The Cowboy Takes A Wife

But if tonight was supposed to help convince her mother that they were dating, he should have picked her up, opened the door for her. Too late now. He’d just be sure to pay the check.

She looked up as he approached and smiled a little, almost as if she was uncomfortable. Before he had a chance to say anything, she spoke.

“Sorry about this,” she said as she slid the tablet to the side.

“About what?”

“Pulling you into this mess.”

He waved off her concern. “Don’t worry about it. Doesn’t take a lot of arm-twisting to get me to come eat some pizza.”

She sat back against her side of the booth. “Figured you were more of a classic meat-and-potatoes kind of guy.”

“Wouldn’t argue with that either, but you get used to eating what’s fast on the road. Burgers, fries, pizza.”

“Heart attack waiting to happen.”

“I think my mom agrees with you. I’ve noticed a lot of vegetables on my plate since I moved home.”

“So you’re King of the Green Bean now?”

“Among other things. Let’s just say this will be a treat.”

Devon lowered her gaze just as their teenage waitress slid menus in front of them.

“What kind of pizza do you like?” he asked Devon.

“Pretty much anything. I’d say no to anchovies, but no need since I’m almost certain an anchovy has never crossed the city limits of Blue Falls.”

“I’d say that’s a safe bet.”

When she insisted that she truly didn’t care what kind of pizza they got, he went for a classic pepperoni.

When the waitress left, he leaned his forearms on the table. “So what did your mom do that prompted the quick call?”

“Showed up at my shop to chastise me for being rude to her and Steven.”

“Pot, meet kettle.”

“Exactly,” she said as if relieved she’d finally found someone who understood where she was coming from.

“Has she always been on your case like this?”

Devon laced her fingers together atop the table, and for a moment he thought she might not answer.

“Unfortunately, yes. Not always about whom I should date, but there was always something.”

He realized this was a bit of a heavy conversation for a first date, even if it was all an act. Still, it didn’t seem forced at all.

“Why did you stay here?”

“In Blue Falls?”

He nodded.

“I’ve asked myself that I don’t know how many times, but the short answer is that I love it here, always have, and I hated the idea of leaving my friends.”

He thought she must really like the town and her friends to put up with her mother trying to run her life, but he didn’t say it.

“I always thought you’d go off to a big city somewhere and do something like cure cancer or become a bestselling writer.”

She looked at him as if he’d lost his mind.

“What would make you think I’d do either of those things?”

“You were so good at school, in every subject. Blowing the curves for everyone.”

When Devon lowered her gaze to the tabletop, he realized how that must have sounded.

“Which wasn’t your fault. The rest of us just should have studied more.”

“It’s okay. I don’t mind that I was a bookworm. I still am. Being a nerd is cool now, don’t you know?”

She said the words, but he wasn’t sure there wasn’t some hurt there anyway.

“Did your mom make you study a lot?”

“She expected good grades, but...let’s just say that kids who aren’t popular often retreat into books. It’s our happy place.”

It was a strange thought, her being unpopular while also being probably the wealthiest kid at their school. He guessed it shouldn’t be so surprising. Some of the happiest people he’d ever met probably hadn’t had ten bucks in their pocket. Still, the faded memories of her from high school—shy, withdrawn, bookish—made him wonder if she’d been unhappy. If books were her happy place, did that mean the real world was the opposite?

“I’m sorry if I was ever a jerk to you in school.”

She looked up at him and shook her head. “You weren’t. Can’t say the same for your girlfriend, though.”

As soon as the words left her mouth, Devon’s eyes widened and her lips parted in surprise, as if she hadn’t intended to voice her thoughts out loud.

“I’m sorry,” she said. “That was rude.”

“Not at all. In fact, I agree with you. I was just too stupid to realize it until about a year into our marriage. I stuck it out another year, hoping in vain I hadn’t been so wrong about her.”

“What happened?”

“You mean besides the fact that once we left high school and she was no longer the center of attention, she couldn’t handle it and blamed me?”

“Oh, ouch.”

He shrugged. “We were young and dumb.”