Go! Sorry…” Birdie huffed out a breath and said, “Everything.”
Carly laughed. “I wore the dress, but when I saw him…” A shiver of heat darted through her, and she felt her cheeks burn.
Birdie squealed.
“Don’t get too excited. I basically told him I was a slut.” Carly walked back to the counter with Birdie on her heels.
“What? Why? You’re the farthest thing from a slut. You’re a nun without a habit. You’re the girl my brothers all wish I were. You’re the—”
“That was the plan, remember? Confident? Popular? Unaffected by him?”
Birdie snagged a chocolate pretzel and bit into it. “Yes, but where in all of that do you hear the word slut?”
“I didn’t call myself that. But I told him I have lots of boyfriends, including Cutter.” She shifted her eyes away and said, “And that we have an open relationship.”
“Oh my God, girl! Cutter?” Birdie laughed. “You’d never go out with Cutter. My brothers can attest to the fact that you don’t like big, burly ranchers.” The Whiskeys owned Redemption Ranch, and most of Birdie’s family worked there.
“Hopefully Zev doesn’t know that.” She began assembling a gift basket and said, “I didn’t mean to take it so far. I was just going to say Cutter was my boyfriend, but then Cutter was dirty dancing with someone else and I had to come up with a cover story. I couldn’t help it. It was really hard seeing Zev again. I was lucky to be coherent enough to string words together to form a sentence. You should have seen the way he looked at me. Birdie, I actually got weak in the knees! Who does that? I still can’t believe it happened.”
“Damn.” Birdie put her arms around Carly and patted her back, whispering, “I knew you were still hooked on him.”
Carly pushed out of her embrace. “I’m not, and even if I was, I’d never act on it. I have a business to run and a life to live. Festival on the Green is only a week away, and you know that’s one of my favorite events of the year. It’s always so much fun. I have no room in my life for heartache.” Festival on the Green was a weeklong event with sidewalk sales, live music in the park, and a sea of tents. One of Carly’s favorite local artists, Kaylie Crew, was booked to sing at the event, along with several other bands, and Carly couldn’t wait to see her perform. She’d never forget how she’d fangirled when Treat and his wife, Max, had walked into the chocolate shop with Kaylie and her husband, Chaz, years earlier. She’d nearly lost her mind when she’d learned that Kaylie and Max were besties. Kaylie had become a regular customer, and Carly still got butterflies when she saw her.
The bell over the door chimed as a couple walked into the shop. Carly called out one of her standard greetings. “I’ll be right with you. Please don’t rob us. I’m too tired to chase you down the block.”
The couple laughed.
Birdie lowered her voice and said, “What happened after you told him about you and your harem of men?”
“We talked for a minute, and then I avoided him until I could leave.”
“I knew I should have gone with you. Then I could have gotten a read on the situation. So, is he gone? Back to his life of treasure hunting? Is that why you’re making enough chocolate to feed everyone in the state?” She waved at the goodies Carly had made and said, “You know this screams of sexual frustration, right?”
“I am sexually frustrated,” she whispered harshly. “Zevy is potent enough that I’ll probably be frustrated long after he leaves town next week.”
“Wait! He’s still here? For a week?” Birdie rubbed her hands together and said, “Where is he staying?”
“Do not even think about it.” Carly turned her by the shoulders and gave her a gentle shove toward the door. “Go help our customers.”
BIRDIE WORKED HER social media magic, putting the word out that they had gone chocolate happy and were having a ten-percent-off sale. By a little before three o’clock, they had sold most of the goodies Carly had made, and she was packaging the rest in a gift box for one of Birdie’s older brothers, Callahan, who went by the nickname Cowboy. He’d stopped by to pick up an order of truffles and tarts for a movie night the ranch was hosting for a group of Boy Scouts.