sodas from one of the big, ice-filled buckets then made our way toward what looked to be the only two free seats in the house. After saying hello to every single person we passed, Josie dropped into a chair. I plopped down beside her and cracked open my soda.
“Thanks for inviting me,” I said. “I know I’m a snarky pain in the ass, but it was nice to be invited to something.” I quickly took a sip of my soda and tried not to squirm.
“I like you, Rowen. You’re different. You’ve got . . .” Josie’s eyebrows came together for a moment. “Moxie. That’s it. You’ve got moxie.”
My jaw dropped a little. “Wow. Really?”
She nodded her head emphatically. “Absolutely. Total, unadulterated moxie.”
I didn’t have to fake my smile. “That is the coolest thing anyone’s ever said to me. Thank you.”
She shot me a thumbs up before biting into her drumstick.
I was still too touched by Josie’s unexpected compliment to eat, so when her eyes zeroed in on something across the room, I noticed right away. Whatever had caught her attention was also doing a good job of keeping it. She couldn’t seem to look away. Following her gaze, I understood why.
A tall cowboy in a straw hat and a white undershirt was surrounded by a flock of females. Even from my seat, I made out every curve and bend of his lips and remembered the way they’d felt against mine. Jesse’d made it. I didn’t know how long he’d been there, but once I knew he was there, I wasn’t sure I could look away.
It seemed like Josie was having the same problem.
“I wish I knew what was going on with him,” Josie said suddenly, sighing as she studied him. “I used to know everything going on in that head of his, but now I can’t seem to figure out one single thing.”
I cleared my throat and made myself look away from Jesse. It was hard to do, especially when one of those Jesse Walker fangirls rubbed her hand up and down his arm. “Why do you think something’s going on with him?” Luckily, I sounded more innocent than my question was.
Josie huffed and waved her hand at him. “Because Jesse doesn’t brood. He doesn’t stand cross-armed and straight-faced on the sidelines when there’s a dance floor in front of him. Jesse has never done that whole angsty, moody guy thing like he has been lately. Something’s gotten under his skin.” Her own eyes narrowed as fangirl number one made a double pass on Jesse’s bicep. “Or someone.”
I couldn’t agree or disagree with her for fear of Josie seeing right through me. I wasn’t sure how she’d take it if she knew Jesse and I’d had a few hot and heavy mouth-mashes. I didn’t want to chance an impromptu cat fight if she didn’t take it so well.
So what did I go with instead?
“What happened to you and Jesse? Why did you guys break up?” No points for steering the conversation into shallower water.
Josie sighed and looked away from him. Like it had suddenly become painful to look at him. “Cheating.”
“What?” I twisted in my seat and scooted closer. “He slept with somebody else?” The idea was . . . earth shattering.
“No.” Josie whipped her head from side to side. “I did.”
“What?” I repeated, stunned. The idea was, again, earth shattering.
A tear looked close to spilling from the corner of Josie’s eye, so I grabbed one of her hands and gave it a squeeze. She looked like she needed it.
“You don’t have to say anything else. I’m sorry I asked. I just . . . I never guessed that was what happened.” Cheating had never crossed my mind when I’d wondered at the reasons for their break up.
“Jesse was leaving town for the weekend,” she began, shifting in her seat. “He was going to some cattleman’s conference in Missoula the same weekend of my brother’s twenty-first birthday party. Jesse was sorry he couldn’t make it, but he asked one of his good friends to keep a close eye on me and make sure I didn’t get into too much trouble.” Josie paused and bit her lip. She was worrying the hell out of the hem of her denim skirt. The poor girl was a wreck. “I had a lot to drink that night, more than usual, but I knew Jesse’s friend would make sure I didn’t pass out on the bathroom floor or go home with some random guy.” The