Kissed By The Cowboy (MacFarlane's of Terra Ridge Book 1)

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His best friend’s marrying the woman he loves. And now he has to play Bridesmaid!
Aimee Reiter is a busy girl taking the fashion world by storm. Or she would be if she could just get her samples completed in time and sent before she needed to be at her sister’s wedding celebrations. Why her sister needs her there two weeks before the actual wedding, Aimee has no freaking idea.
When she finally arrives, all she finds at the door is a drunk cowboy professing his undying love for her sister…only he isn’t the groom!
What’s a girl to do when she hears her sister coming down the sidewalk toward them?
She does the only thing she can think of… she uses her lips to silence him.
But this wasn’t what she expected. She’d only meant to keep him from blurting out his feelings in the most embarrassing way. Except now she was the one melting under his gaze and trying to control the shivers running up and down her body with his every touch.
Could Aimee keep him away from her sister long enough for her to say I Do? Could she stop herself falling head over heels in love with a cowboy?



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Chapter 1

He should’ve taken longer to check the cows.
Instead, he was being drug along to tux fittings and cake tastings by the woman he wanted to marry, and it wasn’t even his fucking wedding. It was agony. And he was finding it harder and harder to keep his mouth shut. In fact, he had to say something.
“Rex, this is getting ridiculous. How many different god-damn cake flavors can there possibly be?” Jack pushed away the plate Cat, the owner of the bakery, set in front of him. One glance at the plate turned his stomach. He just realized he hated cake.
Rex shoveled Jack’s slice into his mouth right after his own and talked around the sugary confection. “Are you kidding me? This is the best thing that I’ve ever done. I had no idea you could sample cake. I’d get married twice just for this.” Rex sucked at the fork, getting every last crumb.
Jack looked away as Rex licked the chocolate frosting from his lips. His stomach turned over and he thought he might be sick. From the cake leaking out of Rex’s mouth or from his words, Jack couldn’t be sure which.
“What do you mean, you’d marry twice? Isn’t once going to be enough for you? I’d have thought that if you weren’t sure about Cindy…”
“Calm down you great dolt,” Rex said then licked the last of the chocolate from his lips. “All I meant was that I love this cake tasting thing.” He leaned closer and looked Jack directly in the eye, “And you know damn well that I love her, so stop getting all protective and weird on me, okay? You’re starting to freak me out.”
“And what the hell is that supposed to mean?” But Jack cut himself off before he gave too much away. Looking around again, he saw Cindy coming out of the ladies’ room heading their way.
“Just stop getting so upset at every little thing. You haven’t been yourself lately. Cindy’s starting to get worried about you.” Rex ran his finger around the ridge of his plate, trying to get the last of the icing.
Cindy was close enough to lick before Jack made himself look away from her swaying hips. He needed to get a grip on himself. Even Rex was starting to notice, and Rex wasn’t the most observant guy around at the best of times.
“What’s that sweetie?” Cindy bent over and kissed Rex full on the lips before sliding into her seat. Jack’s insides twisted alarmingly, making him glad he hadn’t eaten that last piece of cake. “Are you talking about me again? I heard you say my name.” She smiled sweetly and reached for the slice of chocolate cake Cat left behind for her. “This looks nice.”
“It is,” Rex said quickly, sending a quelling look at Jack. “Jack even liked this one.”
With her fork raised almost to her perfect, slightly parted lips, she turned to Jack. “Do you?” She asked.
He couldn’t tear his eyes away from her lips. Her tongue darted out and flicked at the chocolate frosting just about to drip off her fork.
Jack jumped to his feet, knocking over his chair, causing Cindy to jump, upsetting the cake off her fork. Rex, moving faster than Jack had ever seen him, dived for it and caught the cake just before the chocolate could mar her pretty-blue top.
“Jesus Jack, what the hell is wrong with you?” Rex glared at him as he tried, unsuccessfully to place the dainty cube of cake back on Cindy’s fork.
“Honey stop, you’re making it worse.” Cindy laughed, and tried to drag her fork from Rex’s grip but he held on, smooshing the cake onto it. She sighed and stuck it into her mouth before he could squish it more.
Rex hadn’t taken his eyes off Jack, which might have made the whole cake squishing incident worse. “What is wrong with you?” He asked slowly, pronouncing each word clearly.
“I gotta go,” Jack righted his chair, grabbed his jacket and headed for the door. “I just remembered I need to meet the vet before they close.” He paused briefly before heading outside, “Um, good luck with the cake, Cindy.”
