Wrangling the Redhead - By Sherryl Woods Page 0,41

you sure Wade will go along with this, especially if it’s at Cassie’s?”

“Why wouldn’t he? He’s in here all the time. He knows me,” Cassie said.

“Yes,” Karen agreed. “But he probably doesn’t know that you’re married to one of the richest computer geniuses in the universe. Once he gets a load of that house you and Cole built, he’s going to conclude you don’t need the tips.”

Cassie grinned. “I don’t. I have the most overloaded piggy bank in ten states. All that money is going to end up in a trust fund for the kids.”

“Which brings up another point,” Lauren said. “Why are you still working here? I thought after the baby came, you’d give up the job.”

“Never. It’s what I do,” Cassie said simply. “Just like you want to work with horses, even though your glamorous Hollywood career left you rich enough to retire. I like being with people, finding out what’s going on around town. It gives structure to my days. I’d go nuts sitting around the house while Cole shuts himself away with his mysterious computer software. Besides, I don’t put in that many hours. I have plenty of time for the baby and Jake.”

“Good point,” Gina said. “We’re all independent women. We love our men, but we want more.” She lifted her soft drink. “To us and the lucky men who have us.”

“Amen,” Emma said as they clinked their glasses together.

“So, are we agreed? I’ll have the party at my place?” Cassie asked.

Lauren hesitated, giving Karen’s concern a little more consideration, then nodded. “I think it’ll be good for Wade to see that people aren’t automatically bad just because they have money. He’s already excused Grady and Karen from his generalization. If I can get him to look beyond the dollars with a few more people, maybe I can finally tell him exactly what I did for a living over the last ten years.”

“We could always let it slip out at the party,” Emma said. “Watch his reaction. Then we’d know for sure whether he’s known all along.”

“I predict that finding out he’s been sleeping with a superstar is going to be quite a shock,” Gina said. “I don’t think a party with Lauren’s friends is the place for that particular revelation.”

Lauren blushed. “I agree. Besides, he hasn’t exactly been sleeping with me,” she said, then grinned. “Not yet, anyway, but I have high hopes for tonight.”

“Tonight?” they chorused, glancing pointedly at the clock above the counter. It was already eight-thirty.

“I figure his defenses will be weak at this hour,” she said, then lifted the package beside her. “Besides, the sexy new nightie I ordered just came in. It’s guaranteed to make him forget why sleeping with me is a bad idea.” Never mind that she had been the one holding out till the time was right. This would send Wade the message loud and clear that that time was now. She was counting on extraordinary sex to make the news of her identity—and the fact that she’d deliberately kept it from him—a bit more palatable to Wade.

“Let me see,” Gina insisted, peeking into the box at the scraps of pale peach lace. “Oh, my,” she whispered, fanning herself. “And Rafe’s in New York.”

She passed on the package.

“But Cole isn’t,” Cassie said, scooting out of the booth as soon as she’d caught a glimpse of the gown.

“Grady, either,” Karen added, right behind her.

“And, lucky me, Ford is right across the street,” Emma noted. She looked at Lauren. “Are you sure you’re not going to be wasting this on Wade? I’d pay big bucks to take it off your hands.”

Lauren snatched the package away from her. “Get your own.”

“In Winding River?” Emma asked.

“I’ll bring you the catalog,” Lauren promised. “I have big plans for this one.”

And if Wade didn’t cooperate, she was going to have to reconsider whether he was half as smart as she’d given him credit for being.

Chapter Nine

Wade had been restless all evening long. He’d gone up to the house earlier and discovered that both Lauren and Karen had gone into town to get together with their friends. Grady was taking the opportunity to catch up on ranch paperwork, but Wade was at loose ends. For the first time in years, he didn’t like having time on his hands.

He’d sat on his front porch for an hour, truck keys in hand, considering a trip into Winding River for a drink at the Heartbreak. In the end, he’d just gone inside, gotten a beer from