Ain't She Sweet (Seven Brides for Seven Mothers #2) - Whitney Dineen Page 0,59

Chris suggests.

“Put him in the one next to the convention hall. That way, he’ll hear the ice machine drop ice cubes all night along with the elevator coming and going,” Ruby suggests.

“Done,” Chris replies, but she doesn’t end the call right away.

“Is there something else?”

“Yes, but you are not going to like it.”

“How can it be worse than Syd Byerly staying on?” Ruby asks nervously. Penny nuzzles into her and starts to lick her hand almost like she senses bad news.

“Romaine Choate booked our last three suites over Thanksgiving weekend.”

Bullets of sweat break out on Ruby’s forehead. “But that’s only a few days away. How do we have three suites left?”

“We had a group cancel at the last minute.”

“Oh, Chris, that’s terrible news. How in the world am I going to tell Tara?”

“I don’t know. I’m really sorry about this. Too bad it’s not the old days where guests had to call the hotel to make reservations. Ninety percent of our bookings come from internet sites now. We don’t know who’s staying with us until those sites send us a confirmation.”

Ruby feels a sense of dread surge through her like a bad case of food poisoning. First Syd Byerly, then the reporter from a tabloid, and now Romaine Choate. She shakes her head, wondering if a happy ending for Tara and James is possible with so many obstacles in their way.

James

Tara buys the last three swimsuits in her size, claiming the need for options. I buy some new trunks as well, so I don’t look shabby next to her. By the time we’re checking out, I realize it’s dinner time. I suggest, “Let’s eat out. I have a surprise for you.”

“That sounds ominous,” she says with a worried expression on her face.

“You’ll love it, I promise.”

Our destination is only three miles away and neither of us talks while we drive there. When I pull into the parking lot, Tara bursts out laughing. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope,” I tell her. “I feel like we owe it to the universe to rectify the lie I told Rachel earlier today.”

“They don’t really have a mechanical bull, do they?” she asks.

“You bet they do. I figure by getting here so early, you’ll have a chance to get in some good practice before the regulars show up.”

Tara practically jumps out of the cab and sprints toward the entrance of the Branding Iron. “I’ve always wanted to ride a mechanical bull, but I’ve never been in the right place at the right time.”

“Should we eat first?” I ask. My stomach growls so loudly I look around for a big enough table to hold all the food I plan on ordering.

“You do whatever you want, but I’m going to ride that bull before I do anything else.”

After being seated at a booth near the bar, Tara drops her purse with me and proceeds to ask the bartender, “Can someone turn that thing on for me?”

Kurt—according to his name tag—gives her an appreciative once-over before answering, “You betcha’, sweet cheeks. Are you new at this or are you up for a good hard ride?” I’m about to get up and punch the guy’s lights out. That’s no way for him to talk to my fake girlfriend.

Either Tara doesn’t catch his innuendo, or she doesn’t care. She just answers, “I’d better start out slow and take it from there.”

I jump out of the booth to give her a leg up onto the beast. There’s no way I’m going to give Kurt that pleasure. Once she’s settled and strapped in, she gives the high sign and she’s off.

The bull starts out so slowly I’m pretty sure a toddler could handle it. It takes a good minute to make a whole rotation riding high and low like it’s moving through frozen molasses. Tara wiggles her butt around to get a feel for it. After another rotation she signals Kurt to increase the speed.

Because the bar is practically empty, Kurt seems content to stay at the controls and give Tara his full attention. Even though the bull is why I brought her here, I’m getting steamed watching him appreciate her charms.

I didn’t expect Tara to be such a natural, but the faster the bull turns and bucks, the better she gets. At one point she raises a fist in the air and lets out a battle cry that I’m surprised doesn’t bring every red-blooded man in the area charging toward her.

She rides for a solid fifteen minutes before waving to Kurt, signaling she’s ready