Chapter 13
Xavier
“Do you two eat here like every night or something?” I asked as I followed Lucas and Beau into Dolly’s Diner for probably the fourth time in the past week. “Aren’t you tired of it?”
“Tired of Dolly’s cookin’?” Beau scoffed, glancing back at me. “Never!”
Lucas gave me a small nod. “I miss sushi. And latkes. And bagels.”
“God, I would kill someone for a kosher deli right now. Best food of my life!”
“What’s wrong with barbecue?” Beau asked, looking at the pair of us like we were insane. “And good southern cookin’? Lucas came down here to steal our recipes for a reason. It’s the best.”
“It’s good,” I nodded. “But if man was meant to live on red meat and pie alone, we wouldn’t have arteries that get clogged so easily.”
That got a snort from Lucas. “Beau is allergic to vegetables. I’m convinced.”
“I eat vegetables!”
“Ketchup is not a vegetable,” Lucas retorted.
“Well hey there!” a high-pitched voice called from the bar. It was Dolly, of course. “It’s my two favorite boys!”
Lucas stepped aside to show that it wasn’t just him and Beau. And the moment Dolly’s gaze landed on me, that smile flew right off her face and probably got stuck in her over sprayed hair.
“Yep,” I nodded, giving her a sarcastic smile. “I’m here too.”
“Well, isn’t that just wonderful,” Dolly said through gritted teeth, her voice dripping with false sweetness as she grabbed three menus. “Right this way.”
She led us to a booth near the back, and I couldn’t help but notice she walked a little faster than necessary, like she was trying to get this over with as quickly as possible.
Lucas slid in first, followed by Beau, leaving me to take the seat across from them.
Perfect. Now I got to stare at the happy couple while they made goo-goo eyes at each other.
Not that I was bitter or anything.
“Coffee?” Dolly asked, already pouring three cups without waiting for an answer. At least she was consistent in her terrible service.
“Yes, please,” Lucas said politely.
“Thank you, Dolly,” Beau added with that charming smile of his.
She completely ignored me, which was fine. I wasn’t in the mood to pretend to be nice to someone who clearly despised my existence.
After she walked away, Lucas leaned across the table slightly. “She’ll warm up to you eventually.”
“I doubt that,” I muttered, dumping sugar into my coffee. “And honestly? I don’t care. I’m not here to make friends with the locals.”
“Just with the sheriff?” Beau asked, a knowing smirk playing at his lips.
I nearly choked on my coffee. “Excuse me?”
“Come on, Xavier.” Lucas glanced at Beau, then back to me. “The way you two look at each other? The tension? It’s pretty obvious something’s going on.”
My heart rate kicked up a notch. Had Marcus told them? No, he wouldn’t. He’d been so adamant about keeping this secret. But maybe we hadn’t been as subtle as I thought.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I said, trying to sound casual even though my pulse was hammering in my throat. “You know me, the last thing I want to do is get involved with some backwater hick.”
Beau just laughed. “Relax. We’re just teasin’ you.”
I stared at them both, trying to figure out if this was some kind of game for them or a trap. But Lucas’s expression was open and genuine, and Beau looked more amused than anything else. Maybe they were actually just teasing.
“Well now that I’ve got you both sitting down,” I said, changing the subject. “We need to finalize some details for the bachelor parties this weekend.”
I pulled out my phone and opened my notes app, scrolling through the extensive list I’d been compiling. “So, Logan’s handling most of the logistics for Beau’s party, right? The camping trip?”
“Yep,” Beau nodded. “He’s got it all planned out. Me, Dakota, Colt, Brooks, Diego, and Alex are gonna spend three days in the hill country. Fishing, hiking… the whole nine yards.”
“Sounds absolutely riveting,” I said dryly. “Mosquitos, dirt, and sleeping on the ground. What more could a man want?”
Lucas grinned. “You’re not going, so you don’t have to worry about it.”
“Thank god for small mercies.” I swiped to another note. “Now, for your party, Lucas. I was thinking we could do something a bit more... civilized. There’s a wine bar in Austin that does private tastings, or we could rent out a rooftop lounge. Get some actual culture in this godforsaken state.”