He hurried down the street, tugging his cowboy hat low over his face. He couldn’t believe what he’d almost done. For a brief moment of insanity, he had almost reached across the table and kissed her. Her little tongue flick had almost undone his stubborn resolve.
He tugged at his hat again. Jesus, and in front of Rex too who would have flattened him if he had touched her. With good reason. He wanted to scream. Punch something – or someone. He needed to get away. Get completely out of town.
He headed straight towards his truck. Thoughts spinning around inside his head. Leaving wasn’t an option. The cows were calving, and the wedding was just weeks away. He knew without asking that both Rex and Cindy would never forgive him if he missed it. Hell, the whole town would never forgive him. He didn’t even think he would forgive himself as much as he didn’t want to go. He wouldn’t let Rex down like that.
He kicked at a loose pebble on the sidewalk, there really was no way in hell he’d be able to escape. Nowhere for him to go.
He was trapped here in hell. There was only one option left to him.
Jack reached his truck, jumped in and turned the key. He knew just the place to disappear to for a few hours. Somewhere where no one would think to find him. Somewhere where he wouldn’t even look for himself.
Ten minutes later Jack pulled up in front of the Lion’s Den bar. It was on the rougher side of town and not somewhere he expected to see anyone he knew. It was exactly the place he needed to be.
A blast of cold spring wind caught his door and swung it back on its hinges, practically ripping it off the vehicle. He pulled the collar of his jacket up a bit as he got out. Fuck, it was cold. It had been nice this morning while he was checking the cows. He looked at the sky. No storm clouds were brewing, just a freezing wind. He tugged his hat down lower again.
The warmth of the dingy bar was a welcome contrast to outside. It was dim in here and relatively quiet, the drunks not yet drunk enough to be rowdy. An old George Strait song played from the jukebox in the corner, the sound turned down low so Jack couldn’t hear every word. Not that he needed to, everyone around here knew all the words. In fact, a drunk on the other side of the bar crooned the words to the space at large. He was so off key and out of sync with the song, it took a few moments for Jack to realize that he was singing the same tune.
“What’ll it be Jack.” The brunette at the bar placed a napkin on the smooth wooden top and waited for his order before he even sat down.
“Laci? What in the hell are you doing here?” Jack dropped onto a bar stool and stared at his sister.
“I’m working. What else would I be doing in here?” The stubborn hand on her hip was familiar to him, as was the glint in her eyes.
It didn’t scare him. He was well used to her tactics. “What the fuck are you working here for?” He was louder than was strictly called for, but he didn’t give a shit.
“Keep your voice down you moron, do you want to get me fired?” She hissed at him, now with both hands on her hips. Never a good sign. “And stop fucking swearing.”
Jack snorted then leaned close, lowering his voice, “Actually I would love to see you fired. This is no place for any sister of mine.” He glared at her, trying to get her to see reason.
“Luckily for me then, you don’t get to say where I work.” She looked at him hard for a few more moments. “Look,” she sighed, dropping her hands, “what can I get you? You obviously came in for a drink, and to be perfectly honest, you look like you need a big one.”
“Fine,” he said, “But this conversation isn’t over.” He glared at her a few seconds to get his point across before nodding at the row of bottles behind her. “Give me a whiskey.”
Laci snorted but poured him a whiskey on the rocks, just as she knew he liked it. “How come you’re indulging this time of day, big brother? It’s not often I see you drinking, especially in the morning.”
Jack ignored her and tossed the drink back, the ice cubes knocking against his teeth. He placed the tumbler back on the bar and asked for another.
“That kinda day, huh? Alright. Don’t worry,” she held up her hands, seeing the glint in his eyes, “your secrets are safe with me. It’s the mark of a good barmaid, keeping everyone’s secrets. I won’t breathe a word…especially to Mom.” She winked at the scowl he threw at her and sidled away back down to the other end of the bar to check on her other customers, chuckling under her breath.
Jack watched her go and shook his head. He knew she’d been looking for a new job for the last month or so, he just didn’t think she was desperate enough to work at the Lion’s Den. It was no place for a woman. Especially his sister. He just wished she’d taken the job he’d offered her at the ranch. She was a hard worker and he would’ve loved to have her there with him, but she was as stubborn as him…maybe even more so. When he had suggested she live in the old house with him to save her some rent, she stormed at him and told him not to treat her like a charity case. Working together would be a mistake and they both knew it. Someone would end up dead. With her temper, he didn’t like his chances.
He couldn’t fit thoughts of his sister’s problems into his brain right now along with his own thoughts whizzing fast enough around to make him dizzy. Laci could worry about herself; she was a big girl.
