Jane’s fingers flew over the keyboard, barely able to keep up with the swift current of ideas that had carried her away.
After Toby had dropped her off last night, she’d sat down at her computer and hadn’t moved since, minus a few trips to the bathroom and to refill her tea. After making all her phone calls to get things in order for the party, she’d opened up a new document and started a whole new draft of her novel. Her eyes were dry and her hands were cramping, but a giddiness rose through her as she watched the words spill across the computer screen.
Toby drew her in closer…
Whoa. Hold the horses. She backed up the cursor to make the critical correction. Amos. Amos was the hero in her story, not Toby. She shook her head. She had that same jittery sensation that had overtaken her when Toby had caught her in his arms at the brewery. She’d take the jitters, though, since they seemed to have brought her writing mojo back to her.
If only she could keep her mind from wandering. She kept replaying that moment in the brewery—she’d almost kissed him for god’s sake. She’d run out so she could get herself together. And then she’d about dropped her book on the floor when he’d shown up at the library looking for her. She’d figured his fans at the brewery would’ve kept him occupied for hours.
A text buzzed on her phone and showed up in the top corner of her computer screen. Dang it, she should’ve turned it off. Only it was Beth.
SOS—need backup ASAP!!!!!!!! Grandma B is in the house!!!! See you here in 10?
Her maid of honor duties were calling. How about 30? Jane typed back. She should take a few extra minutes to shower and make herself presentable.
It took more like thirty-five minutes, but finally she pulled up in front of Beth and Ethan’s house.
“Oh my God, save me.” Beth bolted out the front door the second Jane parked next to the curb.
“Having fun?” Jane called through the open window.
Her friend opened the door and climbed into the car. “Why didn’t we elope? Seriously, Janie. What was I thinking? So far all my grandmother has done since she got to town was talk about how inappropriate it is that Ethan and I are living together before the wedding.”
“That’s what grandmothers are for,” Jane told her. Or so she’d heard. With her father’s parents moving to France before she was born and her mother’s parents passing away in a car accident when Jane was two years old, she’d never gotten to know her own grandmothers.
“I don’t know how she manages to do it, but she can judge you without saying a word.” Beth let her head fall back to rest against the seat. “And she’s here for a month.” Wide panicked eyes found Jane’s. “A. Month.”
“Well, I suppose it’s not too late to elope.” Jane cut the engine. That wasn’t an option and they both knew it. Still, they could dream for a few minutes. “We could kidnap Ethan, drive to the airport, and fly to Hawaii.” Now that was Jane’s idea of the perfect wedding—barefoot on the beach somewhere.
“You know we’d have to bring Toby too, right?” Beth asked.
Oh right. There was that.
Jane lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “It would be fine if Toby came.” She wouldn’t be as opposed to it as she would’ve been once.
“Really?” Beth’s eyebrows shot up. “Well, someone is sure changing her tune.”
“I don’t hold a grudge.” Especially when he happened to be feeding some serious inspiration into her writing. She’d written more compelling scenes after spending a few hours with Toby than she’d written in the last six months. She’d better not hold a grudge. She needed the ideas to keep flowing.
“Seriously, though, Jane.” Beth’s friend’s eyes filled with tears. “We should’ve done a destination wedding. It would’ve been so much less stressful.”
“Don’t worry.” She squeezed her friend’s hand to remind her she wasn’t in this wedding business alone. “Everything will be fine.” In the last two months, Jane had read everything she could about being a maid of honor. She’d never been asked before. Unlike many of her female acquaintances, she didn’t have a whole closet full of hideous bridesmaid dresses she’d never wear again.
In all the articles she’d read, she learned that one of her main jobs was to offer the bride emotional support and do whatever she could to lessen the stress. Since she’d made so much progress on her rewrites she had the whole day to emotionally support her friend. Besides, hanging out with Beth would distract her from wondering if Toby had read her book. He couldn’t know she’d written it—she’d been too careful—but, still, what if he recognized Beau as a fictional relative of his? Okay, not so much a relative as a spitting image? What if he discovered she was getting inspiration from him now?
“I really appreciate you coming.” Her friend flipped down the visor mirror and started to dab at her eyes. “Of course, my parents won’t get here until next week, so they can’t run interference. Their beach house in the Bahamas is getting a new roof this week and I can’t do this alone.”
