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"I've missed you so much!" she exclaims as we cling to each other.
"Me too!" I say, my voice muffled against her dark hair. "The city is no fun without my partner in crime. If you weren't so happy out here with Josh, I'd pay a daily visit to your ex and kick him in the shins for driving my bestie out of town."
"It's honestly the least he deserves." Regina laughs as she pulls back to look at me. "But as embarrassing as being left at the altar was, I'm kinda grateful to him since it led me here.Andit gives you somewhere to escape when you need it, right? You won't be missing city life at all for the next two weeks. I imagine you'll be plenty busy watching those shearers at work."
"Oooh, ogling handsome shearers sounds like hot work. Does it involve a margarita or two?" I ask with a wink.
"It just might," Regina says with a knowing smile. "The men arrived yesterday and I've already gotten an eyeful of some of those muscular arms in action. Poor Josh would get jealous if it didn't inspire a few fun bedroom activities for us." She waggles her brows and I can't help but giggle.
"I bet he's happily reaping the benefits. And he knows you only have eyes for him, so it's a win-win. Me, on the other hand, I'm a free agent and I'm hoping to find a farm boy of my own to play with while I'm here. Someone to help work out the stress of the corporate world. I'm thinking tall, dark and handsome, but I'll settle for a blond in a pinch." I fan myself dramatically, and Regina chuckles while rolling her eyes.
"Not picky at all, huh?"
"I'm on holiday, Reg. I want some fun and good memories. You only need to be picky if you're looking for forever, and I'm not the forever kind of girl."
Regina smirks as we head inside the cottage and she shows me the well-stocked kitchen she's prepared for me. "You can come to the farmhouse for dinner, of course. And afterward, I thought you might like to head into town. I overheard some of the shearers saying they're heading to the bar to blow off somesteam. If you wanna go, it'll give you the chance to interact with some of them. Plus, I'm dying for a girls' night out. Just like the old days."
My eyes widen at the thought. "Yes! I'm in desperate need of girl time. We should see if Kym wants to come too," I say, remembering how much fun Regina and I had with her sister-in-law during the wedding preparations.
"Great idea! She's been looking longingly at one shearer in particular, a guy named Hayes. So I'd be a little shocked if she said no."
Excitement bubbles within me as I imagine a night filled with laughter, good company, and perhaps even a little adventure. After all, what better way to immerse myself into holiday mode than by drinking far too much and dancing the night away with my best friend?
MARIAH
The chanting and cheering in the crowded bar is giving me a contact high. After the brutal week I've had organizing press conferences and briefing other consultants so they could take on my caseload while I'm away, I'm ready to let loose.
"Drinks first or dancing?" Regina asks when I immediately start moving to the music.
"Dance," I call out over the din.
"Drinks," Kym says at the same time, and I quickly change my answer to align with hers since this girls' night has turned into a bit of a cheer-up party for Kym. She was supposed to go on a date tonight with her shearer interest, Hayes. But that fell through when we overheard some information that painted the guy in a very poor light. The way her face fell! Oh, it was horrible. So we're not only here to let loose, we're also here to lift Kym up and show her there areplentyof fish in the sea.
"Drinks it is!" I shout, pulling Kym toward the bar with a mischievous grin. Regina follows suit, laughing at our antics. The three of us squeeze our way through the bustling crowd, the sound of clinking glasses and boisterous laughter enveloping us.
Regina orders a round of tequila shots, and Kym downs hers immediately, proudly slamming the empty glass on the counter. "That's how it's done!" she exclaims with a grin, and we all erupt into fits of laughter.
"Another round, ladies?" the boyish bartender asks with a lopsided grin.
"Sure. But maybe we should steer clear of the shots or this is going to be one messy night," Regina replies with a smile, ever the responsible one.
As I scan the crowd, a hunky cowboy playing darts catches my eye, and I suddenly have an urge to learn how to toss pointy things into targets.Hello there, tall, dark and handsome. You're just my type.
Regina notices me ogling. "See something you like?" She waggles her eyebrows.
"That depends. Do we know who that is?" I ask, tilting my head as I watch him saunter toward the dartboard to retrieve his darts. Those wranglers of his sure do fit nice and snug...
"The one playing darts? I've seen him around town, but I've never spoken to him before. I know a few of those guys he's with are workers out on Double C Ranch, so I guess he's a hand or something. They've got a lot of cattle out there, so there's too many of them for me to remember names."
"So he's not one of your shearers?"
Regina laughs knowingly. "No. Not a shearer. But definitely a sheer delight," she adds, winking at me. I can feel my cheeks flush as I watch him throw another dart with an effortless flick of his wrist.
"Maybe I should ask him to dance with me?" I suggest, feeling a sudden rush of boldness. Both Kym and Regina turn to me with widened eyes, clearly surprised by my audacious statement.
"Wow. Vacation Mariah knows what she wants."
"Don't let my bold words deter from the fact I'm petrified right now. But nothing ventured, nothing gained, right? I'm here to do something out of character, have fun, be wild." The bartender sets out another round of drinks, this time rum and coke, and I quickly down mine. "I'm not crazy thinking I can do this, am I?"