Jack raised the glass to his lips. He couldn’t get the image of Cindy flicking her tongue to taste that chocolate frosting out of his head. It played over and over in his mind, like a GIF stuck on replay. What he wouldn’t give to be that fork.
He closed his eyes and scrubbed his hands across his face a few times, trying to rid himself of that fucking image. It wouldn’t budge. If anything, it just came into sharper focus.
Standing up from the bar stool he perched on, he reached across the bar and grabbed the bottle Laci had left behind and tipped a large quantity into his glass. If he wasn’t in a public place, he would’ve drunk straight from the bottle. He was quite proud of his restraint.
“Hey!” Laci called from the other end of the bar where she was chatting to a loner sipping from a coffee cup. “You can’t just help yourself Jack.”
Jack snorted, flipped her the bird and topped up his glass again. “I just did,” he hollered back.
Jack watched as Laci leaned toward the coffee drinker again. He scoffed, practically snorting whiskey his nose. Who came to a bar to drink coffee? He took another gulp of his whiskey, enjoying the way it burned on the way down his throat.
He refilled his glass. The image behind his eyes shifted and blurred with each slug from his glass. He looked at the amber liquid hiding amongst the ice cubes and snorted again. He could think of only one thing to make his thoughts go away. Jack topped up his glass again. He might as well get shit faced.



 

Chapter 2

Aimee Reiter was totally screwed. She had exactly four hours to get her butt on a plane to catch her sister’s wedding and there was an exceedingly high chance she wasn’t going to make it. She’d already postponed the flight by two days, if she missed her flight this time her mother would kill her.
Her sister Cindy wasn’t even getting married this week and she struggled to know why she was required to be there so soon before the wedding. The trend to have a week-long celebration wasn’t something she could get on board with. She had her own life to hold together. And her life was hanging together by a very thin piece of thread. Literally.
She’d been asked to send samples of her clothing designs to Tracy Margolies, chief merchant for Saks Fifth Avenue. It was on a whim that she’d sent the query in and now she was busting her butt to get the samples she’d designed to Tracy by the deadline. She’d long since stopped wasting her energy on worrying about her sisters timing. She needed to make sure these samples were absolutely perfect. She was almost done and only had the finishing touches to put on the last garment. The problem now of course was that she was so damn tired she could barely see straight.
Aimee couldn’t remember the last time she’d slept. Not really. Not a real deep sleep. There was always too much to do and her mind would invariably think of something important that needed attention, just as she was finally falling to sleep. The best she’d managed for the last two and a half weeks were catnaps throughout the day where she’d would inevitably wake up at her workbench with fabric stuck to her face with drool.
She lay the final seam of her red dress into the sewing machine and clamped the foot down, holding it in place. She took a deep breath trying to calm her unsteady hands. She needed this line to be perfect. She didn’t have time to fix any mistakes. With one last breath she depressed the foot pedal and fed the fabric through the machine. Lavender scent surrounded her as she worked, the fabric giving off the subtle fragrance of her homemade fabric soap. She hoped the fragrance was pleasing to her future customers, and something they would associate with her garments.
She’d developed her signature scent three years ago when she was in university. It was more diverse than just lavender but that was the first scent to invade the senses. The light tones of cedarwood and rosemary caught your attention next. The combination of the three was surprisingly pleasant and one that Aimee was incredibly proud of.
The soothing scent of the fabric relaxed her and finally after spending hour upon hour wound tight with anticipation, Aimee felt her muscles unclench and her jaw relax. The seam was perfect. She finished it off with a quick backwards stitch then pulled the thread through the cutter, freeing the red fabric from her machine.
She sat for a moment in complete awe of what she’d done. She finished it. She finished the entire collection. Her whole body shook as she stood up from her chair at the workbench she’d fashioned against the far wall in her small apartment.
She shook out the dress, turning it right side in. It was gorgeous. She quickly slipped it over the mannequin standing ready in the corner. Aimee slowly walked around her finished piece, carefully taking in every detail. This was it. This was her best creation. Tears leaked into her eyes. She brushed them away with a shaky hand. She was standing before her life-long dream. It had finally come true.
Aimee walked slowly around the mannequin again taking in every feature and triple checking every seam. The lay of the fabric was perfect. It flowed out from the waist and yet would cling in all the right places. It was the perfect dress and she knew people would pay good money for it. She just hoped that Tracy from Saks Fifth Avenue felt the same way.
It took her longer to box up the last item than she’d planned. She spent much too long getting the dress folded in tissue paper and then into the box with the rest of the collection. The buzzer on her door sounded as she pulled the packing tape across the top flaps to seal everything inside.
Dropping the tape dispenser on the workbench, she dashed over to her intercom.