“You’re not alone,” Jane reminded her. “We’ll just have to keep your grandmother happy and calm until they arrive.” Jane said it as though that would be the easiest task in the world.
“Okay.” Her friend inhaled deeply through her nose and then exhaled as though trying to rid her body of all the tension. “We have to go back in there. If I leave her unattended too long, she’ll start to snoop through my things. All hell will break loose if she finds my lingerie drawer.”
Jane couldn’t hold back a giggle. “I’d actually like to see that. We’ll probably walk in to find a bonfire in your bedroom. She’ll be burning your lacy bras and G-strings.” They both climbed out of the car laughing.
“Thank goodness you’re here.” Her friend linked their arms together as they walked up the sidewalk. “Seriously. I don’t know how I’d get through any of this without you. I’ve missed you so much.”
“I’ve missed you too.” Tears gathered in her eyes, taking her by surprise. When was the last time anyone had said that to her?
“Brace yourself.” Beth stepped ahead to open the door, and then gestured for her friend to go inside first. Jane walked into the entryway without batting an eye. Working at a university that was constantly trying to secure donations for the endowment, she dealt with snobby judgmental types all the time.
“She’s in the living room,” Beth whispered behind her, like they were entering a haunted house and about to confront the ghost.
Putting on her friendly-yet-reserved smile, Jane marched through the foyer and down the small hallway until the house opened up into the cozy living room.
Jane had pictured Grandma B as an intimidating presence, but the woman facing the extensive bookshelf in Beth’s living room couldn’t have stood much over four and a half feet. Her white hair was cut into a bob and styled beautifully, and it seemed everything she was wearing was cashmere. Before Jane could greet her, Bernadette snatched a book off the shelf and held it up. “Fifty Shades of Grey?” The woman whirled, facing her and Beth. “You’ve read this?”
Beth seemed to shrink, so Jane moved in closer to the woman. She might not know much about hair and dresses and what to giggle over at a girls’ night out, but this she could do. “It’s actually a very interesting psychological case study,” Jane said, smiling pleasantly. “Hello, Ms. Wilmer. I’m Jane Harding.”
“Jane taught literature at Cal Poly,” Beth chimed in from behind her. “She’s very smart. And she’s my best friend in the whole world.”
Sneaky tears pricked the corners of Jane’s eyes again. She had to admit, she’d kind of missed being someone’s best friend in the whole world.
“A professor?” Beth’s grandmother gave her a long, silent appraisal. “And you condone reading smut?”
“No one uses the world ‘smut’ to describe romance or erotic novels anymore.” She spoke in her professor voice. “Not only is it a top-selling genre, it’s also a gateway for female empowerment.”
The woman didn’t seem to know what to say to that. Jane sat on the couch and gestured for Bernadette to sit beside her. “What do you enjoy reading?”
“Mystery.” The woman sat beside her, still looking bewildered but also intrigued. “The old mysteries. Mary Higgins Clark. Agatha Christie. The ones without sex or all the vulgar language,” she added.
“I’m a big fan of those writers too,” Jane agreed. “But I do have to say, there are so many talented mystery writers who are taking the genre in wonderful new directions. I mean, there’s a lot more diversity now. And they make the stories relatable.”
“Um, I think I’ll go make us some tea.” Beth backed out of the room and disappeared as though worried an argument was coming.
Jane wasn’t worried at all. “I’m telling you, some of the greatest mysteries I’ve read have been written in the last ten years. These are the can’t-figure-out-who-done-it, keep-you-up-all-night kind of mysteries.” She could list about twenty right now.
Interest lit the woman’s eyes. “I suppose I wouldn’t mind taking some suggestions. Since you’re a literature professor and all. My book club used to have the liveliest discussions, but I’m afraid all my reader friends have moved away.”
Jane felt a twinge of sympathy for the older woman. What would it be like to have no one to share your love of books with?
The doorbell rang.
“Can you get that?” Beth called from the kitchen.
“Sure.” Jane stood, smiling over her shoulder at Bernadette. “I’ll write down some of my favorite authors for you. Maybe you can take some time to read while you’re staying here, and we can meet to discuss the books.”
Bernadette actually smiled. “That would be lovely.”
The doorbell rang again. “Coming,” Jane called. “I’ll be right back.” She walked away and swung open the front door.
