A Miracle for the Confident Cowboy (Love in Sweet Bloom)

Chapter 3

CHAPTER THREE

Sophie adjusted the shopping bag on her arm as she and her two best friends left the adorable Christmas themed boutique. It had just opened up a few weeks ago. Cute home décor from throw pillows and blankets to knickknacks had lined the shelves and rustic tables. There was a wall of ornaments and beside it several cards. The store even sold wrapping paper and gift bags. She couldn’t help but get the candle named Christmas in a Jar. It smelled like cinnamon and vanilla with hints of citrus.

Allie and Pippa had dragged her to town today against her better judgement, but now she was actually starting to enjoy herself. When she was with them, she could stop thinking about Duke and all the ridiculous things she’d said to him.

Pippa draped an arm around Sophie’s shoulders. “See? You needed a date out with your sisters.”

Sophie laughed and shot a look toward Allie. “Technically, Allie is your sister-in-law. Not mine.”

Allie came up on Sophie’s other side. “Nope. None of that. We’re sisters by proxy. I married Pippa’s brother and she married yours. As far as I’m concerned you’re my sister too.”

Sophie beamed. The best part of having a brother was so he could marry someone cool. When Sophie had picked up and moved everything down to Texas, she’d given him the excuse that she liked the warmer temperatures. In truth, she simply wanted to be closer to her new sister— sisters , now.

Yes, an outing like this one was exactly what she needed to get Duke and his rudeness out of her head. He had been such a jerk. He didn’t even try to get along with her.

“Uh oh. I know that look,” Pippa bumped her hip against Sophie’s. “You’re upset about something…” She wagged her brows at Allie. “Or someone .”

Allie snickered.

Sophie gasped. “You told her?”

“Sisters share everything,” Pippa shot back. “And in my defense, I told her before you went on the date.”

Heat flooded Sophie’s face. She glanced from one woman to the next then let out an embarrassed laugh. “Did she tell you about how terrible the date was, too?” She directed the question at Allie who laughed again.

“Only the best parts.”

Sophie groaned. “Well, I’m sure she sugarcoated the whole thing to make Duke seem like a complete gentleman.”

Allie sighed. “It really is too bad you didn’t hit it off.” She pretended to fan herself with her hand. “That cowboy is… mmm.” She bit her lower lip.

Pippa reached over and smacked her arm playfully. “Hey! You’re married to my brother, remember?”

“What?” Allie laughed. “I’m talking about his accent. Who isn’t a sucker for a swoony accent? Especially when it’s wrapped in such a hunky package.”

Pippa’s stern expression broke and she laughed along with Allie. The only one not laughing was Sophie. She stared from one woman to the other. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that they were both head over heels in love with their husbands. This was all just fun and games—probably meant to get Sophie to admit that Duke was actually a catch.

As if they could read her thoughts, they turned to her. “Don’t you agree?” Allie asked. “Duke is easy on the eyes, right?”

Pippa nodded. “I told you he was. He has to fight off women all the time. I thought for sure you would be interested?—”

“Well, that explains a lot,” Sophie murmured.

“What?” Pippa pressed.

“He was full of himself. I told you he called me stupid.”

Pippa rolled her eyes. “He did not .”

Sophie’s heart constricted painfully. “Did you talk to him?” She couldn’t decide if she was more curious if he’d said anything he liked about her or if she felt more betrayed over Pippa speaking with the enemy.

“I did…” Pippa drawled. “And before you ask, all he said was that it was a nice date but he didn’t think he’s interested in another one.”

Sophie didn’t realize she’d been holding out a degree of hope until her heart deflated in that moment. It was small—and more than likely related to the fact that she didn’t like feeling tossed aside. She’d had more than enough of guys who weren’t really serious about anything. This was nothing to do with Duke.

She still despised him, at least mostly.

“I don’t care if he looked like Brad Pitt. His looks will never be enough for me to overlook his attitude,” she insisted.

Pippa and Allie exchanged amused looks.

“If you say so,” Pippa said.

“I do. Emphatically.” Sophie dug into her purse to check that she still had her wallet—praying they would change the subject. She loved these women—more than she had thought possible. Nothing could make her want to hurt them. Right about now, she got the distinct feeling they really wanted her to like Duke. Whatever the reason didn’t matter. Sophie would never like him and her sisters would eventually get used to that fact.

Thankfully, they started discussing plans for their Christmas dinner. It was the biggest event at the Duncan household this time of year. This year Allie’s husband, Luke, wanted to make sure every chair was filled—even if that meant inviting some of the ranch hands that worked for him.

