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“But the charity date auction participants have always been announced at the ball.”

  Janet laughed. “Emmerson, it’s Landon Lewis. He’s one of the most eligible bachelors in Texas! How in the world could we keep this a secret? I know you don’t seem to find him attractive, but the rest of the world does, and he’s going to bring in top dollar with his date.”

  I spun around and walked out of the kitchen as quickly as I could. “I never said I didn’t find him attractive!” I whisper-shouted into the phone. “He’s my best friend, Janet, and I signed him up without him knowing!”

  There was a chilling moment of silence before she slowly spoke. “He…doesn’t…know? People magazine reached out to us about the charity date auction after news got out that Landon was going to be in it! And you’re telling me he doesn’t know?!”

  “Of course he does…now! But I agreed on his behalf and he’s not that happy with me, and now you let everyone know…” I sighed and dropped down into my father’s desk chair. I hadn’t even noticed that I had walked into his office. “He’s never liked the limelight, Janet. And now I’ve thrown him right back into it because I’m a selfish bitch and a terrible friend.”

  “I’m sorry, Emmerson. Your family does so much for the hospital, and I let my excitement get the better of me. I’ll tell the reporter from People no comment, and we won’t bring it up again. If anyone asks, I’ll let PR know we don’t release the names of the volunteers ahead of the ball.”

  I closed my eyes and let out a relieved breath, even though the cat was clearly already out of the bag. “Thank you so much, Janet. I appreciate you being sensitive about Landon’s privacy on this.”

  “Of course. I guess a part of me went a little crazy, thinking this might be one of our biggest charity balls yet, and I let my judgment slip.”

  I sighed as I mumbled, “You and me both.”

  “Will you let Mr. Lewis know we’ll handle it all?”

  I nodded even though she couldn’t see me. I suddenly felt so tired, and I had no idea why. This charity ball really was taking up way too much of my time, and although it was for a good cause, I was going to resign from the committee when this was all said and done. “Yes, and thank you, Janet.”

  I hit End, dropped my head back against the chair, and closed my eyes. Why in the hell had I volunteered Landon? I never stopped for one second to think about the press that would be involved in this event. It was supposed to be a local event, though; I honestly never dreamed freaking People would be covering it.

  “Everything okay?”

  The sound of Landon’s voice stirred up butterflies deep in my belly.

  I opened my eyes and met his gaze from across the room. It struck me how incredibly handsome Landon was. It wasn’t the first time I had noticed it, but for some reason right then, with the way he was looking at me, it felt different. My heart sped up a bit, and I slowly dropped my gaze, taking in every inch of him.

  His dark hair was cut short, and he wore a baseball hat that was turned backward. My stomach did a weird dip, and I had the urge to cross the room and kiss him.

  Landon’s blue eyes seemed to light up the room, and when he raised one brow at me, I felt a rush of warmth run the course of my entire body until it pooled in the depths of my womb.

  Oh my goodness, I want this man like I want my next breath.

  With a quick shake of my head, I tried to remember the last time I was with someone. Almost a year, and the guy I’d dated had ended up being a complete waste of my time.

  No matter how hard I’d tried to feel something more for him, I couldn’t. And Jason had known it. Once Landon came back to town and we started spending more time together, Jason gave me a choice: him or Landon. I never even had to verbalize my pick. Jason saw it in my eyes and simply turned and walked away from me. Just like that, my relationship with him was over. I hadn’t even been upset about it.

  “Everything is okay now, I think,” I said to Landon. “I’m really sorry they let it slip. I should warn you, People magazine reached out about you being one of the charity date volunteers. Janet promised me that she’s going to tell them no comment and that she won’t confirm if it’s true.”

  Landon leaned against the doorframe and gave me a lazy smile, his two dimples coming out to show off. “I’m not afraid of a little press, you know, Emme.”

  I returned his gesture with one of my own, although it felt forced. “I know that, but you left all of that for a different life, and I feel like I just threw you right back into it.”

