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“What’s the matter?” I asked.
She shook her head. “I don’t know. I just hope it doesn’t happen again.”
“It won’t.” I hoped I sounded convincing.
The sound of Blayze’s voice calling out caused us both to turn and watch him approach. “The bank on the corner has security cameras, and they were able to pull the license plate off the truck that stopped out front last night. Turns out the police were right. It was a group of teenage boys. Guess they thought they’d get their kicks by driving around destroying property. They got some residential homes a few streets over too. Someone’s Ring camera captured their truck.”
“What little brats!” I seethed as I looked back at the window. “And of all the nights to do it.”
“You said that last night,” Georgiana reminded me. “What did you mean?”
Rolling my eyes, I answered, “I was listening to a stupid crime podcast right before it happened. Ryan had mentioned the damn thing earlier in the day, and he’d all but challenged me to listen to it. Never again. It scared the hell out of me.”
My brother and Georgiana both laughed.
“Go ahead and laugh, but it scared the living daylights out of me.”
My phone buzzed, and I pulled it out of my back pocket to see a text from Ryan.
Any news on who broke the window?
I thought about texting him back, but I decided to take Krista’s advice and ask him out to dinner. I couldn’t let the new dress I’d bought go to waste, after all.
“Excuse me, guys, I need to make a call.”
“I’m going to take off; I have to get back to the ranch,” Blayze said as he kissed my cheek. “No crime podcasts tonight, okay?”
Gently pushing him on the shoulder, I said, “Trust me, I learned my lesson. I love you, be careful.”
He winked, then turned to Georgiana. “Are you ready to head out?”
She nodded before gesturing to me. “I was thinking tomorrow we could go through some inventory? With the opening in a few weeks, I want to make sure we’re ready.”
“Okay. I spoke with Gene as well. He has a few more items from the line ready to go and will be sending them next week.”
Georgiana took my hand in hers, a wide smile on her face. “Are you excited?”
I pulled in a deep breath and nodded. “I am. But I’m also scared. What if people hate my designs?”
“They won’t!” she said, squeezing my hand. “Trust me, okay?”
“I trust you.”
She gave me a quick hug. “I’ll see you in the morning.”
“See ya then,” I said before calling out my goodbyes to them both. I rushed through the store, then raced up the steps to my apartment and shut the door. I pulled up Ryan’s contact info and hit his name to call him. I put it on speaker and headed to my bedroom, where my new dress was hanging up.
“Hey, is everything okay?” he asked.
“It is. I thought it’d be easier to call instead of trying to type it all out in a text. Can you talk right now?”
I heard the sound of a horse in the background, and I instantly missed my own horse, Titan, who was back at my family’s ranch. I hadn’t gone riding in so long. I made a mental note to go as soon as possible.
Slipping out of my clothes, I picked up the phone I’d set down and headed to my bathroom.
“Yeah,” Ryan said, “I’m finishing up in the barn and then heading over to my place to clean up.”
An image of Ryan in the shower flashed through my brain, but I quickly pushed it away. I wrapped myself up in my robe and concentrated on staying focused.
Don’t think of Ryan naked. Don’t think of Ryan naked.
“They found out who did it. It was some teenagers. They were able to get their truck on a couple of cameras around town. I guess they hit some residential homes too.”
“Little bastards.”
I chuckled. “I said the same thing.”
“I’m glad they found out who did it.”
“Me too,” I said as I sat down on the little bench in my bathroom. I pressed my hands together, gathering my courage. “Are you free tonight for dinner? I wanted to say thank you for staying with me last night…”
“I am free, but you don’t have to thank me, Morgan. And I don’t need an excuse to spend the evening with you.”
My heart jumped in my chest at his words. “I was thinking maybe a nice dinner at the country club. I haven’t been in forever.”
“So,” he chuckled, “you want me to dress up?”
Laughing, I replied, “Would it be so bad?”
“Not at all.”
“Besides, you know how to rock a suit, if I remember.”
“You think?” he asked, a hint of teasing and amusement in his voice. “I’m glad someone thinks so. I feel out of place in them.”
