A Christmas Wedding For The Cowboy. Mary Leo

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СКАЧАТЬ donned a sly grin. “Oh, I don’t know. Guys don’t generally like to admit romantic defeat.” She turned back to Carson and waited for his answer.

      He hesitated for what seemed like minutes, causing Zoe’s stomach to sour from all the healthy green juice she’d consumed earlier that morning. Then he leaned forward in his chair, clasped his hands together, resting them on his injured thigh, and said, “I’m going to ignore that bit of town gossip and get on with my wedding plans.”

      Zoe instantly let out the breath she’d been holding, while Piper rattled on about whether or not to have red or white poinsettias in the church, as if everything she’d just insinuated had never left her lips.

      “Personally, I think either one would do,” Carson said, looking a bit overwhelmed.

      Piper pushed on. “Maybe we should wait on this meeting until your fiancée returns. After all, we’ll be deciding the details of seating arrangements, and any last-minute changes to the itinerary, and—”

      “She left me in charge...for now anyway,” Carson said, cutting her off. “Marilyn Rose isn’t one for a lot of fuss. And since she, um...didn’t really want a fancy wedding in the first place, and only agreed to it because of my family, I get the honor of choosing all the last-minute details while she’s off winning the Nationals in Vegas. My sister Kayla can help if it comes to that.”

      “No, that’s fine,” Zoe said, probably faster than she’d meant to, but having Kayla decide anything would be worse than if he simply called the whole thing off. The woman’s indecision on her own scuttled wedding had not only cost Zoe money and time, but had given her chronic heartburn, which she had only recently overcome. “I’m sure you can handle all the decisions yourself.”

      Piper’s face reflected her doubt.

      Carson turned to Piper, looking somewhat offended by her obvious eye roll. “What? You think the groom can’t make these decisions?”

      Zoe knew this conversation wasn’t going in a positive direction. Piper could be caustic when there were any changes to the original plan. She was one of those steadfast people who didn’t like spontaneity of any kind. Whereas Zoe could easily lose focus with the slightest breeze, which was just another reason why they worked so well together and had been friends for so long.

      They complimented each other’s personality quirks.

      “I think it’s refreshing to work with the groom, especially when it seems that the bride is busy with her exciting career,” Zoe added. “If she scores well in Vegas, she’ll come away with one of the biggest purses in the history of her sport. Her complete focus needs to be on excelling and it shows a total trust in your union that you’re here today making the final choices for your wedding. Besides, most of the big decisions have already been made. All that’s left are a few incidentals that I’m sure we can take care of in no time.”

      Piper slid back in her chair and let out a skeptical sounding, “Uh-huh.”

      Zoe ignored her. Carson apparently hadn’t noticed Piper’s petulance and instead seemed to be zeroing in on Zoe’s optimism. His striking face brightened. The change in his demeanor was astounding and Zoe felt the tension she’d had in her shoulders relax.

      “Can I get you anything before we start?” Zoe asked Carson. “Water? Coffee? Beer?”

      He hesitated and briefly cleared his throat. “A cup of black tea with milk would be great.”

      Piper stood. “Comin’ right up,” she said with a touch of snark to her voice. “Tea for the cowboy.”

      While Piper busied herself with Carson’s tea, a beverage Zoe never guessed a rough-and-tumble guy like Carson would ever drink, Zoe brought up their website and began showing Carson possible floral arrangements for the church. The weird thing about being that close to Carson Grant was the fact that if he wasn’t her client and getting married in a few weeks, she would be swooning all over him.

      She’d had a crush on Carson ever since they were kids. The town was big enough that she had never known him personally when they were growing up, but she’d seen him around enough to be drawn to him even then. Plus, his riding abilities were legendary. When he became the grand marshal for the annual Fourth of July parade three years ago, she couldn’t help but be attracted to him sitting up there on that majestic black stallion.

      He’d always been the town catch, even if she’d never seriously been in the running.

      Piper had told her to make a move on him back then, and she had, but it hadn’t worked out the way she’d hoped. Asking for his autograph was not exactly what Piper had had in mind, especially when Zoe had been just one of many women who’d stood in line that day.

      When he’d shared some family secrets with her at Kayla’s rehearsal dinner and then assured her that he’d get his sister to the church for her wedding, Zoe had felt they’d made a connection, at least on a friendship basis. But when he’d driven right past the church with his sister crying in the backseat, all thoughts of friendship quickly faded. If they had been friends, he surely would have stopped and allowed her to talk to Kayla.

      Now he was getting married to the darling of the rodeo circuit, and Zoe was planning their wedding. She was thankful for the business, but if she had a choice, she would rather be preparing a wedding for just about anybody but the man sitting next to her.

      Still, if there was any truth to what Piper had said about him and his fiancée being on the skids... But that was impossible. What woman in her right mind would give up on Carson Grant?

      Certainly not his fiancée, his soul mate, Marilyn Rose.

       Chapter Two

      “I haven’t told anyone yet,” Carson said to his cousin Father Beau Grant, one of the priests at St. Paul’s. “No, wait, that’s not entirely true. My eighty-two-year-old neighbor Sal knows.”

      St. Paul’s Catholic Church had been built to reflect the art of the day, with a high, ornate ceiling, gilded gold-leafed cornices and a long railing that separated the sanctuary from the rest of the church. The pinnacled, decorated altar stood under a colorful stained-glass window reminiscent of the rose window in Notre Dame Cathedral in France. The limestone building with its arched, colorful windows depicting St. Paul in various stages of his life was one of the first churches built in the Teton Valley. A fact Carson had learned from his cousin Beau during his altar boy days when Beau had chosen to spend most of his Sunday mornings inside the church rather than helping out on the ranch. It was right around that time when Beau had confided in Carson that he wanted to be a priest, preferably at St. Paul’s.

      His dream came true two years ago when Father George, who’d been getting up there in years, requested a smaller parish from his bishop, and Father Beau was finally able to come back home.

      “You confided in your neighbor,” Father Beau reasoned, “but you can’t tell your wedding planner?”

      Father Beau, a full three years older than Carson’s twenty-nine, had grown up on the Grant ranch with Carson, but hadn’t taken to full-time cowboying. Instead, he’d only ever wanted to be a priest. Carson never understood the calling, but always admired his cousin for believing in his dream and carrying it through.

      “I’m СКАЧАТЬ