“Yes?” she said into the worn plastic cover.
“You have a parcel for pickup?” The voice sounded grainy and far away. The old intercom glitched in and out as the man spoke.
“I’m all the way at the top.” She buzzed him in, propped open her door then went back to her box.
She checked each letter of the address before she copied it onto the box. The last thing she wanted to do was send it to the wrong place. She wrote Ms. Margolies name in bold letters. A flash of nervousness rushed up her spine. She felt her face burn with anticipation and anxiety. What if this didn’t work? She had put months, years really, into this venture. She was way past her eyeballs in debt from college. Parsons School of Design was not cheap. Not by a long shot.
She closed her eyes and envisioned it all going horribly wrong. She pictured Tracy Margolies opening the courier package and finding nothing inside besides the tissue paper she had carefully wrapped the new designs in. Or worse yet, in startling clarity, she saw herself getting the contract but unable to fill the order because she hadn’t had time to find a premises or assistants for A.R. Designs to deliver the garments on time.
She pushed her sleep fogged thoughts to the back of her mind. It was too late to second guess herself now anyway. There was no turning back.
She checked her watch. The courier was taking forever getting to her door. She went out onto the landing to wait. She bounced up and down on her toes waiting for him to appear.
Why didn’t her stupid building have an elevator?
She leaned over the rail. He was still three floors below. She could hear him puffing as he dragged himself up the steps.
Finally, his head appeared, then the rest of his body.
“They told me this job would get me into shape.” He leaned his heavy body on the rail and pulled himself up the last step. Sweat beaded on his forehead and stained the armpits of his grey uniform. His protruding belly greeted her from behind straining buttons.
“I’ll just grab the box for you,” Aimee smiled at him then rushed back through her door. She checked the address on the label one more time before carrying it reverently into the hallway.
Her hands lingered on the box when the courier took it in his hands. Did he know how precious this box was? If he dropped it…oh God, she didn’t even want to think about it. They stood there awkwardly for a moment looking at each other. She swallowed so heavily they could both hear it. It sounded too loud in the silence.
“I’ll take good care of it for you,” he reassured her. When she still didn’t release the box, he looked her in the eyes and added, “trust me,” with a genuine smile.
It was the smile he gave her that allowed her to loosen her grip and entrust him with her precious collection of clothes. She took a deep breath and let go. She thanked him and turned back to her apartment.
She shut the door and leaned against it. It was gone. There was nothing left she could do to her masterpiece. Her stomach twisted. What if it wasn’t good enough? Had she really put her best pieces forward for consideration? Her hands began to shake, and her knees gave way. Aimee slid down the door until she lay in a pile on the floor.
She knew she needed to pull herself together. She had things to do now that she’d sent her samples away. She needed to pack for her sister’s wedding extravaganza.
The ball of rolling snakes in her gut, wouldn’t listen to her. She felt sick. The thought of getting on a plane today, made her feel even worse. Tears of pure exhaustion slipped down her face. She could almost feel her mind crack with the pressure she had put it under these last few months. With an effort she pushed herself into sitting position then pulled herself to her feet. She swayed for a moment but hung onto the doorframe until she was steady. She couldn’t fall apart now. She was just tired, all she needed was sleep.
A lot of sleep.
She checked her watch again.
Shit.
She didn’t have enough time to close her eyes right now. She needed to shower, and she needed to pack. Then she needed to get her butt in a taxi to the airport to catch that damn plane to the middle of nowhere to get to a wedding she wanted no part of.
Yay. She could hardly wait.
Aimee stumbled to her room. She stuffed some clothes in a bag, not paying any attention to what went in. She figured she’d sort it out after she arrived. She did however make sure that one of the items was her bridesmaid dress, or at least the fabric to make it with. Cindy initially insisted that Aimee buy a dress that she’d picked out, but with one look at the ghastly pink confection of fluff, Aimee flatly refused. Cindy wasn’t dumb. She knew Aimee would never wear anything that wasn’t stamped with her own style, so she had given in without much fight.
The fabric Aimee chose was a rich red with large flowers adorning the entirety of the bolt. As soon as Aimee saw, she had to have it. She was sure Cindy will have a conniption when she sees it. Red was not her idea of pink. Aimee stuffed it into the very bottom of her bag where hopefully it would stay hidden from view for as long as possible. She’d also make sure her mother never saw a trace of the dress or it’s pattern before the wedding. She didn’t want to risk having to wear that pink candy-floss dress her sister liked so much.


Her mom texted halfway to the airport.
Aimee Darling, it seems that the cake tasting has slipped your mind. You missed it. Do better.
