it to tap Jess’s glass, then took a sip. “God, this stuff is awful. Can I get you something from the bar instead?” He stood up, and she practically ached to have his arm around her again.
“No. Definitely no.”
He raised his eyebrows. “Not drinking this evening?”
“Nope.”
He sat back down. “Then I won’t, either.”
“Oh, please. Gallantry only needs to go so far. Go get another beer.”
“No. It’s fine. I can drink cham—” He grimaced as he took another sip from his fluted glass. “I really can’t. I’ll be right back.”
Jess laughed as he wound his way through the tables, but had a feeling it might be a good hour before he got back, given the number of people who stopped him along the way. She watched his easy banter, his confident posture as he worked his way toward the bar, and she practically ached to have him to herself.
Five minutes later, he was back, surprising her. “Here. I took a guess and got you something.” He handed her a tumbler filled with ice and Bailey’s. She sniffed.
“Did Kyla tell you this is my favorite?”
He sat back down. “Nope. Lucky guess. We didn’t think to stock Jell-O shots.”
“Very funny.” She stirred her drink with the tiny straw, clinking the ice cubes softly. “So among these, what, three hundred guests, how many of them do you really know?”
“All of them except that table.” He pointed to where Hayley’s aunt and uncle held court with a couple of Daniel’s buddies from vet school.
“Okay, then, how many of them have you dated?”
He laughed. “No more than half of them.”
“I just can’t imagine knowing this many people well enough to invite them to your own wedding.”
“It’s just the way it is out here.” He shrugged. “The days are long, and the work is hard, but in the end, these are the people who have your back.”
Jess thought back to her neighborhood in Boston, which was friendly enough, safe enough, tidy enough. But did she really know anyone very well? She’d dropped off a little basket of herbal lotions to the woman three doors down when she’d had a baby this spring, and she’d helped Mr. Foster put up his Christmas decorations last year when he’d broken his hip—but if push came to shove, would she have a wall of people behind her? Helping her?
“What’s with the frowny face?” Cole’s voice was gentle as he touched her hand.
She shook her head. “Nothing. Sorry. Just thinking about how different life is out here.”
“It’s better.”
“Now, now. Have you ever lived in Boston?”
“Nope. No desire to. Too many people, too much concrete and brick, not enough horses.”
“There are advantages to city living, you know.”
“I’m sure there are.” He shifted so he was looking directly at her. “What are some of your favorite things about living there?”
“The ocean.”
“We definitely don’t have that here. But we have lakes. Lots of lakes.”
“Not the same. Sorry.”
“Fine. Score one for Boston. What else?”
“Seafood from the ocean.”
He shook his head. “Not even gonna try to compete on that one. What else?”
“Cultural activities. Music, theatre, art.”
“You saying we don’t have culture here?” He raised his eyebrows. “Because I honestly think our fall festival could go toe-to-toe with your fancy art galleries and theatre troupes.”
“Oh, really?”
“Absolutely. We attract the finest first-grade finger painters this side of the Rockies. And the music!” He whistled and took a drink of his beer. “You will never meet a louder middle school band.”
Jess laughed, picturing the town square hung with finger paint portraits while a squawky band played in the band shell at the center of the park.
“There are actually cities out here, you know. They just take a little longer to get to. But in the meantime, you get to enjoy this!” He swept his hand toward the windows, where she could see the mountains framed by a sky going dusky pink.
“I’ll give you the stunning landscape point.”
“And the horses-anytime-you-want-to-ride-them point? Because I think we definitely have you on that one.” He smiled.
“Okay. Two points.”
He took a breath, sipped his beer. “And there’s always the cowboy thing. Can’t get those back in Boston, can you?”
“They’re definitely few and far between.”
“Well, there. We’re even. So there’s only one solution.” He grinned, making her want to run her fingers over his dimples.
“Oh, boy.”
He tipped his head. “You just need to stay. Just stay for the summer. One step at a time, one day at a time.”
“You’ve got it all worked out.”
“It’s just that it’s so simple. Not that I’m so smart.” He shrugged