Resisting Mr. Tall, Dark & Texan

“I’ll say it slowly. I’m not going to the rehearsal dinner, thank you.” She exaggerated each word, just to make sure he understood.

He leaned against the counter and folded his muscular arms over his broad, deep chest. “And that proves … what?”

“I’m not trying to prove anything. I just don’t want to go. I want to unpack these groceries and relax, go to bed nice and early. I intend to make Erin’s cake spectacular. I consider it a point of professional pride.”

“We both know it will be great because you’re baking it.”

“Thank you.”

“Come on.” His voice was soft again. “You have to eat dinner …”

“And I will. Here. Quietly. Alone.”

“Oh, what? Like it’s some kind of … Zen thing?” Now he was razzing her, pure and simple.

She kept her voice level when she answered. “Yes, Ethan. Let’s call it a Zen thing—in fact, you can call it whatever you want. What you need to get through your head is that I’m not going with you to that rehearsal dinner.”

“What if I said I wanted you there for professional reasons?”

“Well, that would be a flat-out lie. And I would still say no.”

Those fine lips of his curled in what could only be called a sneer. “These are supposed to be my two months, remember? You’re supposed to be doing what I want when I want it.”

Now she was getting a little bit angry. “Suddenly, I’m your … indentured servant? Is that where you’re going with this?”

He made a sound in his throat. An embarrassed kind of sound. Good. He should be embarrassed. “Uh. No. No, of course not.”

“Well, great. Because being your slave is not going to work for me, Ethan. Even though you’re about the best friend I’ve got in the world, and I want you to be happy, I need to be happy, too. I like a challenge and I’m thrilled to go the extra mile and create this cake for your new sister-in-law. But I will not be dragged to that dinner just because it’s part of your campaign to make me change my mind about what I want to do with my life. Do you understand?”

He no longer lounged against the counter. He’d drawn himself up straight. And for a moment, he looked as if he might continue the argument. But he caught himself. He raked a hand through that thick almost-black hair and muttered, “Gee, Lizzie. I didn’t mean for you to get all het up.”

She drew a slow breath and forced a wobbly let’s-make-peace smile. “I’ll say it once more. I’m not going. And can we be done with this conversation now? Please?”

Something hot and angry flashed in his eyes, his real feelings breaking the surface—and then vanishing again as fast as she had glimpsed them. “Gotta go,” he said dismissively.

And he did leave, just like that. He went around her and strode out through the arch to the hallway. She longed to stop him, to try and settle things for good with him, to somehow put an end to this strange tension and unrest between them.

But at that moment, she didn’t see how to settle anything. She told herself that at least she’d held her ground on the issue of the rehearsal dinner, that she’d explained to him—for the umpteenth time—that she was moving on and there was nothing he could do about it.

She decided, for now, just to let it be.

The rehearsal at Thunder Canyon Community Church started at four. Afterward, they all headed for the resort and the dinner in the Gallatin Room, which was the resort’s best restaurant.

Ethan, as one of the groomsmen, attended both functions. At the dinner, he ended up with his big brother Dillon—the best man—on one side and his mom on the other. Both his brother and his mom asked him if something was bothering him.

He lied and said, “Not a thing,” picturing Lizzie’s obstinate face in his head, promising himself that one way or another, she was going to see the light within the next eight weeks and realize she loved her job with him and could never leave.

After the dinner, almost everyone wanted to call it a night to be fresh for the big day tomorrow. Not the twins, though. Jackson and Jason were raring to go. They had plans, plans that consisted of continuing the all-night bachelor party from the evening before. They headed down to the Hitching Post to listen to some live music and party some more.

Ethan went with them. Not because he was dying to party so much, but because he wasn’t ready to go home. Home was where Lizzie was.

And tonight, that didn’t seem all that welcoming a place.

Plus, he figured it wouldn’t hurt to keep an eye on his younger brothers. They could get rowdy. Since Dillon had gone home with Erika, and Corey said he needed a good night’s sleep because he was getting married the next day, that left Ethan to step up and keep furniture and glassware from getting broken. Not to mention that someone had to be the designated driver.

Jackson, especially, seemed intent on having himself the wildest weekend on record. He’d been blessedly silent for the toasts at the rehearsal dinner. But at the Hitching Post, he raised one full glass after another. He toasted the picture of the almost-naked lady over the bar. And he toasted man’s freedom from apron strings and fancy weddings. He flirted shamelessly with every pretty woman in the place.

Ethan also met more than one good-looking woman that night. He flirted, too, a little. Why not?

But he didn’t have the heart to ask a pretty girl if she might like to come on home with him. Since Lizzie had been making noises about quitting, he hadn’t felt much like hooking up. Sometimes in life, even for a guy who liked women a lot, there were more important things than sex.

When the Hitching Post closed at 2:00 a.m., Ethan managed to coax his two liquored-up brothers into his SUV. They rolled down the windows and sang stupid drinking songs all the way up Thunder Mountain to the resort. It was past three when he finally got them into their rooms and down for the night.

Back at his house, everything was quiet and dark.

Lizzie would be awake within the hour, he knew, to get going on the cake. He considered waiting up for her, maybe brewing her some coffee so it would be ready when she needed it.

Maybe making peace with her …

But in the end, he only shook his head and climbed the stairs to the master suite.

There would be no peace with Lizzie. He knew that. Not while she was so set on leaving him.

Lizzie was up at four, as planned, and got right to work. She didn’t see Ethan all morning. Apparently, it had been a long night and he was sleeping in.

Or maybe he was just avoiding her after their argument yesterday.

That was fine. She had a lot to do and no spare time for worrying about smoothing things over with him.

Everything went off without a hitch. She was putting the finishing touches on the decorations at one-thirty that afternoon.

The resort manager, Grant Clifton, was kind enough to send a van and a couple of big, strong guys to Ethan’s house to pick up the wedding cake. They arrived at two. With Lizzie supervising, the guys got the cake into the van. One sat in back to protect the cake against any possible mishap during the drive. Lizzie followed them up the mountain to the resort.

She breathed a huge sigh of relief when they got the cake into the ballroom and onto the cake table without serious incident. A few of the gerbera daisies looked wobbly, though. Lizzie was carefully straightening them—each one with its stem in a tiny separate tube of water—when the bride appeared.

Erin Castro let out a cry of sheer joy. “Oh, Lizzie! I swear, it’s the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen!” She grabbed Lizzie in a hug.

Lizzie laughed and hugged her back. “I’m so glad it’s what you wanted.”

Erin hugged her harder. “What I wanted? It’s more than that. It’s … my dream cake.”

As resort staff bustled around them, getting the ballroom ready for the reception that evening, Lizzie and Erin stood side by side, their arms around each other’s waists, and admired Lizzie’s creation. It was really quite something, each graduated tier white and smooth as driven snow, draped in fondant flowers and edible pearls, crowned with the bright-colored daisies.

“Perfect,” said Erin.

“Good.” Lizzie nodded. “My job here is done.”

Erin turned to her again. “You know what? We really need you right here in Thunder Canyon.”