Aimee slipped her phone back in her bag with a sigh. She’d told her mom last night that she wouldn’t be able to make it. But she wasn’t surprised by the text. It was just what her mother did.
To top off her good mood, traffic was horrendous, and they were calling her name over the loudspeaker when she skidded full run into her gate. She tripped over her own feet as she handed her ticket over. Talk about making an entrance.
Once she’d found her seat, buckled in and they were up in the air, the plane bounced around with turbulence the whole way. On a normal day, Aimee loved flying and she even liked the swoop in her belly as the plane bobbed through air pockets. On a normal day she appreciated the mind-numbing hum the engines made, how the sound filtered out all her thoughts and allowed her to just sit and relax and forget. She would have killed to be able to do that this flight, but today wasn’t a normal day. Where she could normally lean her head on the seatback and close her eyes for a few hours, today even the engine noise couldn’t shut down her whirling thoughts or the panic that kept rearing its head in her chest. She’d stupidly assumed that once she sent the package to Saks Fifth Avenue, she’d be able to breathe again and sleep. It seemed her mind had other ideas.
She ignored the passengers around her and stared out the window. The view into Terra Ridge was spectacular. The hills were just starting to turn green and there was a big lake west of the town she would love to slip away from the wedding chaos to visit.
Terra Ridge wasn’t even located on a ridge. Weird. The small town sat in a valley surrounded by hills with the Rockies looming in the distance. The scenery below took her mind off her swirling thoughts for a few minutes at least. Cindy sure had picked a beautiful place to settle down.
The landing was a little rough, but they made it safely to the ground. Some of the passengers cheered and clapped as though they thought their lives were in danger. Aimee jumped to her feet as soon as the seatbelt sign flicked off. She loved flying but whenever she got to her destination, she quickly became claustrophobic waiting in the tin can to disembark. She grabbed her shoulder bag and headed down the aisle to the evening air beckoning her to its freedom.
As she was herded toward the baggage claim, she looked around her, catching glimpses of beautiful mountain scenery through the crowd gathered along the windows.
She’d just made it into the main terminal when she heard Cindy squeal.
“Aimee, you made it!”
She managed to drop her bag at her feet before Cindy careened into her with such force, she almost knocked them both to the grimy floor. Laughter tumbled from both their lips. “Whoa, hey, Cindy careful, you don’t want to break anything before the wedding!” Aimee laughed. “It wouldn’t be a good look having both the bride and bridesmaid in casts as they walk down the aisle.
In that moment, everything melted away. All of the anxiety about this whole wedding, her budding fashion line, and her slightly overdue rent disappeared, and she was sent tumbling back to her childhood. It was wonderful. Aimee hugged her sister back, hard.
Cindy pulled away and studied her face. “You look like shit.”
She laughed, “Gee thanks Cindy.” A weight lifted from her chest and she realized she hadn’t laughed for months.
Cindy grinned and nudged her with her shoulder. “Well, at least I’m honest. You do look like shit. When was the last time you slept? You know I’m being nice. Wait until mom sees you.” Cindy laughed merrily as though this was the best thing to happen to her. “At least she’ll get off my back for five minutes while she fusses over you.”
Aimee pushed the hair out of her face. “Has she been that bad?” She asked.
Cindy rolled her eyes. “You have no idea,” she said straight faced. “She has been so overwhelming Aimee. I can’t even leave the house without her texting me, wondering where I am. It’s driving me nuts.” She paused for a moment before a slow smile spread over her face. “But now that you’re here, she can spend all her energy pestering you instead of me. It looks like you haven’t eaten for weeks and those bags under your eyes are horrendous.” She smiled wider and clapped her hands gleefully, “This is great!” She turned to the cowboy walking towards them.
“Aimee, this is Rex.” Cindy grabbed her hand and tugged her towards the hottie almost upon them.
Rex leaned in close and kissed her check. Aimee felt herself blush. “It’s a pleasure to meet you, Aimee. Cindy’s told me so much about you, it’s like I know you already.” He let go of her hand, stooped down and grabbed her bag where it had dropped. She was pleased to see nothing had fallen out, the last thing she needed was a waterfall of tampons to tumble across the floor.
“Come on,” Rex said. “Let’s go get your bags, then we can get you home. I hate to say it, but you look exhausted.”
Aimee knew exactly why her sister had fallen for this guy. She was half in love with him herself. He was so caring and thoughtful…and hot.
Cindy looped her arm through hers and together, they followed Rex to the baggage claim.
“Is Dad here too?” she asked. She wasn’t looking forward to dealing with their mom without the buffer of Dad.
