“Typically you’re eager to date new men. I wasn’t there so I can’t speak to this Andrew guy, but it seems as if he didn’t have much in the way of flaws, so why the sudden reluctance?”

  She wished she could spill everything to her mother, tell her all about Vegas. And then explain to her how much fun she’d been having with Owen lately, how close they had been getting. She wondered how her mom would react to that news.

  Probably not great, all things considered. She’d be concerned, maybe even angry with Owen. And that she couldn’t allow.

  She swept her fingertip along her brow, trying to find the right words to extricate herself from this conversation. “Oh, well, you know how it is, Mom. Sometimes you’re in the mood to date, and sometimes you’re not.”

  “What you’re saying is you’re not in the mood?”

  She could tell from the look on her mother’s face that she wasn’t buying it. “Not really. We’re deep into spring, we have a lot of weddings coming up and I’m incredibly busy right now. I mean, I’m just buried with work and planning. Who has time for men? I know I don’t.”

  Mom studied her for a few seconds longer. “Okay, as long as everything is all right with you.”

  She resisted letting out a giant sigh of relief. Instead, she stood. “Everything is fine. Except my to-do list right now, so I’ve gotta go. Thanks for checking in on me, Mom.” She bent over, kissed her mother on the cheek and made her escape back to her own office. She closed the door, took a seat at her desk and then sighed.

  She couldn’t remember ever feeling so under the microscope with her family. Had it always been like this, or was it a recent development? Either way, she felt exposed, and this wasn’t a good time for that kind of scrutiny.

  She opened her planner and looked at the dates. She wished she knew when to expect her period, that way she could confirm a pregnancy or not. But oh, no, she was irregular on that front. Didn’t that just figure?

  But she should have a period soon. She had to. She didn’t feel any pregnancy symptoms, which made her feel optimistic. The sooner this was all over with and they could dissolve their marriage would be for the better, right?

  So why didn’t she feel happier?

  Her phone buzzed with a message. She picked it up, her heartbeat kicking a little higher when she saw that the message was from Owen.

  We have a Zoom call with our divorce attorney tonight. Is my place okay? Bettie misses you.

  Her lips quirked.

  She typed a response: That sounds great. What time?

  He replied: How about five thirty? After the call I’ll throw something together for us to eat, too.

  Of course he would. Only she doubted whatever food he served would be thrown together. Owen knew how to cook a meal. Her stomach already growled at the thought.

  She sent back another text: Sounds good. See you then.

  Bettie’s really looking forward to seeing you.

  She sighed as she stared at her phone, realizing she felt warm and tingly all over.

  There was a knock at her door. She dropped the phone like it was on fire as she looked up and saw Mae’s smiling face.

  Pull it together, Honor.

  She motioned for Mae to come in.

  “Something—or maybe someone—put a smile on your face,” Mae said as she placed a pile of books and her laptop down on the table in her office. “What’s up?”

  “Oh, definitely not a someone. Just a confirmation of a floral order.”

  “Really? Which wedding? I’ll mark it off the list.”

  Crap. She stumbled over her mushy thoughts. “The Hanverson/Daley wedding.”

  “Oh, good.”

  Honor was lucky she’d gotten that call from the florist this morning so she didn’t have to make up a bald-faced lie. Then again, she was getting good at lying, wasn’t she?

  “Who knew a flower order would put such a dreamy look on your face?” Mae said as she took a seat at the table.

  Honor joined her. “Well, you know me. Weddings just do it for me.”

  “They are sweetly romantic, aren’t they? Unless they’re mine, in which case, ugh, no thank you.”

  Honor laughed. “You have such a good attitude about not marrying that bastard who cheated on you.”

  Mae grinned. “Thank you so much for referring to him that way. And hey, the way I look at it is—better to find out he was a cheating piece of shit before I married him rather than after, right?”

  “That is so true. But still, he broke your heart.”

  She shrugged. “I got over him. And now look at me—I’m content and doing what I love. And making all these brides happy, too.”

  Honor wasn’t sure she could be that accepting—or want to be involved in the whole wedding thing if the same thing had happened to her. But that was Mae’s personality. She always took the high road, always turned the worst into the best. That was one of the things Honor loved about her friend, and why she wanted her at Bellini Weddings. Not to mention her crazy talents for everything bridal. Honor hoped that one day the right guy would come along for Mae, because no one deserved it more than she did.

  The two of them ripped right through the upcoming weekend’s activities, and, armed with her to-do list, Mae headed out. Honor dug into her own priorities, keeping her mind occupied and off Owen. Fortunately, she had a lot to do, including two off-site meetings with vendors. By the time she got back home it was four o’clock. She needed to jot down notes from her meetings and update her calendar, and that finished off her workday. She shut off the light in her office, closed the door, then passed her mother in the hall.

  “How did the meetings go?”

  “Oh, great, Mom. I’ll send you an email about them in the morning.”

  Her mother nodded. “I’ll see you at dinner, then?”

  “Uh, no. I made some last-minute plans with friends, so I’m going out tonight.”

  “Okay. Have fun.” Her mother walked off and thankfully didn’t ask any further questions.

  Honor went upstairs, took a fast shower and then, since today was on the overly warm side, decided on shorts and a sleeveless cotton shirt. She brushed out her hair, put on some light makeup and slid into her tennis shoes. She made it to Owen’s with about five minutes to spare, then realized she’d forgotten to grab a bottle of wine on her way out the door.

  Dammit. That was what she got for being in such a hurry. Now she felt naked and like a terrible guest. But she was still going to ring the doorbell.

  She waited. And waited.

  Hmm. No answer.