  He pushed off the door and walked farther into the room, stopping at the edge of the desk. “You know, if you had asked me to do it, I would have said yes.”

  I looked up at him in shock. “You would have?”

  Landon nodded. “Don’t you know by now, Emme, that there isn’t anything I wouldn’t do for you?”

  I opened my mouth to reply but nothing came out. The earnest look in his eyes made my breath stall in my throat.

  “You’re my best friend, after all, and I know if I needed your help with something, you wouldn’t think twice.”

  “I wouldn’t,” I quickly said.

  He jerked his head toward the door. “Come on, everyone’s starving. Let’s go eat.”

  After Landon and I got back to the kitchen, we all helped get everything ready. Hailey and I set the table, Noah and Landon hauled food from the kitchen to the massive dining room, and my father placed the two bottles of wine Landon had brought in the middle of the table. They were cabernet sauvignon, and when my father first saw them, he’d slapped Landon on the back and smiled.

  We all sat except for Landon. “I have to say that I was given a heads up on something this evening and knew we’d be celebrating, so I wanted to have a wine that made this dinner a bit more special.”

  Everyone glanced around the table, but I noticed Hailey smiling a bit bigger.

  “We have here the two thousand and two Screaming Eagle cabernet sauvignon.”

  “Lord, son, you must have paid a small fortune for that wine,” Emmit said.

  “I did, considering I bought an extra one for Hailey,” Landon replied. He looked at Hailey and winked as he opened the wine. He walked around the table and filled up each glass, saving Hailey’s for last.

  Motioning to his sister, Landon said, “Hailey, I believe you have an announcement to make.”

  All eyes went to Hailey, and I couldn’t help but notice how Addie covered her mouth with her hand, gasping when Hailey slipped something on her finger.

  Was that an engagement ring?

  “Since Mike had to leave town for a business meeting, I asked him if I could share the news tonight without him being here, and he said yes. Well, I guess I should say I said yes.”

  She held out her hand and the entire table erupted into cheers.

  “You’re getting married!” Addie and my mother both said at the same time, while Noah stood and walked over to give Hailey a kiss on the cheek. I stayed seated, patiently waiting to give Hailey my congratulations.

  When it was my turn, I pulled her in for a hug. “You didn’t tell me!”

  She laughed and drew back as I picked up her hand and looked at the massive teardrop diamond on her hand. Her boyfriend—no, fiancé now—worked for a large oil company and was moving to the Dallas area for work by the end of the year. It shouldn’t have come as a surprise that he’d asked Hailey to marry him. They’d both hated the idea of being apart and in a long-distance relationship.

  “He just asked me last night before he left for Dallas. The only person I told was Landon.”

  I gave her a pretend scowl and shook my head. “When did he push me out of the top spot for news like this?”

  Landon laughed and kissed Hailey on the forehead. “I am her brother.”

  Hailey beamed up at him. “Besides, we all know he would have gotten the cheapest wine he could find if I didn’t tell him I had news to share first.”

  Everyone erupted into laughter as we all took our pla
ces at the table.

  “Emme, you’re going to help me plan my wedding, right?” Hailey asked with a wiggle of her brows.

  Smiling, I replied, “Of course! And I’ll even give you a BFF discount.”

  “Oh, this is going to be so much fun, planning this wedding!” Addie said as my mother nodded in agreement.

  “Should I pull out our wedding scrapbook?” I asked, and Hailey looked at me with a shocked expression.

  “You still have it?”

  I chuckled. “Of course I do! How do you think I became so interested in wedding planning?”

  Conversation over dinner was mainly about Hailey and Mike and the upcoming wedding. When did they think they wanted to get married? Where did they want to do it? Who was going to be in it? From the sounds of it, Hailey and Mike wanted a big wedding, which wasn’t a surprise. Hailey was always a bit more over the top than I was. If it were me, I’d want a small, intimate wedding.

  “You’ll be my maid of honor, right?” Hailey asked as she reached across the table and grabbed my hand.

