“I am strong. I am fearless.”
“Damn straight. Now, paint on a smile, march yourself over to that table, and give him hell!”
I nodded and slid my glasses up my nose, quaking in my heels but somehow ready. First, I pushed my shoulders back like Aiden did when he was nervous.
I can do this. Strong. Fearless.
I took a deep breath. But before a smile wobbled on my face, an evil twitch kicked Brooke’s lips up.
Wait, what—
Brooke shoved me, and I lurched the last few steps to the table.
Balls.
When a hole didn’t open in the floor to swallow me up, I held up my palm in an embarrassed wave. “Hi, everyone.”
“Lola!” Ruth jerked unsteadily around the table. Her arm pinned me in a warm hug. “Look at you! You look like a dream.” She flashed a sly smile at the man avoiding my eyes. “Aiden wasjusttelling me how pretty you look tonight.”
His eyebrow rose. “You were the one who sa—”
“It was definitely you,” Ruth snapped through gritted teeth. She was all sweet smiles again when she turned to me. “It wasdefinitelyhim.”
Brooke slung her handbag over the back of a chair and leant over the table to snatch a gold card. “Awesome! Name cards!” She flicked it around for me to see.“The Sunshine Princess.”She grinned. “I guess this one’s my seat.”
“Lola and I came up with some fun code names for everyone,” Ruth explained. “I’m Rue the Day. Brooke, you’re next to the Ginger Ninja. Lola, you’re next to the Grumblejack, and I’vepopped your other friend next to me. Hopefully, she’s not running too late. I think they’ll kick off the games soon.”
“Um…He,” I corrected.
Ruth’s face fell. “He?”
“Yeah, my friend Ryan Hollyoak is here.”
Withering under her glare, I flicked my hand, motioning for the farmer to step forward and save me. He didn’t appear. Where the heck was he? Sidetracked talking to some guy about Scottish Highland cows? He’d done that before.
“You haven’t met Ryan before?” I asked. “His family owns the farm outside town. Cattle, mostly, but their orchard is where I got all those limes for the tart I made you.”
Ruth’s frown only speared down more with every word out of my mouth.
Where the hell was Ryan?
I twisted around, half-expecting him to be on the other side of the bar, but I jumped, startled, when I found him standing right behind me. He stood frozen, eyes wide and mouth open, like a stunned fish pulled out of the river. I nudged Ryan. Nothing. I threw a helpless look at Brooke. She shrugged. She was as confused as I was.
Ruth’s eyes were daggers. “When you came up with the name Hollier Than Thou, I assumed your friend’s name was Holly or something. I wasn’t expecting a”—her hand waved at Ryan like she was swatting away a hundred annoying flies—“you know.”
I carefully hid my smile and played dumb. “A…farmer?”
Aiden chuckled.
Ruth’s eyes narrowed to an even sharper line, glaring in Ryan’s direction. “You.” She snapped her fingers. “Ryan Hollyoak, is it?”
The man in question shook off his daze. His hand twitched with nerves as he straightened his shirt. “Uh—yes.” His cheeks were stained bright pink. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Ma’am?”Ruth snorted. “I’m not your granny.”
“No, ma’am.” His throat dipped on a hard swallow. “You are not.”
“Stop with thatma’amstuff. You can call me Ruth. Now, scoot yourself over here. Your spot is next to me.”
