Page 3 of One Hot Texas Summer (The Prentice Brothers of Sweet Ridge #1)

“I should’ve never gone back to Macy’s place.” Kelly groaned as she opened her eye a crack the next morning. Her head pounded, and the thought of sitting up had her stomach turning somersaults.

Perhaps she shouldn’t have used alcohol as a way to forget the location of the satellite Founders’ Day event and who she’d be working with. She was certainly paying for it right now.

Taking a deep breath, she sat up and waited for her stomach to settle down before she staggered out of bed and went into the bathroom.

Gazing at herself in the mirror, she winced.

Her hair looked like a flock of birds had decided to nest in it.

Her mascara had created half-moons under her eyes.

She looked stellar. She could go right out and snag the best-looking man in town.

Next time Macy and Charlotte decided to take her to lunch she was sticking to water and only staying for an hour.

If only it was the alcohol that caused her to look like death’s best friend, but it was the lack of sleep as well.

Every time she’d drifted off, her dreams had been full of kissing Tate and more in the middle of his peach orchard. And in the workroom of her shop.

Why, all of a sudden, was she so fixated on the guy? She didn’t like him. Well, okay, that wasn’t quite true. She just didn’t like what he represented. And now she was going to have to work closely with him for the Founders’ Day festival.

If she had any sort of magical power, she’d curse Macy for dangling such a tempting job in front of her. For years she’d wanted to do more with the decorations for the festival and now she could.

Kelly turned the shower on and stripped while the water warmed up. Maybe a nice, hot shower would make her feel human again. That and a vat of coffee. Thank goodness Mom wasn’t going to be in the shop until later. Explaining why she looked the way she did wasn’t something she fancied doing.

As the warm water sluiced over her, she switched her thinking back to the Founders’ Day event, dutifully ignoring Tate’s involvement.

She loved the idea of a red-and-gold theme.

A ton of flowers came in red. Not a lot came in gold, but she could get plenty of yellow ones and maybe paint the tips with gold paint.

Or she could make the flowers all red and the vases or urns gold.

The more she thought about it, the more excited she got and couldn’t wait to get to her tablet to start sketching out designs.

Of course, she’d need to visit the Prentice farm to get an idea of the layout.

But one thing she did know—she wanted to have a beautiful lattice arch covered in flowers for people to walk through as a statement entrance piece. Or maybe she could do two.

She rushed through the rest of her shower and got dressed.

Grabbing her keys, she raced out the door.

The pounding in her head was fading. A stop at Betty Lou’s Diner for a coffee and a donut might slow down her arrival to the shop, but it was a necessary one.

She desperately needed the caffeine and sugar fix.

Fifteen minutes later, she opened the door to the diner and inhaled the scents of fried food, coffee, and pastries. If she weren’t so eager to get to her store, she might have been tempted to get some eggs and bacon. Greasy food was a known cure for a hangover.

“Morning, Kelly. How you feeling? I heard you had a good time at Silver Spurs yesterday.”

Kelly pasted a smile on her face. Everyone in town loved Betty Lou, and Kelly did too, but the diner’s owner loved to gossip. Was Kelly surprised the news of what had happened at the bar yesterday had reached her? Nope, not at all. In fact, she’d expected it.

“I did.”

Betty Lou looked over the top of her signature retro red glasses.

The style had never changed over the years, and Kelly had always wondered if she had a few boxes of the frames stashed somewhere.

“So you’re gonna be helping with the Founders’ Day festival.

I think it’s interesting having the two venues. ”

Her stomach grumbled and the ache in her head was beginning to intensify again.

She really needed some caffeine. “It’s going to be different, for sure, but maybe that will bring more people into town as well.

People driving past the Prentices’ property see the activity and decide to call in. I think change is always good.”

“Hmm, we’ll see. So, what can I get you this morning? Today’s donut special is cherry maple glazed.”

“I’ll have a large latte with an extra shot today, and I’ll take one of the specials as well as a plain cinnamon donut.”

“Okay, you take a seat and I’ll get everything for you.”

