Page 33

Lea shrugged. “That or the fact you’re my best friend reminded him of what he never had.”

“That’s probably it,” Jewel agreed mostly to get off that topic of conversation. “Either way, I’m hoping he doesn’t bother you again.”

“I’ll make sure to have Bridget on speed dial if he comes by.”

Jewel snorted. “You do that. Meanwhile, Eli really does horse lessons?”

“Yeah. Why wouldn’t she? She’s got a bunch of land out there, and I’m sure it’d bring in a lot of tourists.”

Fiddling with a bell pepper before she plopped it into a bag, Jewel shrugged. “I’ve never ridden a horse before.”

“You what?” Lea’s eyes widened. “How have you lived here five years and never ridden a horse?”

“Who would I ask?”

“Me! I know everyone by now. J, if you wanted to ride a horse, I would have found you a horse. Brady didn’t take you riding?”

“He said none of his horses were nice enough.”

Lea wisely kept silent on that matter as they moved into the meat department. “I’ll make sure Eli knows we want to go riding.”

“I’m going to be sore, aren’t I?”

“You can bet your chaps.”

Jewel made a dramatic roll of her eyes this time. “You do think you’re funny sometimes, don’t you?”

“Think it? I know it.”

She snorted at that, and at Lea’s cocky grin. This she had missed the past week since her revelation. She had missed their gentle banter and familiarity. She could do this. One week wasn’t going to be awful. The bed thing might be a problem, but it wasn’t like she was a guy. She could hide certain things way easier than they could.

With exactly six days left until their little spring break getaway, Jewel knew she could make a plan. The first item on that plan was to stay sober. Her tongue got way too loose, in more than one way, when she got drunk. So even if Lea brought wine or beer, she would have to refrain. They finished with meats, and sure enough, Lea turned down the aisle that held the booze.

This was going to take some very specific planning on Jewel’s part. She could do this. She could avoid her crush on Lea for one more week, she could keep herself out of trouble, she could kick back and relax and take an actual vacation, and she could learn to ride a damn horse. It’d be an interesting week, but she would make it worth it in the end. She had to. She wasn’t going to lose her best friend over a silly crush.