Page 68 of Peach Blossom Hollow

“I think I want a pair of boots. You go ahead.” He lifted one nearby. It was pale blue with white stitching and a silver toe plate.

Leo snorted. The dude was so transparent. He obviously cared nothing about the night’s parade and activities. “Those are women’s boots,” he muttered to Dylan as they left.

The man shrugged, set it down and picked up another one.

Violet was giggling by the time they hit the sidewalk. “An enemies-to-lovers story coming up for them in three, two, one…?”

“I can only laugh, thinking about how Jenny might react to the idea.” The poor woman had looked exasperated just having Dylan in her store.

Leo and Violet moved along the street, the occasional person asking for a selfie or autograph. The cowboys, however, made eye contact and tipped their hats in a silent hello. He tipped his hat back, liking the town more and more with each block they walked. He felt like he fit in here.

“This place reminds me of Montana’s cattle country.”

They’d stopped walking and when Violet didn’t answer, he followed her line of sight. Jenny’s float was parked at the end of Main Street. Even Leo could tell that it was the prettiest one, making promises of beauty and dreams.

The flatbed trailer had been covered with shaggy white carpet, and a rose-bedecked archway with small white lights. Bright silk flowers complimentedthe colored gowns and wedding finery displayed on mannequins, a signal to the town that Jenny was ready to set up prom-goers and anyone recently engaged.

Leo knew Violet could feel his gaze traveling along with hers, but she didn’t bother to look away. She’d always been open about the hope that one day she’d be wearing one of those dresses with the long train and beaded bodice. He admired her strength, her conviction despite her bad luck.

“Tell me.” He scooped her free hand into his, hoping she’d help him understand what a woman like her thought about love, and how he could find it for himself.

Violet tore her eyes away from the float’s flowered archway. It was just waiting for a bride to stand under it and proclaim her love to the man who would soon become her husband. That one moment representing the beginning of something special, a sacred bond.

It all felt so terribly unfair.

She knew Daisy-Mae would get her way, her man, her wedding, her dream. Her friend would be cherished and loved. For always and forever.

But Violet herself? She wasn’t feeling as certain as she had been forty minutes ago, during Daisy-Mae’s pep talk.

“Vi?” Leo prompted softly.

“It’s just…” How could she explain to someone who didn’t believe he could fall in love?

“You like weddings? Hate them?” His voice lowered. “Bad memories?”

Yes to all the above.

And especially today.

“I’m just…conflicted. I still want this, and yeah, it hurts. Today was supposed to be…” Her voice broke, and she sighed.

Leo squeezed her hand. “You still want the whole package.”

She nodded.

“I admire that.”

She turned, searching through the crowds behind them, where entertainers and booths had been moved onto the street once the parade finished. She wasn’t sure why she was thinking of Daisy-Mae right now and how her friend was in the thick of it, figuring it out, struggling through the tough stuff around love.

Could Violet do that with Leo, or were they too different to ever find common ground when it came to a lasting relationship full of love?

And was the temptation to attempt that with him simply because she was feeling wounded, vulnerable and lonely tonight?

Now wasn’t the time to try and solve this dilemma.

“You want a traditional wedding?” Leo asked.

“Yes,” she said, feeling exasperated with his persistence in sticking to the topic. Everything to do with marriage and love was one step in the opposite direction from Leo, and she just wanted to enjoy the calm security of their friendship tonight.

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