“You’re going to keep doing these, aren’t you?” she asked. “It’s so helpful. I took night classes at the community college, but your information is more practical.”

“Sure,” he told her. “If there’s interest.”

“There is,” she said. “Nearly all the businesses in town are small. We survive on tourist dollars for the most part. It’s important we’re doing everything to maximize those dollars.” She smiled. “Thanks for making it all so clear.”

She stepped away and the older lady—Gladys or Eddie—took her place. “You did good,” she told him. “You’re more than a pretty face and a great butt.”

Sam stared at her, not sure how to respond to that.

“I enjoy those basketball games of yours. Eddie likes Kenny because he’s bigger, but you have style when you play. You remind me of a gentleman friend of mine.” She sighed. “He was handsome. Successful in business, like you. He showed up in Fool’s Gold maybe ten years ago and cut a swath through the single ladies of a certain age. I heard some of them allowed him to buy into their businesses.” She shook her head. “Not me. What’s mine is mine. No man’s going to take it away from me. But he sure knew what he was doing between the sheets.”

Sam looked around frantically for an exit. This was worse than dealing with his mother. At least he could tell her to stop. Politeness dictated that he not interrupt a woman old enough to be his grandmother.

Taryn and Dellina strolled up.

“Are you torturing Sam?” Taryn asked.

Gladys grinned. “Maybe. But I think he’s man enough to handle it.”

Sam wanted to say he wasn’t. Not at all. But before he could figure out how to make that confession, Dellina was guiding Gladys away.

Taryn watched her expert maneuvering and smiled. “You found a good one with her, Samuel. Dellina takes care of you.”

“You know it’s not like that,” he said.

“You’re involved.” She watched Dellina chat with Gladys before the old lady left. “At some point you’re going to have to get over yourself.”

“Now you sound like Jack.”

“He can be insightful on occasion.” She looked around at the emptying room. “Nice job. You impressed our business neighbors. They’re going to love us even more.”

“I’m happy to share what I know.”

She linked arms with him. “I appreciate the distraction. Angel’s gone for a couple of days and it’s boring without him.”

“Where did he go?”

“He didn’t say. Mayor Marsha had a special project for him. Ford went along, too. He didn’t share details. I doubt it’s dangerous, but it’s possibly not legal.” She sighed. “He’s just so sexy.”

“Yeah, and could we not talk about that?”

Taryn laughed. “I’d accuse you of being jealous, but you have your own thing these days.” Her humor faded. She faced him. “Seriously, Sam, I had my reservations, knowing what you’d been through, but Dellina’s a sweet girl. Smart, funny, pretty. I know what you’ve been through. I know you don’t trust easily, but at some point you need to take a risk. I don’t want you old and alone.”

Two conversations about the same material in two days? What were the odds? Of course he knew his friends cared about him.

“Jack’s going to live over my garage if that happens. We’ll be bachelors together.”

Her violet-blue gaze never left his. “That’s not enough. I know what you want. You’re not going to be happy until you have a family and all the trappings that go with it. That will require you to believe in someone.”

He understood the words, but didn’t like being pushed. Sure, on the surface, all was well with Dellina. But what about the long-term? How could he know she wasn’t like all the others?

* * *

DELLINA GOT GLADYS out of the room, then returned to Sam’s side. Taryn waved and left.

“You did great,” Dellina told Sam. “Everyone was really impressed.”

“I was happy to help.”

He stared at her, as if seeing her the first time. She had the feeling he was looking for something, but she didn’t know what.

“You make numbers look sexy.”

He grinned. “Thanks. Then my work here is complete. Do you have time for lunch?”

“Sure.”

He took her hand in his and they walked out onto the sidewalk.

“Margaritaville?” he asked. “We could split nachos. You could get a salad and pretend it has no calories.”

Because she did that sometimes, she thought, nodding in agreement. “Sounds perfect.”

“Good.”

They headed toward the restaurant. Sam said something about the lecture. Nothing that required a response. Which was a good thing. Because out of the blue, with no warning at all, she knew.

Maybe she’d known for a while. Maybe she’d been hiding the truth from herself because, well, she wasn’t sure why. Or maybe she’d just figured it out this second.

She loved him. She loved his honor and sense of duty. She loved how he made her feel, how he protected those he cared about, and that even though stepping up in front of the town was his personal idea of hell, he would do it because the business lectures would help people. She loved that he was quiet and sexy and that he called when he said he was going to call. She loved how she felt when she was around him.

She loved Sam.

How totally ridiculous. She’d fallen for the one guy she knew who absolutely, positively, never, ever wanted to get involved in a serious relationship. Talk about stinky luck.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

FAYRENE GLANCED ANXIOUSLY at the clock. Her guests were due to arrive at six. She’d just put in the bubbly feta and sweet pepper dip that she was going to serve as her appetizer, but they needed to be served immediately. Which meant if Montana and Simon Bradley were late, she was in trouble.

Exhaustion swept through her. She wasn’t sure how much longer she could do this. Convincing Ryan to propose had proved to be a lot more complicated than she’d realized. But she wasn’t going to give up. Tonight’s dinner guests were blissfully happy. Montana was also weeks away from giving birth. Fayrene hoped talk of babies and being in love would get the message across.

The back door opened and Ryan and Caramel came in.

“The barbecue is ready,” he said as he walked to the refrigerator and pulled out the tray of marinated chicken pieces. Fayrene had gotten the recipe from Ana Raquel’s A Fool’s Gold Cookbook. The salad was ready, along with dessert. Ryan would grill corn with the chicken.

“They should be here any second,” she told him. She scooped Caramel into her arms and cuddled the little dog. Caramel settled in close and gave her a reassuring puppy kiss on the nose.

