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In fact, there were probably even better men out there, Becca simply hadn’t found the one she could settle down with. And perhaps that was more her fault than anything else. Out of all her current close friends, she was the only one not in a serious relationship. If that wasn’t embarrassing enough, her current career path made the irony that much sweeter.
What kind of person was she if she could write a story about love, but couldn’t find the real thing in her own life? She wasn’t married, engaged, or dating anyone. And she had no prospects.In fact, it had been forever since she’d even been on a decent first date.
Romance authors were supposed to be the kind of people who understood that kind of thing effortlessly. Why was it so hard for her to find the kind of love she preferred to write about in her books? Oh yeah, because she couldn’t trust as easily as she used to.
Becca turned her attention to the window, but there was nothing interesting enough to pull her from the real world and the conversation happening nearby.
“Oh, I didn’t tell you? That guy from the engagement party. He’s her cousin. He’s a horse trainer and he’s absolutely obsessed with me.” Tina’s strident laugh made several people around her jump, but she didn’t seem to pay any attention. “Yeah…” she drawled, “I may have forgotten to mention anything about Max. But what he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.”
She shifted in her seat and glanced around but didn’t spot Becca.
“What? No! I’m not that bad. I’m not going to take off my ring. It’s gorgeous. Nope, I think I’ll just let all of them see it and swarm me like the little honeybees they are.” She laughed again. “I guess he’s just gonna be surprised like the rest of them. You know what? I almost feel bad. He’s so hot. It’s too bad I’m nice. Otherwise, I might have seen if he would take me out to dinner at least once.”
Becca shook her head. She didn’t know Tina, and thank goodness. From the sound of it, the woman was nothing like Katrina, which was also a relief. Unfortunately, Becca wasn’t known for keeping her mouth shut on things like this. She bit down on her cheek. The next few months leading up to Katrina’sspecial day didn’t need to be ruined by being told her friend wasn’t a good person.
On top of that, if Becca drew attention to Tina about this conversation, it would probably only make Tina more volatile.
“Oh yeah, he’s totally into me. We met at the engagement party, and he’s been blowing up my phone.” Tina laughed and held up her left hand absurdly high. “I guess that’s all going to have to come to an end, though. But it doesn’t mean I can’t still flirt a little.” Her hand dropped back to her lap and there was a sigh. “It’s too bad that I’m going to have to keep it on. Because if I took it off, I’d get more attention from the hotties. Then again, since I’m keeping it on, I’ll get more attention from my friends.”
Becca snorted, then clamped her hand over her mouth and shrank even lower into her seat. Who was she kidding? Tina wasn’t paying attention to little sounds like that. The woman had narcissistic tendencies. She wasn’t going to give any attention to a bus full of people she didn’t find important.
Still, she was going to be trouble, and Becca was already having a hard time keeping her mouth shut. It would be best for everyone if she could avoid spending time with Tina as much as she possible.
The bus came to a stop and Becca sat up a little straighter to peer outside. They’d arrived in Rocky Ridge. She’d never been here before but based on the description Katrina had given her, she felt like it was already home.
Her eyes swept from one side of the bus stop to the other and her focus landed on Katrina. She was standing with several other women—bridesmaids? They were probably her sisters-in-law.They huddled together, all smiles. It felt rather late for them to all come to pick her up.
Becca’s eyes darted to the seat where Tina had been. If she had to guess, Tina had insisted on being picked up by everyone who was here. She rolled her eyes and sat back in her seat before glancing out the window again. Her eyes landed on a familiar cowboy. He’d been at the engagement party, though she’d only said maybe a total of six words to the guy.
Ethan.
Katrina’s cousin lived in Utah, or at least she thought he did. Was he waiting for someone on the bus? He held a small bouquet of roses in one hand, and he stood off by himself as he looked up at the windows.
Their eyes locked momentarily before she jerked her face away and stared at her hands in her lap. Ethan was the kind of guy she could write about. He was striking and smooth, with startling blue eyes. He’d been a flirt at the party, and Becca wouldn’t be surprised if he was here to pick up Tina.
She scowled. The woman didn’t deserve to have his attention. Then again, who was she to judge? He had flirted with several women at that party. Maybe they were made for each other. He might make a good hero for a romance novel, but he was certainly dangerous in real life.
“I have to go.” Tina’s voice rang through the passengers gathering their things. “I’ve got a wedding to upstage.” She stood and reached for a bag in the overhead compartment. The diamond on her left hand glinted under the cabin lights.
Fury snaked through Becca’s entire being. Tina might think she was going to get her way, but she was sorely mistaken.
CHAPTER TWO
Ethan draggedhis eyes from the familiar woman in the Greyhound window. She was one of Katrina’s friends, he knew that much. Dang it if he couldn’t remember her name. He glanced over at his cousin and her sisters-in-law. They were probably here to pick her up.
Then again, they could be here for Tina.
Shoot! He hadn’t thought about that when he’d told her he would come pick her up. She was planning on staying at a local B&B and didn’t want to get a taxi. Turned out she didn’t need to get one, after all. The women who hovered nearby would make sure of that.
He glanced down at the roses in his hand, feeling sheepish. Normally, he wouldn’t have bothered. He’d never wanted to settle down before. He’d moved from state to state until… he still couldn’t understand it.
Suddenly, he wanted everything he saw his cousins getting. A switch had been flipped and he was ready. Not only was he ready, he wanted more. His mother, his sister, his whole family—Ethan wanted them all in the same place for the first time in years, and he was working harder than he ever had to make sure that would happen.
Tina was just a little piece of the puzzle. She was nice, and she made him laugh. That was as good a reason as any to ask her to be something a little more, wasn’t it? They could test the waters and see where a relationship might lead before she headed back to Utah.
He shifted his weight from one foot to the other and ignored the voices behind him. This was a big risk, to come here and greet her with flowers. She’d made an impression on him, that much was certain.
And yet he couldn’t shake the feeling that this wasn’t going to go the way he’d planned it to.