  Tears filled my eyes, and all I could do was nod. I was so overwhelmingly happy for Hailey. She was like a sister to me. Yet, at the same time, a sadness swept over me, and I couldn’t understand why.

  I hated to admit that my heart sank when she mentioned getting married on the ranch. I had always sort of thought I would be the one who got married first. And that I’d get married here on the ranch. It wasn’t like I was jealous…or was I?

  Reaching for my glass of wine, I took a long drink. For Pete’s sake, what was going on with me today? I was having strange feelings toward Landon, and I was jealous that one of my oldest and dearest friends had found happiness and was getting married. Why in the world was I feeling so out of sorts?

  From the corner of my eye, I saw Landon glance at his phone. He smiled and typed a reply back. When he looked up and caught my gaze, I smiled. “Hot date later?”

  He laughed. “Hardly. A few of the guys from the shop want to go out tonight.”

  “You should go and have fun. Dad can give me a ride back home,” I said, regretting the words the moment they were out of my mouth.

  What I really wanted to say was that he should come back to my place and hang out with me. That way, I wouldn’t have a self-imposed pity party because one of my best friends was getting married and, once again, I was a bridesmaid and not the bride.

  Here I was, planning weddings for everyone else while still looking for that one person who made my heart sing with utter happiness. The one man who made my knees weak when he looked at me, or had my stomach fluttering with a simple brush of his fingers over my skin.

  Suddenly, I remembered being in Landon’s arms earlier. The feel of his hands when he placed them on my hips before gently pushing me back.

  Oh. My. God. My knees had gone weak. My stomach had dropped at his touch. And I had longed to feel his lips against mine…

  Holy shit. Holy shit, holy shit, holy shit.

  With a noncommittal shrug, Landon replied, “Maybe. It’s been a while.”

  Before I could even stop myself, I blurted out, “Or we could do movie night up on my roof deck.”

  It was like Landon didn’t even need to think twice about it. He quickly replied, “I’m down for that.”

  And just like that, the melancholy slipped away as quickly as it had appeared, replaced by excited butterflies in my stomach.

  Landon

  “THAT IS SO not a cactus!” Emmerson said on a laugh as we lay side by side and stared up at the stars in the night sky from her rooftop.

  “Are you blind? Look, follow my finger, and I’ll trace it.”

  She moved in closer, and when her body leaned into mine, I had to suppress a groan.

  With a giggle, Emmerson said, “Okay, maybe I see a cactus. I still think it looks like a cat.”

  I rolled my eyes and pushed her away, needing the space between us before I rolled on top of her and kissed her. We lay there in silence for a few moments before she spoke.

  “Can you believe Hailey is getting married?”

  “I’m not surprised, are you? With Mike moving to Dallas later this year and all, I figured it was coming.”

  She sighed. “Who will help run the vineyard and orchard once Hailey joins Mike in Dallas? What about the marketing for the bed and breakfast?”

  “My mom told me Laura has been doing an amazing job as the receptionist. They’re thinking of promoting her and having Hailey train her on some of the more in-depth things.”

  Emmerson rolled over to face me and rested her head on her hand. “Laura, huh?”

  I nodded as I kept looking up.

  “Whatever happened between the two of you?”

  Turning, I looked at her. “What do you mean?”

  She smirked. “I mean, why did you break up? I thought you made a cute couple.”

  Laura had been my first serious girlfriend. We had met in high school, and it had been my first attempt at pushing Emmerson from my mind and heart. Laura had been fun, and she put up with me being gone most of the year. But, she also finally saw through the wall that I had put up. I thought back to the day we broke up, and what she’d said to me.

  “I don’t really know how Emmerson doesn’t see the way you look at her. I see it, Landon, and you need to admit it to yourself. You’re madly in love with her, and you’ll never truly be able to commit to someone until you either admit it to yourself and move on, or admit it to both yourself and Emmerson and see what happens.”

