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“Would I have to take off my shirt?”

“Yes.”

“Count me in.” He grabs my leg when I try to sit in the chair next to his. Without another word, he guides me onto his lap and puts his hand on my thigh. “Y’all have some real talent. The boots you make are beautiful.”

Wheeler grins. “Coming from a cowboy, that’s high praise. I have a few more pairs from our new collection in that bag.” She nods at her tote on the counter. “Want to see?”

“Wheeler!” I jump up. “You should’ve said something.”

She sips her wine before getting to her feet. “Excuse me for wanting to get to know your boyfriend first.”

Cash chuckles. “Thank you kindly.”

I flick on the overhead lights and Wheeler sets the boots out, one at a time, on my kitchen counter. There’s a pair of short chestnut-brown ones with star-shaped metallic-gold cutouts that are breathtaking. Another knee-high pair is ivory, embroidered with pastel pink and orange flowers.

The mid-calf pairs, though, are my favorite. They’re like the ones Wheeler is wearing, only in different colors: silver, dark gray, lavender. Each pair is slightly different. The silver is metallic with classic Western embroidery that’s so subtle, it’s barely noticeable. The gray is python print with a rounded toe andLong Live Cowgirlssewn onto the shaft in candy-apple red.

The lavender boots steal the show, though. We named them The Madonna for a reason, and that reason is they absolutely rock. They’re metallic, and the embroidery is done in dark shades of magenta and purple, which really pop against the lavender.

Picking up the boots, I marvel at how girlie and ridiculous and perfect they are.

“How’d I know you’d pick those up first?” Cash rises witha small grunt and saunters over to the kitchen. “Pretty. Just like you.”

“You know, you don’t have to lay it on so thick.” I lean my head against his shoulder. “You’re getting laid tonight regardless of how much you compliment me.”

“Is that a subtle hint for me to chug this wine?” Wheeler holds up her glass.

Cash laughs. “Stay. And I mean it, Mollie. This is incredible work.”

“Y’all are so cute, it’s almost sick.” Wheeler takes a long sip of her wine. “But, yeah, this collection is fire.”

I set down the lavender boots. “Should I add these to the closet?”

“The closet?” Cash asks.

Wheeler wags her eyebrows. “You haven’t told him about the closet?”

“Now I need to see the closet.” Cash’s lips twitch.

Can you get a headache from smiling so much? I’m about to find out.

“Fine. I’ll show you the closet.”

I head toward the front door but hang a quick left. There’s a single door tucked into a little nook back here. I open it and turn on the lights, then step aside to let Wheeler and Cash through.

“It’s technically a second bedroom,” I explain. “But we have enough boots to make it a closet-slash-unofficial-office-space.”

He lets out a whistle when he takes in rack upon rack of neatly organized cowboy boots that line three walls. “That’s a lot of boots, ladies.”

“There’s a copy of every pair we’ve ever made.” Wheeler bends down to drop the pair she’s holding on to the floor. “Plus some extras that didn’t make the cut. Obviously, we warehouse most of our product when we’re about to launch a collection. But this is a place to get creative.” She motions tothe corkboards that line the fourth wall. “We don’t have a real office yet, so this is our spot to brainstorm.”

“It helps seeing all the boots we’ve done,” I add. “That way, we can riff on old designs without repeating them verbatim.”

Cash looks at me, eyes twinkling. “Color me impressed. This is awesome.”

“You’re awesome.” Wheeler nudges him with her elbow. “But that’s beside the point. Where are we gonna put this new collection?” She twists her lips as she surveys the room.

We don’t have much space in here. In fact, there’s not a single empty spot on the boot racks.