“Actually,” Lucas said, looking rather sheepish. “I thought we’d just get a bunch of booze, a stripper, and get white-girl wasted back on the ranch.”
My eyes immediately went to Beau. And to my surprise, he didn’t look the least bit worried or concerned.
“Are you…” I gestured between them. “Are you okay with that?”
“Why wouldn’t I be?” Beau asked, genuinely confused.
“Because there’s going to be a stripper?” I said slowly, like I was explaining basic math to a toddler. “A male stripper. Grinding on your fiancé?”
Beau shrugged, taking a sip of his coffee. “It’s a bachelor party. That’s what happens at bachelor parties. Besides, it’s not like Lucas is gonna run off with some random stripper.”
I blinked at him, then looked at Lucas, who was trying very hard not to laugh at my expression.
“You two are disgustingly secure in your relationship,” I muttered. “It’s actually kind of annoying.”
“We trust each other,” Lucas said simply. “And honestly? I’m not even that interested in the stripper. I just want to hang out with my friends and have a good time before the wedding.”
“Well, that’s surprisingly wholesome.” I made a note in my phone. “Okay, so booze and a stripper. I can work with that. Do you have a preference? Twink? Bear? Daddy?”
“Yes,” Lucas said with a grin.
Dolly appeared at our table with a notepad, her expression still sour when she looked at me. “What can I get y’all?”
“I’ll have the chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and green beans,” Beau said.
“Same for me,” Lucas added. “But can I get a side salad instead of the green beans?”
Dolly scribbled on her pad, then turned to me with barely concealed disdain. “And you?”
I scanned the menu quickly, looking for anything that wouldn’t give me a heart attack. “Do you have anything that’s not fried or covered in gravy?”
Her eye twitched. “This is a diner, hon. Not some fancy California granola restaurant.”
“I’m from New York, not California,” I corrected. “And I’m just asking if you have grilled chicken or fish. Maybe a nice salad?”
“We got salad,” she said flatly. “House salad with ranch dressing.”
“Can I get it with the dressing on the side? And maybe some grilled chicken on top?”
She stared at me like I’d just asked her to perform surgery. “I’ll see what I can do.”
As she walked away, I heard her mutter something under her breath that was clearly not praise.
“You really know how to make friends,” Lucas said, trying not to laugh.
“It’s a gift,” I replied dryly. I turned my attention back to my phone. “So, back to the bachelor party. When exactly are we doing this? I need to coordinate with the stripper’s schedule.”
“How about Saturday night?” Lucas suggested. “Beau will be out with the others already and the regular guests will be gone, so we’ll have the place to ourselves.” Lucas reached over, threading his fingers through Beau’s. “We’ll have it in the barn, that way we don’t disturb anyone at the house.”
“Who’s gonna be there?” I asked, typing away. “I need to make sure we have enough food and booze.”
“Logan, Eli, Dustin, Rowan, Hayden, Dolly, and probably Mabel. I doubt she’d turn down a chance to see a male stripper.”
I jotted down the names. “What about Marcus? He’s your officiant, so do you want to invite him to either party?”
“I don’t think he can get away for three days for mine,” Beau said, shaking his head. “But I don’t know if he’s ready for male strippers either.”
I felt my stomach twist at the mention of Marcus. “Well, he might surprise you,” I said, keeping my voice carefully neutral even though my pulse had kicked up. The last thing I wanted to do was out him to the entire town. “But I can ask him if you want. See if he’s interested.”
“That’d be great,” Lucas said. “I’d love to have him there. He’s been a good friend to both of us.”
“Yeah, sure. I’ll text him later.” I made another note, trying not to think about the last couple times I’d seen Marcus.
The way he looked at me when I’d left his office, satisfied and relaxed in a way I’d never seen before.
The way he’d kissed me goodbye like he didn’t want me to leave.
And the way his eyes lit up when I mentioned that next time, I’d bring my dildo.
Dolly returned with our food, slamming my sad little salad down in front of me with enough force that some of the lettuce actually jumped.
The grilled chicken looked like it had been cooked sometime last week and then reheated in a microwave, but I wasn’t about to complain.
Not when she was already looking at me like she wanted to poison my ranch dressing.
