Page 71 of The Wedding Ranch
His body tensed.How could she do this?She didn’t look the type to break a promise. When she’d said she had plans all weekend, it never dawned on him it was to crash this party.
“What’s wrong with you?” Diane put her hand on Ryder’s shoulder sending him two steps back. “You look like you’re about to explode.”
“You scared me.”
“That’s not what has you riled up. I saw that from ten feet away. What’s wrong?”
“That woman.” He pointed toward Lorri.
“Is she famous?”
“No.” Although she looked that gorgeous today. “That’s Lorri. She’s the lady I rescued at the fair.”
“Wow. I wouldn’t have recognized her. Of course, she was laying in the dirt with a knot on her head the last time I sawher. She looks beautiful all dressed up.” Diane’s face lit up in approval, which only made him snarl.
He pushed through the crowd. People were having a good time. Milling about, talking about the ceremony. “Pardon me. Excuse me.” He made his way across the room, finally standing right behind Lorri.
In a voice low enough only she could hear he asked, “Lorri? What are you doing here?”
She spun around. “Hey there! Ryder. You’re here.” Lorri flashed him a million-dollar smile, then reached for her friend’s arm. “This is my best friend, Pam.” She gestured between the two. “Pam, this is Ryder.”
Pam extended her hand. “The guy with the horses. I heard. Nice to meet you.”
Wish I could say the sameis what he wanted to say but being on his best behavior for his niece and nephew were top of mind. “Thank you.” He gave her a polite nod, then lowered his voice. “May I have a word with you, Lorri?”
She looked utterly confused. “Um. Yeah. Sure.” She shrugged to Pam who gave her an exaggerated wink.
He led Lorri by the elbow outside of the tent and out of earshot. He turned to face her. “So this is what you were busy doing all weekend?”I’ve been such a fool.He clenched his fist. “I told you how important this was.”
“I know, I—”
“Let me finish, please.” He didn’t have the patience right now. “I can’t believe you’d show up like this. This event is important to my niece and nephew. I realize it’s my fault because I was the one who blabbed, but I really didn’t expect this from you.”
Her smile relaxed. “It’s fine, Ryder. It’s not what you think.”
“Then what are you doing here? Why on earth would you crash a wedding? I get it. He’s a celebrity, but it’s his wedding day.”
“I’m well aware of that.”
“I’m asking you to leave. I’m not going to make a big deal out of this or tell Reece and Ross, they have enough on their plate today.”
“You seriously think I crashed Cody’s wedding?”
“You’re here, aren’t you?”
“Yes. I’m here, because I was invited.” Her balled fist batted at the air as she leaned in. “I’ll thank you not to go around making assumptions about me in the future.”
“Then why didn’t you say something the other day, when I told you about it, or when I apologized for breaking the confidence to begin with?” He rubbed the sweat from his neck. “I can’t believe I did that.”
“I didn’t tell you that I knew Cody, or that I was invited to his wedding, because I was told not to tell anyone.” She leveled her gaze. “Icankeep a secret.”
That comment hung in the back of Ryder’s throat like cold peanut butter.
At that moment, Pam and Cody came toward them, catching them standing toe-to-toe. “I thought I saw you sneak off this way,” Pam called out. “Cody wants us to do something to surprise Kasey.”
Ryder looked at Pam and Cody and then back at Lorri who had one eyebrow arched and her arms folded across her chest.
“Oh man.” He wanted to crawl off and disappear. He caught movement across the way. Reece and a deputy were escortingout a man wearing skinny pants and a black jacket. Lorri wasn’t the crasher.
