Page 71 of Sunrise & Serenity

I force a smile, hoping it appears unbothered. “There were certainly a lot of them there.”

She chews a mouthful of pancake, then swallows. “I’ve only been a couple of times, but there were definitely a lot of cowboy hats. Did anyone catch your eye?”

“Um, I mainly danced with Taryn and Riley.”

She cocks her head, reading me too easily. “Mainly?”

Ducking my chin, I busy myself by cutting my pancakes into small pieces. “This guy named Cash asked me to dance,” I admit. “But it didn’t last long.”

“Why? Did he turn out to be an asshole?”

Dammit. How do I answer without lying? I pick up my coffee and blow on it a little longer than necessary before taking another sip. “Uh… actually, Holden interrupted. He wanted to go home.”

Brows shooting up, she props her elbows on the table and leans forward. “Holden? You didn’t mention he was there.”

“Hmm? Oh, didn’t I? Yeah, he just turned up.”

Her mouth curves into a knowing smile. “He did, did he?”

I poke at a piece of pancake with my fork. I can almost feel her studying me. She knows I’m not telling her the whole story, and she’s going to keep digging until she gets all the details out of me. Might as well come clean now.

Heaving out a long breath, I sag back against the booth. “Fine. He didn’t like it when Cash put his hat on my head, so he interrupted our dance and insisted on driving me home. Then I stupidly put his hat on my head, and he kissed me. Happy now?”

The way her mouth drops open and her eyes go wide has me massaging my temples. “Don’t look at me like that.”

Her mouth snaps shut. “Like what? Like you just confessed that one of the hottest cowboys in Colorado kissed you last night and you only told me because I wore you down?”

I shoot her a look. “Yes. Like that.”

She pushes her plate away. “Well?”

“Well, what? That’s it.”

She kicks my ankle under the table. “That’s not it. How was it? Is he a good kisser?” Her eyes go a bit dreamy. “He looks like he’d be a good kisser.”

I wrinkle my nose, briefly debate lying this time, then blow out a breath. “It was incredible. The best kiss I’ve ever had. Felt like time stopped. You know,” I wave my hands wildly, “all the good stuff.”

She covers her mouth, her shoulders shaking. “Why do you sound so pissed off about it?”

“Because it’s not fair that it should have been so good.” I stab a piece of pancake. “He’s my neighbor and part of the family I work for. He barely seems to tolerate me, and he’ll be gone from my life in a couple of months.”

And he only did it to prove a point. Then he sent me inside like an errant schoolgirl.

Mia taps her nails on the table. “Have you considered that the part about being gone in a few months might be a pro rather than a con? You can have fun for a little while without wondering whether it’ll turn into more. It’d help you forget about Graham—without derailing your plans for photographic world domination.”

I snort out a laugh. “It doesn’t have to be world domination. I’d be happy with just the US, or even New York.”

She waves that aside, her fork in her hand. “Why not have a good time with the hot cowboy while you’re here? You’re allowed to want something that isn’t a career move, you know.”

I squirm in my seat. The idea is all too appealing, and that’s the problem. “Given how he backed off after the kiss, I don’t think he’s interested in having a good time with me.” I do my best to sound unfazed by that. “Besides, And it’s unprofessional. Not to mention it would distract me from my job. I need to focus on that and not… overthink everything else.”

“Right,” she says, but not in a way that suggests she agrees with me.

“What does that mean?”

“Nothing.”

Nerves skitter through me. “It’s definitely something.”