His Valentine Bride

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“You and me?” She somehow managed a respectable-sounding laugh. “Pssh. We’re just friends.”

By the look in his eyes, Betsy knew she hadn’t quite allayed his suspicions. How uncomfortable would it be for them to work in the same office day after day if he thought she was pining over him? She had to make him think there was someone else. But who? They knew most of the same people.

“Actually, as long as we’re sharing confessions, I have my own secret crush. That’s why I could so easily relate to what you were saying.”

The muscles in his shoulders relaxed and the suspicion that had colored his gaze all but disappeared. “Who is he?”

If she refused to tell him, he’d think she was lying. But she couldn’t pick anyone currently living in Jackson Hole. That would be way too uncomfortable. And she wouldn’t put it past Ryan to spill the beans.

Think, she told herself, think of a name.

“Tripp Randall.”

“The Tripp Randall who used to live here?”

“He lives back East now.” Betsy relaxed against the chair, feeling comfortable enough to take a sip of her now-lukewarm drink. “He was married, but—”

“His wife died.”

At first Betsy was surprised. How did he know that Tripp’s wife had passed away? Then she reminded herself that this was Jackson Hole. It was hard to keep any kind of secret in this town.

“Even though he’s now single, I don’t think there’s any chance of our getting together,” Betsy said. “I mean, he’s in Connecticut and I’m here.”

“Not for much longer.”

“What do you mean? I don’t have any plans to move.”

“You haven’t heard?”

“Heard what?”

“I just got a call from him this morning,” Ryan said. “Tripp is moving back to Jackson Hole.”

Chapter Five

Betsy dressed for work the next morning, still thinking about her conversation with Ryan in the coffee shop.

She hadn’t known what to say when he announced he was in love with Adrianna. It made perfect sense. Heck, if she was a guy she’d pick Adrianna, too. The woman was smart and beautiful. And she had a kind heart.

His announcement had shaken Betsy to the core. Even though she’d never admit this to anyone, there had been a few wonderful seconds where she’d been convinced he was going to declare his love for her. When he said her friend’s name instead, she’d wanted to cry. But she hadn’t. She’d kept her pride.

So what if he now thought she was interested in a man she could barely remember? There were worse things, such as his knowing her true feelings.

No, it hadn’t been a good day. But if she hadn’t thought quickly, it could have been so much worse.

By the time she arrived at work she had her emotions firmly under control. Only eight hours to get through and then she’d have four days away from Ryan. Four days to lick her wounds. Four days to figure out how she was going to deal with working for a man she loved who had the hots for her best friend.

Ryan was in court all morning. Adrianna had asked Betsy to meet her for lunch. Although she didn’t like lying to her friend, her emotions were too raw and she made up an excuse about having too much work to do.

Actually it wasn’t far from the truth. She was hoping to be able to get her tasks done so she could leave early and minimize the time spent with Ryan.

The clock had just chimed one when Ryan appeared. Betsy smiled and said hello as he walked through the back door, knowing it would have looked odd to do anything else. Then she immediately returned her attention to the papers on her desk, hoping he’d go straight into his adjoining office and shut the door.

Instead he crossed the room and stood by her desk giving her no choice but to look up. “Is there something you need?”

He shifted from one foot to the other. “About our conversation yesterday—”

“All forgotten.” She spoke quickly before he could continue.

Ryan dropped into the chair next to her desk. The spicy scent of his cologne teased her nostrils. “I did a lot of thinking last night.”