Page 16 of Her Jolly Cowboy
“Get down here.”
“Later.”
“Now.”
I climb down slowly, turn, and there he is, close enough that I can smell pine and snow and him.
“Talk to me,” he says quietly.
“Nothing to talk about.”
“Bullshit.” He steps closer. “You’ve been running from me all day.”
“I’ve been working.”
“Holly.”
I hug my clipboard like body armor. “Look, it was fun. Really fun. Possibly the best sex of my life. But tomorrow the wedding happens, the day after, I drive back to Denver, and we go back to our separate lives. That was always the plan.”
His eyes darken. “Plans change.”
“Not mine.”
He flinches, just a flicker, but I see it.
I swallow hard. “Lauren seems nice and convenient. Same world, same history. You don’t have to explain anything to her.”
He stares at me like I just slapped him. “You think I want Lauren?”
“I think you deserve someone who fits here,” I say, and my voice cracks on the last word. “I’m a city girl with a five-year plan and a business that doesn’t run on ranch time. This was a blizzard-induced fever dream, Luke. That’s all.”
He opens his mouth, then closes it without saying a word.
I force a smile that feels like glass. “I’ve got a rehearsal dinner to run. See you at six.”
I walk away before he can see the tears.
The rest of the night is flawless on the outside with laughter, toasts, twinkle lights, Grandma’s prime rib that makes grown men cry. I smile, I direct, I keep everything moving like clockwork.
Inside, I’m dying.
Luke sits at the family table, jaw tight, barely touching his food. Lauren is two seats down, leaning toward him every chance she gets. He doesn’t lean back, but he doesn’t move away either.
I tell myself it doesn’t matter. It was just sex. I tell myself a lot of lies.
When the dinner ends and the guests drift toward the bonfire, I slip away to the barn to do one final check. The space is ready for the wedding. The chairs are in perfect rows, and the ceremony arch is draped in pine and fairy lights.
I stand in the aisle and let myself imagine, just for a second, walking down the aisle toward Luke.
I shut the fantasy down hard. I’m halfway through my third deep, pathetic breath when the barn door creaks open.
Luke steps inside, snowflakes melting in his hair, hands in his coat pockets. I freeze. He closes the door and leans against it.
“I sent Lauren home,” he says quietly.
I blink. “What?”
“Told her if she couldn’t respect you, she wasn’t welcome.” His eyes find mine across the candlelit aisle. “Told her there’s only one woman I want, and she’s currently making sure my brother and Frankie have their dream wedding.”