Toby stood on the porch. One look at him and her tongue seemed to tie itself in knots. She would much rather discuss books with Grandma B than with Toby right now. “Oh. Um. Huh.” Her thoughts raced. Had he read her book? Did he realize he was the star of the story? Her gaze fixated on his lips. Lips that had seriously tempted her last night…
“Hi.” The man served up one of his eye-catching grins.
“Hey.” Jane couldn’t seem to get out any other words. What was that about being strong and capable again?
“We have a situation,” Toby said quietly. He peered over her shoulder like he wanted to make sure Beth wasn’t around.
“A situation.” Fabulous. He knew. He’d recognized something in her book that gave her away. Had she accidentally used one of his catchphrases? Jane inhaled a deep meditative breath and closed her eyes. “What do you mean we have a situation?”
“It’s probably better if I show you,” he whispered, leaning closer.
Wait, was he wearing cologne? Jane inhaled. Mmmm. He smelled undeniably clean and masculine and sexy. Hey, she should remember that line and write it into her book…
“We have to go to the ranch,” Toby said slowly, as though afraid he’d lost her.
“Huh?” Jane inhaled again. Was that a note of sandalwood in his scent too?
“The ranch.” The beginnings of a grin danced at the corners of his lips. “There’s a situation at the ranch, and I need your help.”
“Oh.” She tried to refocus. “You want me to go to the ranch with you?”
“Yes.” Toby looked past her again. “It has to do with the party.”
Ah, why wasn’t she surprised? “It has to do with the party that’s happening tonight? The party you promised we could deliver in a day?” she asked, letting her amusement show. It would be a little late for her to fix any situations now. She’d made a few quick phone calls to the winery, and it turned out they had the bandwidth to deliver both the wine and some tapas, so her part had been easy.
“It has to do with the party we’re pulling off together.” He said the word with a meaningful raise of his eyebrows. “But if you don’t want to help me, I can always see if we can move the party to the brewery. I’d love to finish that cornhole lesson we started.”
Ha. That hadn’t been a lesson in cornhole as much as it had been a reminder on why she didn’t drink. She definitely would not end up in Toby’s arms again, inspiration or not. “I’ll be right back.” Jane closed the door and stepped into the living room. Beth was just bringing a tray of tea to the coffee table.
“Um, so I need to head over to the ranch,” Jane announced.
“What? Now?” Her friend nearly dropped the tray, bringing it to the table with a clatter.
“Yes.” She calmed her with a squeeze of her shoulder. “Only for a little while. I have to”—save Toby’s amazing butt—“take care of a few last-minute details for the party.”
“Last minute?” Bernadette frowned. “I hope nothing’s wrong. I told Beth having the events at an old run-down ranch wouldn’t do, but of course she didn’t listen.”
“The ranch is beautiful.” Jane did her best not to snap. “Rustic, yes, but you won’t find a more beautiful setting for a wedding or any other event. Besides,” she went on, unable to stop herself. “The most important thing about a wedding is celebrating as a family. Spending time together. Wishing the bride and groom well as they start their new life together. Don’t you think?”
“Well, of course,” the woman said quickly.
“I’ll text Beth some of those authors I was talking about earlier.” Who knew, maybe reading some of her recommendations would help the woman lighten up. Jane pulled out her phone and fired off a few names. “You two can run to the library and check out some books. Maybe we can meet for coffee to discuss one on Monday.”
“I’m not sure I’ll have time to read much. We have so many details to attend to—” the woman started.
“I’ll bet you’ll find some time.” With any luck, she’d spend the entire weekend with her nose in a book, so she’d leave Beth alone. “Trust me. You won’t be able to put these books down.”
Thank you, Beth mouthed as Jane left the room.
Jane acknowledged her with a nod. “I’ll see you both soon,” she called happily. Once she slipped out the door, the gumption she’d displayed in front of Beth’s grandmother wilted.
Toby waited on the porch.
For once he didn’t seem to be oozing confidence, and she had to admit…she liked seeing past his charming cowboy façade.
“Sorry to drag you away from Beth.” Toby led the way to their cars. “I couldn’t find Wes, and the maintenance staff is swamped today. I’m not sure I can handle this alone.”
Good God. What were they dealing with? “Do you want to prep me?” Jane had never been one for surprises, and judging from Toby’s wariness, she definitely wasn’t going to like this one.
Toby opened her driver-side door for her. “I think you better see for yourself.”