“Why?” he asked.
“Why what?”
“Can’t you go with me?”
“Because I’m too old for you.”
Austin stared at her and figured if she hated his guts and would rather take a sharp stick in the eye than go out with him she could have come up with a better lie than that. He’d been lied to before, a betrayal so personal it left a mark that would never go away.
“How do you know how old I am, Red?” he asked.
“Someone mentioned it in the context of how much you’d accomplished for a guy your age.”
“So, what are you? Twenty-five? Twenty-six?”
Her full mouth pulled tight before she answered. “Just turned thirty.”
She looked like a college kid with her blue knit cap pulled low on her forehead and long, silky strands of red hair spilling over her puffy jacket.
“No way,” he said.
“Unfortunately it’s the honest-to-God truth.”
“Why unfortunate?”
“Because I thought I’d be married and a mother by now.” She sighed, a sound full of frustration and disappointment. “Back in Texas I knew a lot of women who wanted to get married but couldn’t find a guy. Men have it so much easier. They can snap their fingers and have women coming out of the woodwork.”
Austin disagreed. Not every girl was dying to get married and he’d showed the poor judgment to pick one of those. After that, getting serious was the last thing he wanted, although he was all in favor of having fun. He liked women. He liked Rose. Giving back through volunteering was something he did, but hadn’t expected it to be so much fun. He’d actually had a great time today. And he wanted a second helping.
“Go with me,” he urged. “What have you got to lose?”
“The title of cougar for one thing.”
“It’s not that big an age difference.”
“It is to me.”
“So you’d rather go alone?”
“Yes.” But there was no conviction in her voice.
He wanted to see Rose again because she was fun and the wedding would be more interesting if he could hang with her. But there was a stubborn set to the mouth he’d spent the better part of the day resisting the urge to kiss. He had to come up with a strategy to change her mind.
Life had thrown him some big curves, personal and financial. In spite of it all, he’d gone to college and become an engineer. He was really into taking things apart to figure out how they worked. Or building something new that had never existed before. There must be a way to use his skills.
Rose was in public relations for the mayor’s office. Spin was her business. She’d said straight out that she was looking for a guy, so that’s where he’d start.
Behind the steering wheel he angled his upper body toward her. “It’s easier to find a man when you’re with one.”
“What?”
“Think about it. They say it’s easier to find a job when you have one.” That hadn’t sounded as lame in his head. “If you’re alone at the wedding, a girl as pretty as you, the available guys there are going to wonder what’s wrong.”
“You mean like dandruff, halitosis or snorting when I laugh?”
“Yeah.” He frowned. This wasn’t going quite as he’d hoped. “Sort of.”
“Look, Austin—”
“Hear me out.” He held up a hand to stop her words. “If you’re seen with me, you get the Thunder Canyon seal of approval and men will come out of the woodwork.”
One corner of her mouth quirked up. “So that’s been my problem since moving here this summer? The great and powerful Austin Anderson hasn’t anointed my social life with his presence?”
“Well said.” He tried to be serious but couldn’t help laughing. “Seriously, tell me you didn’t have fun today.”
“I didn’t have fun today,” she said automatically.
“You’re lying.”
“Yes, to save you from yourself. It’s very sweet of you to ask me. Really. And I do appreciate the offer, but… No.”
“I don’t accept that.”
“You have to.”
“That’s where you’re wrong.”
“What part of no don’t you understand?” she demanded.
“Pretty much all of it. Never have.” Losing his mother when he was sixteen had made him want to give up and he had for a while. But folks in Thunder Canyon hadn’t given up on him and made him see that if a door closed you went around it. One foot in front of the other to get what you want. “If I did, I wouldn’t be an engineer at all, let alone doing a doctorate program in green energy or working for Traub Oil Montana.” He took a breath and met her gaze. “Therefore, I have an alternate suggestion.”
“And that would be?”
“You’re looking for a serious relationship, but I don’t meet your criteria. I’m only looking to have fun—at my sister’s wedding. Nothing permanent. You told me I was great company today. Did you mean it?”
“Of course, or I wouldn’t have said it.”
“Then it’s official. As my Thanksgiving volunteer partner you passed the Austin Anderson friendship test with flying colors. There’s no reason we can’t attend the Thunder Canyon social event of the year in that capacity.”
“Friends?”
“Yeah.” And if it turned into friends with benefits, who was he to complain?
“You’re serious?”
“Completely.”
“We did have fun today. And I don’t want to go alone.” There was determination in her eyes even as the doubts refused to dissolve. “But if even one person makes a crack about robbing the cradle…”
“You’ll just have to whip out your ID and prove you’re at least twenty-one so no one thinks I’m perving on you.”
“Oh, please—” But she laughed, then pointed at him. “Okay, I’ll go with you, but only as friends. No strings attached.”
He wouldn’t have it any other way.
Rose walked into the three-story lobby of the Thunder Canyon Resort on the arm of Austin Anderson. People looked at them, but no one