“Yes.” She sighed, leaning closer. “I suppose Dad won’t let Mom pester you too much. You’re so Daddy’s little girl.” There was no malice in her voice, but it was tinged with envy.
“You cannot be jealous,” Aimee laughed. “Dad might be soft on me but we both know Mom wears the pants in this family, and she favors you. You, dear sister, are the spoiled one.”
Cindy rolled her eyes and pushed Aimee lightly making them both stumble.
“Hey!” Aimee laughed and pushed her sister back with her hip. “I need to take advantage of Dad as much as I can this week,” she said still smiling. “Mom’s going to harp on me something terrible about every life choice I’ve made since high school. Not to mention all the wedding planning I’ve missed. Thank God for Dad, I’ll need all the help I can get to survive your wedding!”
They arrived at the carrousel just as it started moving. A few bags tumbled out and for one awful moment she thought she’d left her luggage in the taxi. But her bag came around the carrousel with everyone else’s. Rex hefted it off the belt before it disappeared back into the depths of the airport.
As he pulled out the handle and started wheeling it behind him down the corridor towards outside, she could have sworn she heard him mutter, “At least it’s not pink.”

 

Chapter 3

“Here you are,” Rex said as he placed her bag next to the door and stepped to the side so she could see inside the room she’d call her own for the next two weeks.
Her bedroom was at the front of the house overlooking Long Street. The big window showcased the oak tree in the front yard breaking out in the first signs of spring. In fall, it would be spectacular with its canopy of colors framed by the window. If it weren’t for the décor, this room would be magnificent.
The breeze coming in through the open window carried the scent of unfurling leaves and the neighbor’s fresh cut grass. The stillness of it all was unsettling. There was no noise to break the silence. No car horns, no screeching tires, no shouted insults. It was a little unnerving.
The house was a cute two-story. From the outside, it’d reminded Aimee of Anne of Green Gables…without the gables, with its green trim on faded white paint. She’d love to live in a house like this. It looked like home even before stepping inside the front door.
The bedroom of course, was pink. She felt like she’d somehow landed inside a bag of cotton candy. “Wow,” was all she could manage.
Rex laughed behind her. “Come on Cindy, you can catch up with your sister later, she needs sleep.”
Aimee could have kissed him right then, but before she could move from where she stood rooted to the floor, Cindy shook off his hand and bounded to the bed.
“Are you kidding me? I haven’t seen Aimee for ages. She can sleep later.”
She looked down at the gaudy pink floral duvet cover and frilly pillows before flopping onto the soft mattress face first. She could sleep for a week, even in this pink explosion. She allowed herself to close her eyes for just a moment. Her sister wouldn’t be able to stay silent for long and she was sure Cindy had mentioned something about meeting up with their parents for dinner tonight.
Aimee stretched her arms over her head and groaned in pleasure as her shoulders popped. “Do you have any idea how much work I had to get done before coming here? I swear it almost killed me. I so need to sleep for a week just to recover.”
She yawned and turned her head to look at Cindy. They could be twins; they’d been mistaken as each other while they were growing up even though there were two years between them. Only their hair and their noses set them apart. Cindy had a cute little pert nose that suited her face perfectly. Aimee’s was more like a ski jump pointing off her face and her hair was light brown to her sister’s blonde.
Cindy grinned at her good naturedly. “You are such a complainer!” She chucked a pillow at Aimee’s head.
Aimee blocked it and sent it flying across the room. Damn, she needed that for her nap. “You sure did pick a shitty time to get married, you know that, right? Can’t believe you ‘needed’ to do it this month.” She shook her head. “Really Cindy, why did you need to get married so quickly? Are you knocked up?”
Cindy’s mouth dropped open in a comical O, making Aimee laugh.
“Nooooo, Oh my God Aimee, No! I love him. That’s why Rex and I are getting married. I’ve waited for ages for him to ask me. I wasn’t going to give him a chance to change his mind. No way. Uh uh. No way is that happening.” Cindy shook her head, making a mess of her normally perfect blonde hair. Cindy looked at Aimee for a few minutes. “I’m so glad you’re here. I’m sorry it wasn’t the best timing for you, but it worked out, didn’t it? You got all your designs done, right?”
Aimee nodded and closed her eyes but didn’t answer. Cindy could never understand the stress Aimee was under over this contract. Everything came easily to Cindy. Nothing ever caused her too much trouble. Aimee hadn’t known Cindy to be stressed a day in her life. Everything always worked out perfectly for her, it had been that way since childhood. Where everything was wonderful for Cindy, it was a struggle for Aimee. Thank God Dad favored her, it was the only break she could get.
