Ride Rough - Tessa Layne Page 0,62

but it's too complicated to get into at the moment. When I get home Sunday afternoon, we'll talk. All the cards on the table. No holding back from either of us, understand?"

Chapter Twenty-Five

"Ohmygod, CiCi," Izzie hollered as she burst in the front door. "Do not tell me Trace Walker bought you a new SUV?" She bounced on her toes, still clutching a grocery bag in her arms. "Next thing you know, you'll be picking out china. Looks like we have even more to celebrate than your big story."

Cecilia scoffed, cheeks flaming. "I don't think so." So why did that idea sound surprisingly appealing? Although after her freak-out this afternoon, Trace would be nuts to want anything more to do with her.

"Spill, girlfriend," Jeanine chimed in behind her, holding two bottles of wine.

"She doesn't need to spill anything," scolded Catalina, who'd agreed to join them tonight, much to Cecilia's surprise and delight. "The evidence points to Trace."

"Yes, it's from Trace. Yes, I freaked out about it and pissed him off in the process. Yes, he drove to the rodeo in Enid and we're sorting things out Sunday once he gets home."

"What's there to sort out?" asked Jeanine. "Girrrll-" she tsked shaking her head. "Do not let this one get away. You've chased away all the others, which was okay, because they weren't worth keeping, but Trace? Hang on for dear life."

"What do you mean? I've been dumped by half of the men I've dated. Maybe more."

Izzie and Jeanine exchanged looks. "As soon as they start to profess feelings, you bolt. You start working overtime, or you turn really exacting and critical, or you have to run off and support your family. It's always something CiCi."

Cecilia gaped at her best friends. "You're so wrong. I don't do that."

Catalina pulled out a bag of popcorn. "You do. I could show you on a spreadsheet if you like."

"The bigger question is," said Jeanine, uncorking the wine and pouring the bottle into glasses on the coffee table. "Is what are your feelings for the fine and fabulous Trace Walker? A month ago you were jumping down bleachers and climbing railings to rescue him. What's changed?"

"Nothing's changed."

"Uh-uh-huh," Jeanine contradicted with a shake of her head. "Girl, you are lying. Don't even tell me otherwise. I think you're so far in love you're scared shitless."

"I think it's time for our cucumber masks," Cecilia said brightly.

Izzie pulled them out of the grocery bag. "Don't think that's going to get you out of the hot seat. You want my take on it?"

"Not especially."

Izzie grinned. "Good. Look, we've been best friends since second grade. You took your dad's bad behavior personally. And when he left town and started a new family, it cut you to the core. Trace isn't your dad. For starters, he's dependable. Has he ever not done anything he said he'd do? Or shown up late?"

Cecilia shook her head. Trace had always been as good as his word.

"Look at all the little ways he respects you, the way he's always here for you and the first to take care of you - when you let him. None of the guys from around here do dishes for their girlfriends."

"They totally should though," Jeanine interjected, smoothing the mask over her cheeks. "That's foreplay right there."

"Don't you think if he was a liar, someone in our group would have figured it out by now?" Izzie pressed. "You're not the only one with a sensitive bullshit meter, you know. Tony and Robbie run into assholes all the time when they're out on calls. And they've let him into their inner circle. That doesn't happen if you're naturally a jerk."

"If you think he's a liar, you could ask Harrison to look into him," Catalina offered, patting the area around her eyes.

Cecilia gasped in horror. "No way. I'd never do that." She could never look Trace in the eye again.

"You'd do it in a hot second if you were actually concerned," Izzie pointed out, grabbing her glass, and motioning them all back into the living room. "And the fact that you haven't says that deep down you really trust him. You're just afraid to, so you keep making up all these other excuses about why this is just a temporary thing."

"And there's nothing temporary about a car," Jeanine added. "So of course you reacted badly."

Izzie folded her arms shooting her a triumphant look. "So I return to my question of several minutes ago... what exactly are your feelings for the fine and fabulous