“How do you know Montana?” he asked, pulling a beer out of refrigerator and opening it.

“I’ve worked with her and the therapy dogs. Max, her boss, sometimes gets in several puppies at once and socializing them takes a lot of work.” She leaned against the counter. “I’ll admit, it’s one of my favorite temp jobs. I get to spend the day playing with puppies and taking them into town so they get used to different situations.”

“Like when we took one to the high school football game last year?” he asked.

“Exactly.” She petted Caramel. “I’m going to miss you, baby girl.”

“Me, too,” Ryan admitted, scratching the dog’s chest. “She’s been great. We should talk about getting a dog. After we’re married.”

Fayrene held her breath. Was it now? Was he going to ask her now?

The doorbell rang.

“I’ll get it,” Ryan said.

Fayrene sighed. She told herself that at least the arrival of their guests for dinner meant the appetizer wouldn’t be ruined, but it was cold comfort.

She walked into the living room and greeted Montana and Simon. The other woman was huge and moved awkwardly. Fayrene’s back gave a twinge in sympathy.

“How are you?” Fayrene asked. “Feeling okay? Should you be out?”

Montana, a pretty blonde with brown eyes, laughed. “Out is so much better than home. It distracts me. Plus Simon is less likely to hover so much in person.”

Dr. Simon Bradley shrugged. “I worry about you. Live with it.”

As he spoke, his gaze lingered on her, as if there was no one else he would rather see. Simon was an interesting guy. A gifted surgeon who specialized in helping burned children achieve normal again. He knew what they suffered. One side of his face was so handsome as to seem unreal, while the other side was a twisted wreck of savage burns.

He’d come to Fool’s Gold temporarily, but had fallen in love with both Montana and the town and had decided to stay. Fayrene remembered the triplets’ wedding, with Montana and her two sisters marrying the men of their dreams. Fayrene was hoping a little of that marriage magic would wear off on Ryan.

“Why don’t we go outside,” Fayrene said. “The evening is so lovely.”

The heat of summer had started to fade and nights had grown cool. But in this hour, the temperature was perfect.

She and Ryan got their guests seated. Montana insisted on holding Caramel, who immediately flopped onto her back for a tummy rub and a snooze. While Ryan offered drinks, Fayrene pulled out her dip and slid the accompanying pita crisps onto a serving plate. She joined her guests outdoors.

Ryan handed Simon a beer, Fayrene a glass of wine and Montana a glass of lemonade. He took a beer for himself and settled next to Fayrene.

“This is so nice,” Montana said with a smile. “Quiet. I adore my daughter, but once she learned to talk, she never stopped.”

Simon’s smile was full of pride. “She’s a smart girl.”

“Which means she takes after you.”

“You’re smart.”

“Uh-huh. I think we all know who has the brains in the family. That’s fine. I’ll take being the heart.”

“You have mine,” Simon told her.

Fayrene felt the need to look away. Being around Simon and Montana was like watching something so intimate as to be private. Their love was a tangible presence in the room.

Montana nuzzled Caramel. “And then there’s this little girl. What a sweetie.”

“I’ve enjoyed looking after her.”

Montana stroked the dog’s cheek. “I’ll bet you have. When do you return her?”

“When Mayor Marsha is back.”

Montana looked at her. “She’s back already. I’ve seen her around town.”

“I didn’t know that.” Fayrene frowned. “I’ll give her a call in the morning.” Not that she wanted to give up the sweet girl, but still. Caramel wasn’t her dog. How strange that the mayor hadn’t been in touch with her when she arrived home.

“We could get a puppy,” Montana told her husband.

Simon shook his head. “We’re going to have a new baby. We already have Skye and our other pets. Isn’t that enough?”

“I guess. But puppies are fun.”

“There are other ways to have fun.”

Simon’s voice wasn’t all that suggestive, but Fayrene had a feeling he wasn’t talking about playing board games. She glanced at Ryan to see if he was picking on the passion and caring radiating from this couple. She smiled, thinking this had been a very good idea. When dinner was over and their company left, she was going to guide the conversation back to—

“Oh, no!”

Montana spoke loudly, then groaned. She started to stand up. At the same moment a huge gush of fluid soaked through her chair and dripped to the ground.

Simon was on his feet in an instant. He took Caramel from Montana and passed her to Fayrene, then looked at Ryan. “We’ll need to borrow a couple of towels, please. Montana, look at me. How long have you been having contractions?”

His wife shrugged. “A few hours. They were pretty minor so I thought we’d have time. They just got stronger.”

“Then we’re going to the hospital.”

Ryan returned with an armful of towels. Simon wrapped one around Montana’s middle, then guided her back into the kitchen and toward the front door.

“I’m so sorry about the mess,” Montana called over her shoulder. “And for missing dinner. I’m sure it would have been delicious.”

Then they were gone.

Fayrene stared at the mucky puddle. Whatever it was, it wasn’t water, she thought and turned away.

“I’ll get the hose,” Ryan said.

She nodded and carried Caramel inside. Once she put down the little dog, she walked over to the sofa and sat down. So much for a romantic evening, she thought glumly. At this rate, she was never going to get her proposal.

* * *

SAM WATCHED DELLINA pull up the zipper on her skirt. She tucked in her blouse, then reached for a brush.

“I’m so late,” she told him. “And it’s all your fault.”

They’d spent the night together and when her alarm had gone off that morning, he’d silenced it before pulling her into his arms. Now they were both running behind, although his morning was a lot less pressing than hers. He didn’t have clients to attend to.

“Want me to apologize?” he asked, tucking his hands behind his head and watching her pull her hair back into a ponytail. She put on earrings, then disappeared into her closet to dig for shoes.

“No.” She reappeared with navy pumps in her hands and a smile on her lips. “I had a good time.”