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Maybe this whole fake relationship wasn’t for nothing. Perhaps if they were both open to it, they could become something more.
Ethan tugged on Becca’s hand, pulling her away from the crowd and toward a corner of the barn with no one in it. There wasno way he could come up with the words to express how he was feeling. He had to say something, but what? How could he convince her that they had something good?
“I wonder what’s going on over there.”
Becca’s question ripped him out of the clouds on which he’d been floating and he focused on her. She pointed off to the side and he followed her motion, finding Simon speaking with Katrina and her brothers.
Varying degrees of concern were plastered to their faces. From the outside, it didn’t even appear as though they realized they were still at the party. The whole Reese clan was wrapped up in their own little bubble.
“Do you think something else happened?” Becca murmured.
He glanced down at her, unsure if he should tell her about Jack’s suspicions about the open gate a few weeks back. Of course, Becca didn’t have anything to do with it. But not telling her felt like a betrayal of sorts.
Ethan cleared his throat and pulled her a little closer. “I have to tell you something.”
Her brows creased as she inched toward him. To anyone looking in their direction, they would resemble two people so infatuated with one another that they couldn’t stay away. But he knew better. They had a long way to go before she felt that way about him.
Clearing his throat, he moved his mouth toward her ear so he could keep his voice low. “Jack thinks someone left the gate open on purpose.”
“Oh, that’s obvious,” Becca blurted. “There’s no way all of those cattle got out just by rubbing up against it.” She pulled back enough to see his eyes, and her frown lines deepened. “What is it?”
Ethan sighed. “He sorta thinks it might have been you.”
“What?” Her voice raised to the point it drew the attention of several people nearby.
He grasped onto her elbow and wheeled her around toward the door, his steps quick and sure. There was no way he would allow her to make a scene in front of the Reese family, especially if they were already concerned she was trying to sabotage the wedding.
They needed to be on their best behavior. The last thing he wanted was for Becca to be asked to leave. He couldn’t stand the thought of having to spend the wedding alone with someone like Tina hanging around.
They arrived at the main stable where the horses were kept and Becca immediately launched into a fast pace. His eyes darted back and forth as she stormed up and down the aisle. “I don’t believe this!” she all but shouted. “Jack thinks I’m trying to ruin the wedding? How can he think that?”
Ethan shrank back, shrugging a little.
She stopped suddenly, her finger in the air. “You know who could have done it?”
“Who?”
“Tina.”
“Okay, I’ll be the first to admit I don’t like her, but do you really think she’s capable of?—”
Becca charged right up to him, her face flushed. “Oh, I know she’s capable of it. On the bus ride up here, she practically bragged about her plans to mess with the wedding, though I can’t for the life of me think of why. It’s like she’s got a vendetta or something. I can’t imagine anyone would want to hurt Katrina just because they thought it would befun.”
“What do you mean, she bragged about messing with the wedding?” Ethan glanced at the open doorway to the stable. Someone could overhear them if they weren’t careful. He placed his hand on the small of Becca’s back and brought her deeper into the stable. “What did she say?”
“I can’t remember exactly. I just know that she wanted to have the spotlight on her or some nonsense. She was pretty pleased with herself that she was going to have your attention, too.”
An angry heat swirled in his stomach as he let her words settle. A weight in his insides tugged on him, making him feel weak.
No, not right now. No distractions.
“So you think she would have opened the gate just to cause some chaos because… what? She wants attention?”
His disbelieving look must have really rubbed her the wrong way because her face flushed a deeper shade of red.
“I know, it doesn’t make sense. I mean, how old is she? But maybe she has some kind of disorder. I knew someone who was diagnosed as a narcissist. Do you think that could be it?”
Before he had a chance to comment, she continued.