Sophie might just have to be prepared to interact with Duke if he was one of the men chosen to attend. She sighed. At least the town was big enough she wasn’t bumping into him at every turn. She saw him yesterday when she was out getting groceries, but she’d quickly ducked down the frozen food aisle and successfully avoided him. It had only been a few days since their date and she wasn’t ready in the slightest to have to go up against him again.

She followed her sisters down the street and into the coffee shop. Allie and Pippa chattered about their other Christmas plans. They had so much on their list of traditions. And what did Sophie have? Nothing.

Her parents didn’t live here. Her brother was married and starting his own traditions. All Sophie had was her job. Sure, she had her brother and the two women in front of her… dang, maybe she should have tried harder on her date with Duke.

Shaking her head to clear it, Sophie shoved down that preposterous notion. She didn’t need a boyfriend. She needed to stay busy. She stepped up to the counter and put in her order for a caramel macchiato and then stepped back to let the next person in line order. She stood near a bulletin board and skimmed some of the flyers.

There was a toy drive this month. Santa would be appearing in the makeshift village. A Christmas festival was in the works. So much community outreach.

Then her eyes landed on a flyer with an adorable logo involving the outlines of a cat and a dog. Volunteers desperately needed . She scanned the document of a local pet shelter. Their volunteer numbers were down and they needed people to sign up to walk the dogs during the holiday season. Beneath the flyer were some tabs with the website.

Sophie smiled and tore off a tab. She peered at it with glee. Who said she needed a guy to complete her? Service was better than a boyfriend—and playing with dogs was only a cherry on top of a good idea.

“Sophie?” the barista called.

Sophie shoved the paper into her pocket then hurried to the counter to grab her drink. The three women exited the coffee shop and turned down the street. She hung back behind Allie and Pippa as they walked. They crossed the street where there was no cross walk to get to another small store and Sophie had to pick up the pace. She looked both ways then hurried to the other side. She was about to step up onto the curb when a car down the street let out a loud honk.

Turning her head toward the noise, she didn’t slow her pace and unfortunately collided with a hard object. Not just any hard object—a person.

She gasped. “I’m so sorry—” she started, jumping back, grateful that her drink didn’t slosh out of its cup. Her eyes lifted and her stomach subsequently dropped. Sophie’s heart darted erratically around her chest momentarily as she got a hold of her bearings. “You,” she muttered.

Duke’s coy smile landed on her. It was short lived, hidden quickly by a look of boredom. “You should probably watch where you’re going.”

She opened her mouth to argue, but realized there was nothing she could say. She was the one who had been looking elsewhere. But that didn’t mean the same held true for him. Sophie didn’t have evidence of it and she wasn’t about to be argued with. She huffed, pushing past him.

Sophie only got a few steps up the sidewalk before she slowed and glanced over her shoulder. Duke was headed in the direction she’d just come from. He was stopped in front of the coffee shop by a pretty, petite woman with blonde hair that went to her waist. The woman laughed and flirted, touching his arm.

He smiled at her in a way he’d never smiled at Sophie.

What was she thinking? She couldn’t be jealous. He was so not her type.

At that very moment Duke glanced over at her.

Sophie froze. She literally couldn’t move as Duke’s eyes locked with hers. Dang it! Dang it! Dang it! She’d been caught staring. What was wrong with her?

Pippa nudged her with a laugh, breaking the spell Sophie was under. Sophie jumped and stared at her sister-in-law who wore the most pointed look known to man. “I told you,” she whispered.

“You told me nothing,” Sophie insisted. “He nearly made me spill my drink. I was just giving him my death glare.”

“Um hum…” Pippa drawled. “That’s exactly what it looks like when I’m trying to show someone I’m upset with them.”

Allie materialized out of nowhere to laugh at Pippa’s comment. Sophie groaned. She didn’t need them teasing her. She needed them to distract her from the fact that Duke had caught her staring at him. She motioned down the sidewalk. “Are we going shopping? Or are we here to make fun of me?”

Both Allie and Pippa glanced at each other. Their expressions sobered. Hopefully they’d realized that it wasn’t nearly all fun and games anymore. Sophie was tired of being in the spotlight. Pippa looped her arm through Sophie’s. “You’re right. We need to pick out the perfect presents for our men. And since you know Rob better than I do, I want your help.”

Relief washed over Sophie. That was something she could handle. However, she was disappointed to realize it was taking a great deal of her energy not to look over her shoulder once again in Duke’s direction. The fact that other women so blatantly threw themselves at him only made matters worse for reasons she didn’t quite understand.

Sophie didn’t want him. She was certain of that fact. So why did he keep popping into her head unsolicited? The whole situation was infuriating to say the least. It was time to call the shelter and tell them they have a volunteer with plenty of time on her hands. They’d be happy to hear that. And she’d be happy to stay busy enough to avoid thinking about a certain Brit her brain struggled to ignore.