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She swallowed nervously, but then she started to dance. She closed her eyes and let the music enter her. The bass beat vibrated her bones. It was as if her heart started beating in time with the music, and soon, her hips were moving, her arms were in the air, and her head was thrown back.

She was dancing. Like really dancing. And she didn’t care how she looked, or if she was doing it right. She just moved her body the way it was meant to move. The way it wanted to move. The crowd cheered—Bubba had probably dropped into the splits—and she opened her eyes.

Beau had stopped dancing and was just standing there, staring at her.

Oh God. Maybe she had looked stupid. So stupid that Beau had frozen in mortified embarrassment over being her dance partner.

He suddenly grabbed her, pulling her close. “Oh, Allie. You’re so beautiful. I’ll never forget tonight.”

She wanted to say something back, but she couldn’t find the words. She thought she might cry if she tried to speak. That’s how freaking happy she was to be in this man’s arms. And she never wanted to leave them.

Beau pulled her even closer, and she felt his desire. He moved his hips in time to the pulsing bass beat and forced a leg in between hers. She gasped. Could anyone see? Probably not—his leg disappeared into the yellow layers of the dress—and anyway, there were people doing worse things on the dance floor.

By the time the song ended, she was heated. Worked up. Super turned on and looking forward to all the things she and Beau were going to do when they got back to the room. Beau brought her wrist up to his lips and planted the sweetest kiss.

Bubba walked by, drenched in sweat, and smacked Beau on the back. “Decent moves,” he said. “But I’m still the master.”

Alice wasn’t sure about that, but Bubba was a good dancer. Beau gave him a little nod and a hat tip.

The DJ’s voice rang out. “All right, all right, all right! I need all the single ladies out on the dance floor.”

Oh no. It was time for Brittany to toss the bouquet. This was usually Alice’s cue to head to the ladies’ room, but tonight she was a bridesmaid.

“Knock ’em dead, Alice,” Bubba said.

“I’ll be back,” Alice said, rising on her toes and kissing Beau on the cheek. “I’ve got to go dodge a bouquet.”

Only she didn’t dodge it. She caught it. Or at least that’s what people said when the dang thing smacked her in the face. She ran back to Beau, carrying the flowers. “Don’t freak out,” she said jokingly. “I didn’t do it on purpose.”

“I wouldn’t think so. Listen, darlin’, it’s getting late—”

Someone tapped her on the shoulder. “We need a picture of you and Zachary’s brother.”

Zachary’s brother had caught the garter.

“Oh, okay . . .” She looked at Beau.

“I’ll be waiting,” he said. “But it’s almost midnight, Allie.”

She started to laugh, but then something about the way Beau looked made her stop. What was it? She was so bad at reading people, maybe it was nothing. But Beau wasn’t laughing. Nor was he even smiling. In fact, he looked almost sad.

The picture taking took way too long, and when she finally made her way back to Beau, he was standing at the back of the room, near the exit. Maybe he was ready to go. That was fine, because she was, too.

No matter how much fun she’d had at the wedding, she was looking forward to even more fun with Beau. “Ready to leave?”

“Yes, I think I am. It’s a little past midnight now, and well, I should be getting back to Big Verde.”

She started to laugh, because surely, this was a joke. But Beau wasn’t laughing. There was no twinkle in his eyes. No dimple threatening to make an appearance in his left cheek.

“But I thought you and I were going to . . .”

She closed her mouth. Willed herself to shut up.

“The pump is broken at the ranch, and well, I’ve got to be up early to take Nonnie to church. Our deal ended at midnight, remember?”

Alice couldn’t breathe. All the air in the room had been sucked out. Would she actually suffocate? She looked around frantically. How were other people breathing? And how could she have been so stupid?

Of course, Beau was going back to Big Verde. None of this had been real. She’d drawn up the contract herself. And, as Beau just so helpfully pointed out, it expired at midnight. Beau had turned back into a playboy who never slept with the same woman twice.

Her knees shook, and something that felt like a sob was working its way up her throat, threatening to come out of her mouth. She had to swallow it down. What good would it do to let him see her cry?

When she spoke, her voice sounded strangled and froggy. “I see. Well, thank you for being my plus-one.”

“It was my pleasure,” Beau said. “Thank you for all you’ve done for me, and Allie Cat, you can tell folks whatever you want. I’ll go along with it.”

And with that, Beau Montgomery tipped his hat and strolled out the door, as if shattering Alice’s world was the easiest thing he’d ever done.

Maybe it was.

Chapter

Thirty-Six

Beau walked up the steps to the Kowalski ranch house. It had been a week since the wedding, and he’d crawled through it like a zombie. This morning’s herd report indicated they were missing two bulls, which wasn’t the case. So, he’d entered the wrong number in the system after the auction. Or maybe he’d entered the right number but in the wrong place. Who knew? The bottom line was that he kept fucking up.

He was here to do the only thing that made sense. He was going to talk to Ford and suggest that Worth be promoted to foreman. Beau could be head herdsman. There was absolutely no paperwork involved