“But I don’t know, watching them together last night? I’m not sure BiBi’s right that he’ll change his mind about Corinna. He was nice to her and all, but there didn’t seem to be any chemistry between them. He treated her more like a cousin, or a kid sister, maybe.”
“Hmm.”
Hannah laughed self-consciously. “I shouldn’t be gossiping about them. Just an observation.”
The elevator bumped to a gentle stop and Madison moved toward the opening doors in relief. “I’ll meet you downstairs in half an hour, Hannah. That should give us just enough time to eat before we’re supposed to join the others in the lobby.”
“Okay, see you down—” The elevator doors closed behind Madison before Hannah could finish the sentence.
Moving robotically, Madison walked to her door and shoved the key into the slot. She muttered a curse beneath her breath when she realized she’d inserted the card upside down. Turning it over, she tried again, then shoved the door open.
Wouldn’t you know, she thought wistfully, closing the door behind her, that the one man who’d brought out the reckless fun in her since…well, almost longer than she could remember…was the one man who was totally off-limits this weekend?
It wasn’t as if she’d expected anything serious to come of her flirtation with Jason, anyway, she assured herself, heading for the shower.
But, oh, it could have been a fun three days.
Two buses had been secured for transporting the guests to the dude ranch some twenty miles from the hotel. BiBi and Carl had invited the entire wedding party, several of their family members and a few miscellaneous others to attend, for a total of about forty people, as far as Madison could determine. BiBi insisted that the men should load into one vehicle and the women into the other—and again, no one argued with her. She was practically giddy with excitement about the entertainment she had arranged for her guests. Apparently the ranch specialized in hosting wedding parties, family and class reunions, company retreats and other such gatherings, and had offered a long list of activities for BiBi and Carl to select from.
Madison had dressed for the day in a three-quarter-sleeved, scoop-neck green T-shirt with jeans. The temperature was predicted to climb into the high seventies, and it was already too warm for a jacket, so she had tucked a thin sweater into her tote bag in case she needed it that evening. She didn’t own a cowboy hat, but she’d worn a pair of brown leather boots that were vaguely Western in style. It had been a few years since she’d been on horseback; she only hoped she’d remembered enough of the basics so she didn’t embarrass herself.
She’d arranged her honey-blond hair into a tidy French braid to keep it out of her face during the day’s activities. Maybe she’d spent a bit more time than usual with her makeup—trying for a casual, but flattering look—but that was only because she knew BiBi’s crowd wouldn’t be caught dead without mascara and blusher. She certainly hadn’t primped with anyone particular in mind, she assured herself sanctimoniously.
When she saw the other women, she was glad she’d made the effort, whatever her motivation. Texas women were fussy about their hair and makeup, BiBi had always said, and that was in evidence today. Though jeans and Ts or button-up cotton shirts were the primary garments of choice, she saw a few shiny Western shirts festooned with rhinestones and appliqués, and enough new pairs of pointy-toed boots that she didn’t doubt some of the guests would be limping a bit through the next day’s events.
The bus seats were plush and roomy, but still rather cramped for the very pregnant woman who sat next to Madison. Madison remembered seeing her at the party last night, though they had not actually met.
“I’m Madison Baker,” she said with a smile, raising her voice just enough to be heard over the excited chattering around them.
The other woman, a strawberry blonde with a face that was probably round even when she wasn’t in the last stages of pregnancy and green eyes that were friendly despite the faint shadows beneath, introduced herself in return. “I’m Lila Polanski. My husband, Tommy, is an old friend of Carl’s. He’s serving as an usher Sunday. Are you one of the bridesmaids? Sorry, I should know that, probably, but I don’t know BiBi or her friends very well.”
“Yes, I’m a bridesmaid. I’ve known BiBi since college. Do you live here in Dallas?”
“No, Tommy grew up here, but I’m originally from Wisconsin. We moved to Houston a couple years ago for Tommy’s job. We drove up for the wedding. Tommy thought a day at a dude ranch sounded kind of cheesy,” she added in a stage whisper, glancing around to make sure BiBi wasn’t within hearing range. “But I think it will be fun. Not that I can participate much.”
She patted her protruding tummy with a mixture of pride and impatience.
Madison chuckled. “When is your baby due?”
“Next month. Our first. A boy.”
“Congratulations.”
“Thank you. Do you live in Dallas?”
Madison explained that she, too, had traveled for the wedding weekend, and they passed the remainder of the ride chatting congenially. Lila was a talker who tended to share a bit too much information quite freely with strangers. Madison liked her, though, and enjoyed the conversation. Madison’s job never came up, and she saw no need to mention that she was a doctor. ob-gyn was not her specialty, and she wasn’t prepared to answer a string of medical questions from the eager mommy-to-be. Better just to be another wedding guest, she thought.
She didn’t know whose idea it had been for the men to stand around the bus door and help the women descend the steps onto the graveled ranch parking lot. It seemed to be taking the back-to-the-Old-West theme a bit too far, with the strapping cowboys offering assistance to the fragile ladies, but she told herself not to take it so seriously. Today was all in fun. Maybe she’d gotten a little too sensitive about gender issues in medical school, where there were still a few deeply ingrained biases toward male doctors, even though women made up nearly half of modern medical school classes. When two men rushed forward to assist Lila Polanski, Madison told herself that it really was sort of nice that Southern gallantry still existed, despite the old-fashioned gender implications.
A man in a well-worn brown hat, a denim shirt rolled back on the forearms, jeans and boots that were definitely not new stepped up when she moved into the bus door. He held out a hand to her, tilting his head back so she could see his face beneath the brim of his hat. Her breath caught hard.
She’d been absolutely correct earlier. Jason D’Alessandro looked damned good in Western wear.
Realizing she was holding up the women waiting behind her to get off the bus, Madison placed her hand in Jason’s. It would have been rude to ignore his friendly offer of assistance, especially with other people watching. Among them, she realized, BiBi and Corinna, who stood nearby chatting with other guests, but still surreptitiously watching Jason.
She was glad the sparks that flew when her bare palm pressed against Jason’s existed only in her own overactive imagination. Or was he aware of them, too? She thought she heard his breath catch when his fingers closed around hers, but maybe that, too, was just something she imagined. Reminding herself that he was off-limits, she withdrew her hand quickly, meeting just a little resistance when she pulled away, as if he had been reluctant to release her.
BiBi rushed forward, almost dragging a tall, lanky cowboy with her. The man wore neatly pressed dark jeans over tooled leather boots, a tan denim shirt with colorful floral embroidery up the front and across the back yoke, a bolo tie and a battered hat with a feathered band. Madison figured he was so stereotypically dressed that he must be an employee of the dude ranch.