  Laura was the first and only person to truly confront me about my feelings for Emmerson. Sure, other girls accused me of having something more than friendship with Emme, but Laura actually saw through all my bullshit and called me on it. She was happily married now with a two-year-old daughter.

  I focused back on the night sky. “We just didn’t work out is all.”

  “Sex bad?” Emmerson asked with a giggle.

  “Not at all,” I said, before I thought about my answer.

  She instantly stopped laughing and then rolled back over and stared at the sky. I couldn’t help but wonder if my answer had bothered her. Her mood had changed in an instant.

  “What about you?” I asked. “You ready to jump back into the saddle? It’s been what, a year since Jason?”

  With a deep exhale, she sat up. “I’m not the least bit interested in dating anyone right now. But it’s annoying how many people keep asking me why I’m single. I guess because I plan weddings, I should be in this glorious relationship and walking around whistling love songs or something.”

  Laughing, I sat up too. “Try having your single status plastered all over the world.”

  Emmerson tucked her legs up close to her chest and set her chin on her knees. “At least you were voted as one of the sexiest bachelors alive.”

  “Two years ago.”

  She shot me a dirty look. “So? You still have women falling at your feet.” A slow smile appeared on her face, but it didn’t reach her eyes. “You know you could probably have any woman you want.”

  I shook my head. “Nah. I don’t think so.”

  Her brow lifted. “You don’t?”

  Our eyes met, and for the briefest of moments I thought maybe she felt that electricity between us. When she didn’t say or do anything, I felt my frustration bubble up inside of me.

  “I enjoy being single too much to settle down,” I said, glancing away and staring out into the darkness. “Maybe someday I’ll meet someone who will change my mind.”

  I could feel her gaze boring into me, and I had the oddest feeling she wanted to say something but held it back.

  Finally, she looked away, and I let out the breath I’d been holding in.

  After what seemed like an endless amount of time, Emmerson spoke once again. “Do you ever compare the women you date to…” Her voice trailed off.

  “To who?” I asked.

  She looked at me as she chewed nervously on her lip. “To m––”

&nbs
p; Her phone started ringing in that goddamn annoying love song ringtone she used for clients.

  Holy fuck. Was she just about to ask me if I compared other women to her? My heart felt like it slammed against my chest.

  “Shit, I need to take this,” she said, reaching up to the table and grabbing her phone. “This is Emmerson.”

  I heard the sound of a woman’s voice coming through the phone. She sounded like she was crying.

  “Francesca, calm down. I can’t understand what you’re saying. Tell me what’s wrong?”

  More frantic rambling.

  Emmerson stood, and I followed her lead. I reached down and grabbed our two empty wine glasses and the plate of goodies we had fixed to snack on and headed back into her place.

  “Take a deep breath and let it out. Good. Do it again. That’s right—keep doing that until you can speak clearly.”

  I rolled my eyes. I had no idea how in the hell Emmerson put up with the brides she worked with all the time. They all sounded like demanding monsters.

  “It’s not a big deal that the restaurant flooded. Yes, I know your rehearsal dinner is tomorrow night. They have a beautiful courtyard, and if the kitchen wasn’t affected, we can still have the dinner there. Don’t worry, I’ll take care of it all. Yes, trust me.”

  Emmerson ended the call, and I sat back and watched her do her thing like I had a hundred times before. Within twenty minutes, she had a tent rented, the restaurant onboard with the changes, and she’d even called a friend of hers who was a florist to surprise the bride with small floral arrangements for the tables at the rehearsal dinner.

  By the time she called the bride back and reassured her, once again, that everything was taken care of, I had planted my ass on the sofa and turned on a movie. Not just any movie, though: Emmerson’s favorite movie, Brother Bear.

  She flopped down on the sofa and sighed.

  “How do you deal with those brides? I’d want to throat punch them.”

  With a giggle, she snuggled into my side, and I had to focus on keeping my breathing even and my body at bay as she settled right next to me. We’d be doing this again for Monday movie as well. Christ.