“I’m a fucking idiot,” he groaned. He’d tried to ignore her, even if she’d looked more dazzling than he’d ever seen her. He’d tried not to watch her gliding around the dance floor, laughing at the billionaire’s jokes. But when she’d run into him, literally, his resolve broke.
He couldn’t control his jealousy. Couldn’t control the little green monster that had taken over his mind and his body. As was evidenced by the fact that he’d just ravished her in the Grange office. What am I going to do?
He didn’t get time to ponder the question. The door opened, and Emma entered. “There you are!” She noticed his posture and rushed forward. “Are you okay?”
“I’m fine,” he said, looking up and forcing a smile. “Just a bit of a headache. Sugar rush from the pie, probably.”
Emma grinned. “I’m glad I found you. We’ve only got a few more minutes before the photographers wrap it up. How about we get a photo together on the red carpet? We could hang it up in the clinic.”
“Good idea,” he said, standing. He needed to get out of the office anyway. It didn’t feel right, being in the same space with the date he’d just left to have sex with another woman.
They were on the red carpet, posing for a group of four photographers who called out instructions about where to turn and in which direction to look, when a sudden commotion drew Alex’s attention. Pastor Harris, the well-known Bible thumper of the Baptist church, was at the podium, tapping on the mic. “I have something I need to say.”
Emma looked in Alex’s direction and he shrugged, so she moved to the controls and turned off the music, leaving the hall in silence.
“Thank you,” the preacher said gruffly. Then he pulled the mic off the stand and walked over to the stairs, descending them to the dance floor below. “The Lord said, ‘It is not good that man should be alone. I will make him a helper fit for him.’ I thought I’d met my helper in Darlene, but I lost her many years ago. That part of my life was over, I figured, and I was meant to go on with this hole inside of me, until the good Lord called me home.”
Harris stopped in front of an older woman with tight gray curls framing her gentle face. “Then I met Myrtle Mead. She reminded me that the Lord doesn’t want us to suffer, that He is the Father of compassion and comfort.” The preacher took her hand and lifted it to his face. Myrtle smiled, cupping his cheek as he continued.
“Miss Myrtle Mead, you’ve shown great compassion and brought me great comfort. I can’t imagine a life without you now. Would you do me the great honor of becoming my wife?”
Gasps went up around the hall. All eyes were on Myrtle as she took the mic from the preacher’s shaking hands. “Douglas Harris, I will!”
Cheers rang out as Harris slipped a ring on the widow’s finger. A chant started at the back of the room, and Alex turned to see Evan MacAllen calling out, “Kiss! Kiss! Kiss!” The chant grew, and soon everyone was calling out for the couple to make a public display of affection. The preacher, with a grin a mile wide on his red face, pulled the widow in, dipped her slightly, then kissed her for all he was worth. The crowd went wild at the sight.
Emma suddenly embraced him, her face looking up into his, her eyes shining. “Isn’t it beautiful?” she asked. Alex nodded, then used his thumb to wipe away a tear that dropped from her eye. The look in her eyes startled him in that moment, so he took a step away.
“Well, I’d better find the mayor so we can announce the winners of the silent auction and give out the awards.” Emma made her way into the crowd, and relief filled him. There was no doubt in his mind that Emma wanted something more than a co-worker relationship, but this was not the time for him to even think about dating someone else. Not with the way he felt about Brenne still fucking him up.
The proposal hadn’t helped matters. Seeing how in love Harris and his bride-to-be were rattled him. They seemed to have little in common, with Harris preaching fire and brimstone and Myrtle peddling antiques with her nose permanently stuck in a romance novel. If the two of them could find a way to come together, why should it be so hard for him and Brenne?
Although he’d fought against it for months, for over a year, it was finally time for Alex to admit that he felt something for Brenne MacAllen. And it wasn’t a little something. It was massive, filling up his entire being. He hesitated to name that feeling, but it was there. And continuing on the way they were wasn’t going to work anymore. It was time to let her know the truth.
Alex scanned the room for Brenne but didn’t see her. He did see Jameson, the man’s red coat standing out even in this crowd. He made his way over to his friend, who was standing alone next to the punch bowl. “Making sure no one else spikes it,” he answered to Alex’s unanswered question. “I’ve got the good stuff in there, and I don’t want someone else’s rotgut liquor to ruin the flavor.”
Alex shook his head. “Where did Brenne get off to? I need to talk to her about the horse.”
“Gone,” Jameson replied. “I heard Gavin bitching about having to miss the end of the silent auction as Brenne was dragging him out.”
“How do you feel about the two of them dating?” Alex asked, unable to help himself.
Jameson looked like he wanted to spit on the ground but was too polite to do so indoors. “It doesn’t matter. Brenne has always been willful, so if I say I’m against it, it’s all the more reason for her to push things further. She says he’s a gentleman, which is all I can ask for, I suppose.”
A gentleman. Alex had been hoping for a burst of anger from his best friend to match what he felt. But if Jameson was ready to accept defeat, then what chance did Alex have?
How can I compete with a man like Gavin? He’s next level, and I’m just a small town veterinarian who has already rejected her multiple times. Why should she come back to me when she’s got a fatter fish already on the line?
Alex didn’t like the direction of his thoughts. Hopelessness flooded him, and being in public was suddenly the last thing he wanted. He couldn’t abandon Emma and the event he’d sponsored, however. It wouldn’t be appropriate. So he dipped a cup into the punchbowl and sucked down the sweet, fiery liquid in one strong pull. Jameson gave him a nod of approval when he went back to fill another cup.
CHAPTER 24
BRENNE
“Do I hear thirty-five? Thirty-five for this beautiful beef baby?”
“What did he say?” Gavin asked, agog. The auctioneer rattled off his chant, his words coming along at a clip that was too rapid for the city slicker billionaire to parse. “He’s asking for bids. The bid is at thirty. He’s asking for thirty-five.”
Gavin held a paddle in his hand, for a reason Brenne didn’t understand. Why they were at the cattle auction was an even bigger mystery. It’s all Alex Parsons’s fault.
He’d turned the tables on her somehow, seduced her somehow yet again, even after he told her she’d meant nothing to him. To make matters worse, she was there with another man, a man she was supposed to be seducing to save the damn town. How did everything get so screwed up?