Before We Kiss

The good news was everything was coming together. The bad news was, she didn’t know if she should be worried about having Lark Heuston lecture or not.

“You two have met Sam’s mother,” Dellina began. “He’s totally freaked about her coming to the event. Should I be concerned?”

Taryn leaned forward to look past her toward Larissa. “You want to go first or should I?”

“You go,” Larissa told her. “You know her better than me.”

Taryn leaned back in her chair. “I love her breathing techniques. I use them all the time.”

“Me, too,” Larissa said. “They help me relax.”

“I use them for sex,” Taryn murmured, then sipped her drink.

Dellina opened her mouth, realized she had nothing to say, then closed it.

“The thing is,” Taryn continued, “Reggie and Lark are really sweet people. They love their kids and are generous to everyone they meet. They just don’t have regular privacy boundaries. They’re open, affectionate people.”

“Who share everything,” Larissa added.

“They do,” Taryn said. “I’ve met Sam’s sisters and they’re just like his folks. Sweet and funny, but they’ll tell you anything. Sometimes it’s okay and sometimes it’s a little weird.”

Larissa nodded. “Like the time Lark wanted to show me this technique where you press down on your clitoris as you rub to increase intensity during orgasm.”

Dellina had been swallowing. She started to choke. “Show as in show?” she asked when she could talk again.

“Oh, yeah,” Taryn said. “I asked her to describe it instead, then went home and practiced.” She grinned. “It works and now Angel is an expert.”

Dellina felt her cheeks begin to burn. “I don’t think I could do that. Watch or be shown.”

“Sam would agree with you,” Taryn said. “His family makes him insane.”

Dellina could relate. She was also worried about the weekend, although everything about this conversation was surreal. “I’m going to have to talk to Lark and explain we need to keep things at a steady PG-13. Do you think she’ll listen?”

“Sure,” Larissa told her. “After I said I was uncomfortable with a real, live demonstration, she only described things. She respects other people’s boundaries.”

“Except Sam’s,” Taryn added. “I’m not concerned. She knows this is our business and our clients. I’ll talk to her before anything gets started. Not that I can calm Sam down. Poor guy.”

They talked about the opening of Isabel’s boutique and how fast the year was racing by.

“I’m looking forward to the Summer Festival,” Larissa said. “I just love how this town celebrates.”

“You should see us at Christmas,” Dellina told her. “It’s magical.”

Larissa sighed happily. “I’ll bet it’s romantic here, that time of year. Not that I have anyone to be romantic with.”

Taryn wrinkled her nose. “Save me from too much sappiness.”

“Not one for twinkle lights?” Dellina asked, her voice teasing.

“Not really. But maybe it will be different. With Angel.”

Her voice changed as she spoke his name. It softened and deepened and made Dellina feel a little left out. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d been in love—probably because she never had been. There had been guys, but no one that special.

Larissa stood. “I’m going to get a refill. Anyone want one?”

“I’m good,” Dellina told her. She had to work later and too much tequila would make that impossible.

Taryn sat up. “I’ll stick with what I have.”

Larissa walked into the house. Taryn swung her legs toward Dellina and pulled off her sunglasses.

“I want to talk to you,” the other woman said, her blue-violet eyes intense.

“Sure. About the party? I’m open to suggestions.”

“God, no. You’re doing great with all that. I don’t want to be involved. I’m worried about Sam.”

“Okay,” Dellina said slowly, not sure what Taryn meant.

“Don’t break his heart.”

Dellina felt her mouth drop open. “Excuse me? Break his heart? That’s not possible. We’re working together.” She conveniently ignored the recent kiss. “Sam isn’t going to fall for me.”

“I’m not so sure about that. Sam tries to withdraw from the world as much as he can. Especially when it comes to relationships. He’s had horrible luck with the women in his life. But the thing is, he’s basically a pretty traditional guy. He wants to be married and have a couple of kids. He wants a happy ending.” Taryn paused. “In the emotional sense, I mean.”

“I get that. Look, you don’t have to worry about me. I’m not looking for Mr. Right. I’ve raised my sisters. I don’t need to do that again. Sam knows that. Even if he is looking for more, he’s not going to find it with me.”

“You’re sure he knows that?”

“We had a very clear discussion before we started working together. But like I said—it’s not an issue. I’m not his type.”

“Maybe,” Taryn said. “We’ll see.”

Dellina shook her head. There was no “seeing” involved. They were friends. Sure, she liked Sam and thought he was sexy, but he was some famous football guy. He would never be interested in a regular woman like her. He would want a supermodel or a... Well, she wasn’t sure what, but not her.

“If you should be worried about anyone’s heart, it’s mine,” she grumbled.

Taryn grinned. “Duly noted.” Her smile faded. “In the meantime, read this.”

She pulled a book out of the large tote next to her on the patio. Dellina was half expecting an older release from Sam’s mother. Instead she stared into the blue eyes of a beautiful woman smiling back at her from the front cover.

The title said it all. Getting the Man You Want: Tales from My Marriage to NFL Star Sam Ridge.

“Sam’s ex really did write a book,” Dellina breathed.

“With pictures and everything. You know how Sam guards his privacy. This would have devastated any man, but for Sam it was worse.”

Dellina started to hand it back. Taryn shook her head. “Keep it. Read it. Learn from her mistakes. Just don’t break Sam’s heart.”

* * *

SAM TURNED ONTO Forest Highway as he headed out of town. Dellina sat next to him in his car, her clipboard in hand.

“I’m thinking the drive out to Castle Ranch will be a good time for a little history on the area,” she was saying. “We can tell them about the first known residents. The Máa-zib tribe, then a few lines about the Spanish settlers. I’m not sure we need to go into the history of the ranch itself.” She paused and looked at him. “Do you think that would be interesting?”