Aimee allowed herself to drift to sleep. She mostly ignored Cindy. She could hear her droning on about the wedding plans and some guy named Jack.
She snorted awake.
“What?” She peered at her sister, sure that she must’ve dreamed what she’d heard. “What did you just say?”
“I said,” Cindy said, obviously annoyed Aimee hadn’t been hanging on her every word. “That I need you to occupy Jack and keep him out of the way. I need you to seduce him. I need you to keep him from talking Rex out of marrying me. I know he will. Or at least he’ll try. And they are best friends. I can’t have Rex upset. I can’t lose him.” Tears glistened in Cindy’s eyes.
Aimee sat up and stared at her. Surely, she hadn’t heard that right. “What? You want me to seduce some random guy so you can have the wedding of your dreams without any complications? What’s going on, Cindy?”
“He’s not just some random guy, Aimee, he’s Rex’s best friend!” Cindy cried.
“He’s a random guy to me. This isn’t a movie Cindy. Nobody does that in real life.” She did try to sound sympathetic. She really did.
“Sure, they do…”
“Are you freaking serious?” This was ridiculous. Did her sister really think this was a real solution to an invented problem? “Come on Cindy, I’m not going to hit on some guy for you.” She had to have fallen asleep, either that, or Cindy had lost her damn mind. Aimee leaned over the bed to look for it on the floor because it sure wasn’t still inside her sister’s head.
“Of course, I’m serious. Come on, it’ll be fun! I swear he’s good looking and everything. And it’s not like you have to sleep with him. Besides, you can have a bit of a social life while you’re here. It’ll be a great way to meet some of my friends before the wedding. You and I both know you’ll just end up sitting in a corner all alone if you don’t. You’re kinda pathetic at social functions.”
“Ouch. Gee thanks, Cindy, I love you too.” The horrible thing was, Cindy was right. She did tend to keep to herself in crowds, especially if she didn’t know anyone. Sure, she’d know her family at the wedding, but she didn’t exactly want to hang out with them either.
Cindy gave her, her puppy dog look, the one she used to get whatever she wanted. Aimee hated that it worked on her too.
“Fine,” she said. “What do I have to do? Actually, no. First tell me why you want your fiancée’s best friend out of the way?”
Cindy retrieved the pillow Aimee had deflected across the room earlier, then made herself a nest against the headboard with it. Aimee sighed and made herself comfortable too. It looked as though they were in for a long talk. So much for her nap.
“I think Jack hates me,” Cindy blurted as though this was a dirty secret. She plucked at the tassels edging the throw on her knees, her face reddening. “He’s been avoiding me for months now and he’s acting super weird around me when he can’t think of an excuse to get away. Today’s cake tasting was a perfect example. When I came back from the restroom, he leapt up from the table and dashed out the door! He behaves like I have some sort of disease he doesn’t want to catch. I’m sure he wants to split Rex and I up before the wedding. I’m really nervous what he’s saying to Rex about me.” Cindy looked down at her hands. She’d pulled the tassels apart, yarn scattered across her lap.
Aimee looked at her with concern. “Is there anything this Jack knows about you that you don’t want Rex to hear?” She asked delicately.
Cindy’s eyes shot to hers. “No! No, there’s nothing. Rex knows everything about me. I have no secrets from him. But,” she said, “I wouldn’t put it past Jack to make something up to get his way.”
Jack sounded like a dick.
Aimee smiled gently at her. “I’ll keep my eye on him, ok? I won’t let him ruin your wedding day.” It didn’t mean she was going to seduce him though. To be perfectly honest, she had no idea how to do that anyway.
Cindy launched herself at Aimee, almost sending them both over the edge and onto the floor.
Aimee caught the bedpost in her hand and tried to untangle herself from her sister’s octopus hold.
“Besides,” continued Cindy, sitting on the bed as though moments before she hadn’t been sprawled over the edge, “you owe me. You left it so long to get your butt over here, I’m pretty much done everything I needed help with for the wedding. Honestly Aimee, you could have made more of an effort to get here earlier. Thank God Mom showed up. I don’t know what I would have done without her, even if she is driving me crazy.”
Aimee sighed. It was easier to just agree with Cindy. She’d never stop until Aimee agreed anyway. It didn’t mean that Aimee would actually do it. There was no way she’d seduce some man just so her sister could have the wedding she’d dreamed of. It would do her sister good to have to deal with someone that didn’t like her. She smiled to herself. This, Aimee had to see. Everyone loved Cindy and fawned all over her. It’d be good for her sister to be knocked down a peg or two.
God, did that make her a bad sister?
It was so hard to tell these days. She was so self-absorbed in her own life and career she had a hard time differentiating anyone else’s emotions from her own focus.
