that maybe you could do with rekindling the intensity I saw in Vegas. I get that maybe the drinks and the excitement of the night added to it, but maybe you could find someone close by to create the same illusion?” From the scrunched up look on her face, I can tell she doesn't wholly believe her own words.

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