He’d already turned on Mother Bear Road and was quickly approaching the ranch. “Is there time for much more information?”

She glanced around. “Not really. It’s a quick trip. Have you been here before?”

“No.”

He slowed at the sign and turned onto a paved driveway. He could see a large house that seemed to be in the middle of major renovation, along with a big barn. There was another house in the distance and some kind of fenced-in structure that was smaller than the barn, but obviously not a residence.

He parked by a pickup and a Mercedes, then turned off the engine. Dellina was already climbing out of the car.

The woman had energy, he thought, following her. As always, she’d dressed appropriately. A T-shirt and jeans over boots. And real boots—not the kind Taryn wore with ridiculous heels and exotic skins. Dellina was more casual. More approachable. Sexier.

He shook off the last thought and moved next to her.

“Horses,” she said, pointing. “They only have a few that they board. Mostly the horses are at Shane and Annabelle’s place. That’s a few miles away. On the other side is where Charlie and Clay live. Clay owns the Haycation Village.”

“Haycation?”

“People come for a week to experience ranch and farm life. A simpler time, only with Wi-Fi. Rafe, Clay and Shane are brothers. Rafe is a developer. Heidi raises goats. She makes cheese and soap.” Dellina pointed to the largest fenced-in area. “The brothers’ mother is the animal rescue person. That’s her elephant, Priscilla, along with her pony, Reno.”

He nearly confirmed that the “her” who had the pony was the human in the sentence, but stopped himself. It sounded familiar and, of course, this was Fool’s Gold and it was far more likely that Priscilla had the pony.

A pretty blonde with pigtails approached. She greeted Dellina with a hug, then introduced herself as Heidi Stryker.

“Come on,” Heidi said. “I’ve got several ideas for our Sunday morning with your kids. You can pick and choose the ones you think will be best.”

They walked to the main house. Once inside he saw the kitchen had already been remodeled. It was big and open, with lots of counter space and an eat-in area. Heidi got them iced tea, then joined them at the table. She passed out several sheets of paper.

“We have options,” she said. “Given the range of ages, I thought that was important. Shane can be available for a basic roping lesson.” She smiled. “It’s pretty fun. We set up a sawhorse with a little toy cow head on one end and a fake tail on the other. We’ll also have several gentle horses available for riding. Shane teaches kids how to ride all the time. He’s really patient.”

Sam studied the list. “Cheese and soapmaking?”

Heidi nodded. “I can do a demo only or we can get the kids involved. The problem is that soap has to cure or dry for several days. So while they could work on it, they can’t take that batch home with them.”

Dellina was busy making notes. She glanced up long enough to ask, “Cheese making is going to be the same, right? They can’t take home what they start.”

“Right.”

“We’ll talk about it and get back to you,” Dellina said.

They went over the lunch menu next. Sam thought the choices were fine. Dellina asked a lot of questions and had some suggestions, which was why he’d hired her.

He liked her quiet efficiency and how she thought through the details. Now that he’d been spending time with her, he couldn’t figure out why he’d gotten so spooked that night. No normal woman kept that many wedding dresses in her house without a good reason. Even the crazy ones would only have a couple.

He should have stayed to ask, he thought. He should have taken a breath and figured out what was happening. Because then he wouldn’t have disappeared into the night and he and Dellina would have...

Would have what? he asked himself. Kept seeing each other? To what end? Hadn’t he been down that road enough?

* * *

“THIS IS GOING to be the best part of the party,” Dellina said as she and Sam headed back to town. “The kids are going to love the ranch. It will be a great time for them and their parents are going to appreciate that they not only had fun but are nice and tired.”

“Is that the voice of experience?” he asked, his voice teasing. “Your sisters were teenagers when you had to take care of them. Hardly an age where you want them tired.”

She laughed. “Okay, that’s true, although I’ll admit it was nice when they came home exhausted and simply went to bed. There was less worry.” She shook her head. “That’s not fair. Both Ana Raquel and Fayrene worked really hard to be responsible and not give me reason to worry. We’d all suffered a horrible loss and we pulled together.”

He lightly touched the back of her hand with his fingers. “I didn’t mean to bring up bad memories.”

“You didn’t.”

She leaned back in the comfortable leather seat. Sam’s Mercedes sure was nice, she thought idly. It was like him. Steady and dependable. There might be those who were more interested in something like a Ferrari, but she thought he and his car were just right.

“It’s not just my sisters,” she said. “It’s how the town pulled together for us. Like with Heidi. She grew up in the carnival.”

Sam glanced at her, then turned his attention back to the road. “Traveling around the country with a carnival?”

“That’s her. She said she always dreamed of a house that was attached to city plumbing and couldn’t be moved. She bought Castle Ranch and moved here with her grandfather. He fell in love, she fell in love, her husband’s brothers and sister fell in love. Now they all live here. It’s the town. Something happens when people settle here.”

She started to say more, then caught sight of Sam’s pinched expression. She chuckled.

“Go ahead,” she told him. “Resist. I can see you want to. But it won’t help.”

“We’ll see.”

“You’re saying it’s a little too perfect?”

“I’m saying you’ve idealized reality.”

“A cynic. We like that. It makes convincing you all the more satisfying.” She glanced down at her ever-present list. They were getting closer and closer to the event and she was starting to feel the pressure. In the next couple of days, she was going to have to start finalizing everything.

“We have to discuss goodie bags,” she told him. “I have samples at my place and I have to make the final orders. As it is, everything will be shipping overnight.”