Total pages in book: 90
Estimated words: 87179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87179 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 436(@200wpm)___ 349(@250wpm)___ 291(@300wpm)
I smirk and shake my head. “No, I don’t.”
I hope I don’t, anyway, because how embarrassing is that?
“It’s not obvious,” Ida continues, reassuring me. “You’re not all gooey and ridiculous about it, as if you were a teenager, but I see the spark in your eyes when he walks through that door, and that spark definitely isn’t there when you’re talking with Evan.”
“Thank you for the play-by-play,” I retort. I don’t really know what else to say to that, so I start unpacking new plants that just came in.
“And it’s new,” she continues, clearly on a roll. “Not that Chase spends a lot of time in here, but I can’t say that it’s something I’ve noticed before.”
“Ida?”
“Yes, honey?”
“Let’s not talk about this anymore, okay?”
“You’re the boss.”
“I need that drink,” I announce to my best friend, Polly, as I sit in the booth across from her at The Wolf Den, our favorite bar in town. “Thanks for ordering ahead.”
I sip the huckleberry margarita and sigh in happiness.
“Bad day?” Polly asks with a laugh.
“Not bad,” I reply and sip again. “But man, it’s been busy. I bet your shop’s busy, too.”
Polly owns the best dress boutique I’ve ever been in. A Pocket Full of Polly continues to grow in popularity, and she’s expanding to online sales, which is super exciting.
“Crazy season,” she confirms and holds her glass up to cheers with mine. “And God bless it; it keeps us afloat in the lean months.”
“I know,” I concede, “but man, I feel like I can’t catch my breath this week.”
A shadow falls over the table, and I look up, surprised to see Evan there.
“Hello, ladies,” he says with a smile.
“Don’t tell me you’re working as a server part time,” Polly says.
“No, ma’am, I’m here with a colleague and thought I’d swing by and say hello. How are you two?”
“Great,” I reply with a smile. “Glad the work day is over.”
“I hear that. You two have fun.” He knocks on the table and then walks away, and I look over at my best friend.
“Don’t tell me that you think I should date Evan.”
Polly scowls. “Hell no. Evan is absolutely not your type.”
“Thank you.” I sigh in relief and have another sip of my drink. “The ladies at work seem to think Evan is my type, and I’ve always made it clear to him that he’s just a friend.”
“I mean, sure, he’s handsome, but knowing your history with politics, I know you don’t want any part of that scene,” Polly says, shaking her head.
“I do have a confession.” I take another sip of my drink, needing the courage.
“Did you sleep with Evan?” she asks, her eyes widening.
“No! Hell no.” I scrunch up my nose. “Just, no. I think I might have a crush on Chase Wild.”
Polly stares at me for five seconds and then busts up laughing.
“What’s so funny?”
“Of course, you do, honey. Have you seen that man? Holy shit, Summer, he’s hot as the sun, and I think you should chase him down—see what I did there?”
“Har har.”
“Chase that man down and ride him like the cowboy he is.”
“Polly.”
“What? You should. You haven’t dated in five freaking years. It’s time to move on from those assholes and get laid, girlfriend.”
“Hi, Pot, I’m Kettle. I don’t see you dating and getting laid.”
“I’m focusing on my career right now.”
I tilt my head to the side. “Yeah? Me, too.”
“Seriously, Summer,” Polly continues. “You told me that Chase asked you out years ago.”
“He did, but I wasn’t ready for anything then. I was too…numb.”
“I get that. But you’re not numb now.”
“No, I’m not. He was so sweet when he came to my place on the Fourth, and he pops in now and then to see how I am. He even brought me cookies today because he said his mom made too many.”
“Okay, that’s sweet. And a total excuse to get to see you.”
“You think?”
“Hell yes. If he had extra cookies, he could have taken them to work or something. He wanted to see you. He’s hot, Summer. Do it. Go for it.”
“I don’t know.”
Polly rolls her eyes. “Okay, now you’re annoying me. You don’t have anything to lose. Do the hot Wild brother so you can report back and tell me all about it.”
“I don’t know if that’s a good reason to have sex,” I say, considering. “Also, I didn’t even say anything about sex to begin with. I was thinking about just dating him.”
“Do both,” Polly suggests with a wink. “And tell me all about it.”
“You’ve lived here all your life,” I reply, and lean back when our food is delivered. Polly ordered this for us, too. “God, I love tacos.”
“Me, too,” Polly says. “Sure, I’ve lived here forever. What do you want to know?”
“What do you know about the Wild family as a whole?”
“Aside from the fact that they breed hot men?” She pops a chip into her mouth and shrugs. “They were one of the founding families of Bitterroot Valley, so they go way back. Rem runs the ranch now. Chase is the cop. Brady rides rodeo every chance he gets, and he’s damn good at it.”