“Enjoy,” she said, the word dripping with sarcasm as she walked away.
I poked at the wilted lettuce with my fork. “This looks absolutely tragic.”
“Welcome to small-town dining,” Lucas said sympathetically, cutting into his chicken fried steak. “But hey, at least she didn’t spit in it.”
“That you know of,” I muttered, pushing aside a particularly suspicious-looking tomato.
Beau was practically halfway through his meal in seconds, eating with the kind of enthusiasm that suggested he genuinely loved Dolly’s cooking. Which was insane, but whatever. Love was blind, apparently, and so were taste buds.
“So,” Lucas said between bites, “have you made any progress on finding whoever’s been stealing from the ranches?”
I looked up from my depressing salad. “What do you mean ‘you’? I’m not the sheriff.”
“No, but you were there when Marcus was investigating at our place,” Lucas pointed out. “And you seem to know what’s going on.”
I shrugged, spearing a piece of the questionable chicken. “Not really. Marcus is handling it. I’m just the wedding planner who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.” I took a bite of my tough chicken. “Twice, actually.”
“Or the right place,” Beau said with that knowing smirk again.
I shot him a look. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Nothing,” he said innocently, though his eyes were dancing with amusement. “Just that you and the sheriff seem to spend a lot of time together. For someone who’s just planning a wedding.”
My face heated, and I took a long drink of water to buy myself some time. They were fishing, that much was obvious. But I didn’t know how much they actually knew versus how much they were guessing.
“At the Baker Ranch I found a piece of evidence by chance,” I said carefully. “And I’m literally staying at your place, so he ran into me when interviewing the other guests about the thefts. That’s all.”
“And the suit fittings?” Lucas poked, his lips pulling into a crooked grin. “What about those?”
“The man has a fifty-inch chest and a thirty-two-inch waist. He’s a pain in the ass to fit,” I shot back, stabbing at my sad salad. “But if you want him to look like shit at your wedding, I can stop bothering with it. That’s one less thing on my plate.”
Lucas and Beau exchanged glances, and I could tell they were trying not to laugh at my defensive tone. Great. Now I sounded exactly like someone who was hiding something.
“No, no,” Lucas said quickly, holding up his hands in surrender. “We want him to look good. Keep doing the fittings. Please.”
I nodded, focusing back on my salad even though I’d completely lost my appetite. The conversation had veered too close to territory I wasn’t supposed to be talking about, especially not in the middle of Dolly’s Diner where anyone could overhear.
“So, the stripper,” I said, desperately trying to steer us back to safer ground. “Any idea which town I should call up first? I need an idea if I’m going to find someone good on short notice.”
“Amarillo is closest,” Lucas said with a shrug. “Maybe Fort Worth if they’re willing to drive that far.”
I made another note. “I’ll reach out to an agency in Amarillo and see what they’ve got.” I paused, considering. “Though fair warning, the good ones usually book up fast. We might have to settle for whatever’s available on Saturday night.”
“I’m sure whoever you find will be great,” Lucas said with the kind of easy confidence that came from someone who’d never had to plan an event in his life. “You’re the professional.”
“That I am,” I muttered, taking another reluctant bite of my salad.
The conversation shifted to other wedding details—seating arrangements, the timeline for the ceremony, last-minute RSVPs that were trickling in.
I pulled up the files, and we went through everything methodically, checking items off my list one by one.
This was familiar territory, the kind of work I excelled at.
No complicated feelings, no sexual tension, just logistics and planning.
We were deep into a discussion about whether the cocktail hour should be one hour or ninety minutes when my phone buzzed in my hands. I flipped to the messaging app discreetly, the name displayed on my screen making my heart do a little flip.
Marcus: Would like to see you again soon. You free?
My heart did another annoying flutter thing, and I had to remind myself that this was just casual. No sense in getting too excited.
Me: I’m at Dolly’s with Lucas and Beau. Later tonight?
The three dots appeared immediately.
Marcus: Yes. Meet me at the office. Rear entrance.
I glanced up at Lucas and Beau, who were now discussing whether Aunt Martha would be offended if she was seated near the bathrooms. They seemed fully absorbed in their debate and probably wouldn’t even notice if I slipped away early.
Me: I’ll be there.