Christmas Kisses with My Cowboy - Diana Palmer Page 0,115
you mad.”
“I’m mad because you’re trying to leave, not because of the stupid pig,” Ted said patiently. “Hell, you could have brought ten pigs with you and I wouldn’t have noticed. I just want to spend Christmas with you, too.”
She bit her lip and eyed him hopefully. “If I promise to tell you the rest of it the moment I can, will that do?”
“I’m not the one putting up barriers here, Veronica,” Ted reminded her. “That’s all you.”
She studied him for a long moment and then slowly nodded. “Okay, then.”
“Okay, what?” Ted wanted to make sure they were on the same page.
“I’ll stay.”
“And consider my offer of my nice big bed? I changed the sheets this morning.”
Her smile made something inside him relax. “How about we start with the Christmas shopping and see how that goes?”
Ted kissed her cheek. “Okay, you win. Let’s get going.”
* * *
She should have told him everything. Veronica couldn’t get that thought out of her mind as they headed to the nearest town with a decent mall. Why had she stopped? He’d been surprisingly calm about the pig stealing and she had an instinctive sense that he’d be okay about the rest of it. But he also reminded her very much of her uncle Victor who, while being totally on her side, would expect her to do the right thing, step up, and accept the consequences of her actions.
She glanced down at her cell phone. Should she text her old neighbor Sharon who’d always kept an eye out for Perry? Or would it be better to talk to Leon who was a little more removed from the neighborhood, but disliked Jason enough to help her out? She’d been gone for over a week now and no one had contacted her about anything—which could be a good or a bad thing....
Ted made the turn into the parking lot and looked over at her.
“You okay?”
She found a smile somewhere. “Yes, sorry, I was just thinking about what we need for the apartment, and I also have to get something to wear for the wedding. It’s not going to be super dressy, is it?”
Ted chuckled. “You know Avery. She doesn’t like a fuss and neither does Ry.” He slotted the truck into a corner parking spot and turned off the engine. “The groomsmen are wearing the same Western shirts, and the bridesmaids are wearing whatever they like as long as it’s green, because that’s Avery’s favorite color.”
“I’ll definitely need something. I haven’t been to a wedding for years.” Veronica glanced down at her jeans and sweater. “I didn’t bring anything formal with me because I knew Victor would have me out there working the moment I arrived.”
“Yeah, he probably would have. I’ve pulled a few carrots out of the ground for him once or twice when I just went up there to deliver his mail.” Ted grabbed his jacket from the back seat and checked if he had his phone and wallet. “You ready to go?”
Veronica got out of the truck and headed toward the mall entrance, Ted by her side. The interior was decked out in red, gold, and green. Christmas music was playing, and judging from the line of excited little kids curving around the corner, Santa was already in residence hopefully handing out presents. Veronica paused to check out the illuminated mall map while Ted swiped a paper copy of the same thing.
“Let’s do the dress shopping before we end up with too many bags,” Ted suggested. “According to Beth, there are a couple of decent places here.”
“So I see.” Veronica braced herself. “You don’t have to come if you don’t want to. You could start on the decoration side of things.”
He looked down at her from his considerable height, his brow creased. “I’m happy to tag along—unless you’d rather be alone?”
“I . . .” Veronica grimaced. “Jason always came shopping with me and basically bought and chose all my clothes, so I guess I’m a bit skittish about it.”
“Understandable.” He nodded. “How about I do the same thing I do when I shop with Beth?”
“What’s that?”
“Keep my mouth shut unless she asks for an opinion.”
Veronica blinked at him. “You’d do that?”
He shrugged. “It’s your body.”
She went up on tiptoe and planted a kiss on his mouth.
“What was that for?”
“For being so nice.” Veronica kissed him again.
“Don’t they say that nice guys finish last?” Ted asked.
“They are completely wrong.” She mock frowned at him. “Trust me on this.”