Cindy was still talking.
Shit. Aimee had no idea what she was droning on about. Yup, it was official, she was a bad sister. She sat up on the bed, flicked her long messy hair out of her face, managing more to snag her fingers in it than to get it out of her eyes, and tried to pay attention to whatever Cindy saying.
God, that girl could talk!
“Aimee, are you even listening to me?”
She blinked. “Um sure, you were telling me more about your cake tasting today, right?” Thank God for the many years of college where she learned to absorb information without consciously paying attention.
“Oh, my goodness Aimee,” Cindy bounced up and down on the bed, sending Aimee precariously close to the edge.
“Whoa!” Aimee grabbed the bedpost again and hung on for dear life.
“It was so good, Aimee,” Cindy continued, ignoring Aimee’s flailing motions as she tried to right herself back onto the mattress. “You totally missed the best part of planning this wedding. There were so many yummy cakes to try. They’re all melt-in-your-mouth fantastic! Rex loved trying them all too. Not Jack though. He was acting super weird, like I said. I told you he doesn’t like me.” A confused look crossed Cindy’s face but with a toss of her hair, it was gone, replaced with her ever-present beauty queen smile. She took a deep breath and continued her narrative at top speed. “We were only supposed to test six cakes, but we ended up tasting them all! Rex has such a way with getting ladies to do what he wants.” She giggled.
Aimee cringed. Her sister was far too old to giggle. She sounded like a teenager. And still Cindy talked. Aimee could feel herself sagging and tried to sit up again. Obviously, this cake testing thing was important to her sister. Aimee was sure that she’d just order whatever cake was the cheapest for her own wedding…if she ever got married. She wasn’t looking to do that. She did NOT have the time for men in her life at the moment. She was far too busy building her career.
She blinked. Crap, she’d done it again. She forgot to pay attention to what Cindy was saying.
“…you were there. We decided on the chocolate one with the caramel icing, not salted caramel just plain caramel. Salted caramel is so over done now a days, don’t you think? But there is also this really yummy cherry one with this amazing frosting that I’m not even sure what’s in it. But we thought maybe cherry was too weird for a wedding cake. What do you think Aimee? Maybe you and I should go there tomorrow. I’m sure Rex can arrange it. Did I tell you that he is amazing at getting women to say yes to anything? Well, I mean, I said yes to him, didn’t I?” She giggled again but cut off her own laughter to keep talking. Aimee was starting to get concerned with the lack of oxygen that must be reaching her brain. Cindy barely paused for breath.
“I’ll just send Cat a message.” Cindy pulled her phone from her back pocket of her jeans and started texting. “She owns the cake shop and does all the baking herself. I can’t believe how good she is. I mean she is the only place in town that anyone goes for cake for anything. You know, weddings, parties, funerals; you name it, anything that involves cake, you go to Cat. Anyway, I’m sure she will fit us in for another tasting tomorrow. I’ll pay for it of course, there’s no need to look at me like that, I’m not some horrible bridezilla who demands everything her way without compensation. I’m sure you’ll love her. She’s super nice. Like me! That way you can help me decide between the chocolate and the cherry. Rex just gobbled them up so fast, I’m not really sure he actually tasted them properly. I think we can –”
Aimee knew her sister was talented, but even she didn’t realize how far her talent ran. She could text and talk (AND TALK!) at the same time.
“Cindy. Please stop.” Aimee laughed, unable to take anymore. If she had to listen to her sister talk about cake for one more minute, she would shove her off the bed and smother her with a pillow. She buried her face in her hands and groaned loud and long. Why did she come home so soon? She should have arrived the day of the wedding. What had she been thinking? How was she going to last two weeks in this house with her over-excited sister?
“Aimee? Are you okay?” Cindy tapped her on her shoulder. “Maybe you’re tired? I could leave you to sleep for a while, I guess. I arranged a dinner with Mom and Dad, but let’s do that tomorrow night instead. Rex will be happy. I think he needs a break from Mom to be honest. I’d really like you to like him, Aimee. But if you’re tired, we can go out tomorrow night. You sleep. I’ll call Mom and let her know.”
Aimee raised her head to see her sister (finally) leave her room. She took a deep calming breath. It was silent. Cindy must have gone downstairs because she couldn’t hear her. She stretched out on the bed, shoved the remains of the tassels onto the floor, tucked the pillow under her head and closed her eyes. She knew she should tough it out for the next few hours, make it through dinner and get her inner clock in sync with her sister’s daily schedule, but she was just too tired to care. She’d sync herself tomorrow. Sleep found her within seconds.