“Great, thanks.” Kelly wandered over to the counter overlooking the kitchen. As usual, the diner was busy, but she spied one stool and grabbed it before anyone else.

She drummed her fingers on her handbag, eager to get her order and get to the shop. She wanted to transfer the myriad designs running through her head onto her tablet.

“In a hurry to go somewhere?”

Oh, shit, that voice—she recognized it, and he was the last person she wanted to see. Life really was messing with her recently.

Pasting a smile on her face, she swiveled to her left. “Morning, Tate, how are you?”

Yes, she could be polite and professional with the guy. If she just ignored the way her heart rate kicked up a notch and her palms grew a little sweaty. No way was her reaction anything to do with the man sitting next to her. It was because she was dehydrated and her blood sugars were low.

“I think I’m a lot better than you.” He tempered his words with a smile and a rush of warmth pooled in her lower belly.

Yet another symptom of hunger, of course.

But she wasn’t so hungry that she didn’t notice Tate wasn’t stuttering like he seemed to do whenever he came to the store to order his flowers.

Interesting.

“I’m fine. Just hungry.”

He picked up his mug of coffee, and her mouth watered as he took a slow slip. Oh, boy, did she need to get herself together. Drooling over Tate’s cup of coffee in front of the diner’s patrons wouldn’t help keep gossip about her to a minimum.

“I recommend a big plate of bacon and eggs—might help you feel a little better.”

Great, now she was getting advice from him. So not what she needed. “I’ll take that on advisement, but I’m happy with my coffee and donut order.” If Betty Lou would just hurry up and give it to her, she could leave and not have to talk to him.

Inwardly, she winced at how horrid she sounded.

Tate wasn’t a bad guy. Her reaction to him seemed over the top, and considering they were going to be seeing more of each other, she should at least try to make an effort to be nice to the guy.

Plus, he was providing her with business.

Even if that business was supporting his Casanova reputation.

Damn, those poor flowers being tossed aside instead of admired.

Why was she wasting so much time on what Tate did with the flowers he purchased? Who was to say other people weren’t using her arrangements for the same purpose she was condemning Tate for?

Yeah, she needed to stop being cynical about relationships. Just because hers didn’t work out the way she’d hoped didn’t mean everyone else’s was doomed. Macy and Charlotte were a prime example of love being true and pure. Kelly’s own parents had a great marriage until her father passed away.

She jumped when a takeaway coffee cup and white paper bag were pushed in front of her. Kelly looked up to find Betty Lou watching her intently, her eyebrows perfectly groomed arches above her glasses.

Kelly flashed a smile at the diner’s owner. “Thanks, Betty Lou. I’ll see you later, Tate.”

She marched out of the diner, feeling like every single eye was on her.

Ahh, the joys of living in a small town where everyone knew her business.

As much as that rankled her, and it did big-time, she wouldn’t live anywhere else.

She loved Sweet Ridge, and she loved the life she’d carved out for herself.

She lifted the cup and closed her eyes as the coffee coated her tongue. People who didn’t like coffee needed to have their heads examined. Who couldn’t appreciate this fine bean?

The morning June sun beat down on her head.

The weather was definitely getting warmer and soon long, lazy summer days would be upon them.

Again, an image of her sitting on her back patio, glass of wine in hand, laughing with a mystery man flittered in her mind.

She quickly closed off the memory before she could see the face of her companion.

The chances of it being the man she’d just been talking to in the diner were pretty high.

Once and for all, she had to forget about this silly infatuation with Tate.

Yes, he was good-looking. Yes, he seemed to have a good sense of humor.

But he was younger than her. No way was she going for a younger man.

There were plenty of women who did, but it just wasn’t in her wheelhouse.

Now that she was in her mid-thirties she was looking for someone she had more in common with.

Someone more mature. What did she have in common with Tate?

Nothing. And so far she hadn’t seen any signs of the maturity in Tate she was seeking for her life partner.

Was the observation fair? Probably not, but it was where she was in her life right now.