  Okay, fine. Figuring Owen was likely out back, she went around the side of the house and opened the gate, making her way to the backyard. She didn’t see him, so she slipped inside and laid her purse on the table, then went back out. She caught sight of Bettie slipping around the barn and figured she was following Owen, so she headed that way.

  Following the sound of barking, she found Bettie at the fence giving rather loud advice to the three cows in the pasture while Owen handled the feed. Honor went up to greet Bettie, who turned her attention on her with wiggles and licks.

  “It’s good to see you, too. I’ve missed you so much. I see you’re helping Owen with his chores.”

  “ ‘Helping’ is a matter open to discussion,” Owen said as he closed the gate and came up to her. “Hi.”

  “Hi yourself.” She looked him over, admiring the way sweat made his T-shirt stick to all that incredible lean muscle. He was covered in dirt and hay and she’d never seen him look sexier. Or, frankly, smell better. What was it about sweat and dirt on this man that hit her libido so hard? She was around good-looking men who worked outside at the vineyard and got sweaty, and they had never hit her hot buttons. But right now she wanted to lick Owen’s neck, push him down on the filthy ground, strip his clothes off and climb on top of him while she—

  Well, that fantasy went places in a hurry. Fortunately, a swift breeze brought her back to reality, because she found herself walking in step with Owen as he made his way back toward the house.

  “You look pretty. I’d like to pull you against me and kiss you.” He looked down at himself. “But then you’d be dirty and sweaty.”

  And there went that fantasy again, blooming into colorful life. “Nothing wrong with a little dirt and sweat.”

  “If you’d been out here working the cattle and horses with me, I might consider it.” He opened the door and waited for her to go inside. “But since you look nice and clean, I’ll pass on my dirty thoughts.”

  She pivoted. “You had dirty thoughts?”

  He was headed down the hall, but stopped. “Where you’re concerned, Honor? Every day. I’m gonna take a quick shower. I’ll be right back. There’s wine in the fridge. Help yourself.”

  She stared after him until he disappeared, then let out a sigh and uncorked the Red Moss Vineyards bottle of pinot grigio she found in the fridge, pouring herself a small glass. Since there was still a small chance she was pregnant, she was allowing herself a maximum of one glass of wine a day, which, according to what she’d read online, was perfectly healthy for pregnant women.

  She wandered over to the bay window and stared for a few minutes, then pulled up a seat at the table and looked down at Bettie, who had curled herself in a ball on the cool kitchen tile and had gone to sleep.

  “I could be naked in the shower with him right now,” she said to Bettie. “So why didn’t I follow him? Then again, he didn’t invite me, either.” She took a couple sips of wine and pondered.

  “But he did make that comment about having dirty thoughts about me. Maybe that had been the invitation. And I was just too obtuse to follow through.” She took another few sips of the wine and thought about her next move.

  She could go down the hall to his bedroom and slip into the shower with him right now.

  She stewed and thought, stewed and thought some more.

  Besides, they’d already had sex. It wasn’t like something happening between them was some kind of surprise or anything. It wouldn’t be their first time together. Or even their second.

  So again, Honor—why are you hesitating?

  She replied to herself by taking two more swallows of wine.

  “You’re being ridiculous, you know. He wants you naked.”

  “If by ‘he’ you mean me, then the answer is always yes.”

  She pushed back from the table and stood abruptly, nearly spilling her glass of wine as she turned to find Owen leaning against the wall.

  “I was . . . talking to myself.”

  He pushed off the wall. “Obviously. About being naked.” He grabbed a beer from the fridge and twisted the top off, tossing it in the trash on his way toward her. “Were you thinking about joining me in the shower?”

  “I—I was going to—then I thought—well, that was the problem, actually. Too much thinking.”

  He swept his thumb across her bottom lip. “Next time don’t think. Go with instinct. I would have liked you to join me.”

  See? Overthinking never got her anywhere. “I’ll make a note of that.”

  He brushed his lips across hers, and she leaned into the kiss, wanting, needing it to go on longer. She’d missed his touch, the taste of him. Just breathing him in and feeling his tongue sweep across hers was like taking in much-needed oxygen. When he pulled back, he smiled at her.

  “Ready for the call?”

  She nodded. “Absolutely.”

  He typed the information in and Jessica’s smiling face popped up.

  “Hello, you two. It’s nice to see you.”

  “Nice to see you as well, Jessica,” Honor said.

  “You know, for two people getting a divorce, you sure show up in the same room a lot.”

  Owen laughed. “We’re friends. Just accidentally married ones.”

  “Right. Anyway, I have the paperwork complete. I can send it over for you both to sign. Since there are no assets to haggle over and no children, it’s likely we can have you divorced within about ten days.”

  Honor’s stomach tumbled. “Oh, about that. Is there any way we can put a temporary hold on filing that paperwork?”

  “Of course. May I ask why?”

  “Well, there’s a possibility I could be pregnant, and I need to wait until my period shows up to be certain.”

  Jessica seemed not at all shocked by the revelation. “Not a problem. I’ll hold the paperwork and you let me know when you’re ready for me to file it. All it’ll require is your signatures and then I’ll date it and send it off. After that, as far as finalization, everything will go smoothly. Or, if you don’t want it filed at all, let me know that, too.”

  “Awesome,” Owen said. “Thanks, Jessica.”

  They signed off, then turned to face each other.

  “How long before you know for sure?” Owen asked.

  She shrugged. “A couple more weeks, maybe? My periods are anything but consistent, but I should know within two to three weeks for sure. Maybe.”

  He laughed. “I’m in no hurry, Honor. I’m not going anywhere. In the meantime, I don’t know about you, but I’m hungry. How about I fix us some dinner?”

  She was relieved he wasn’t in a hurry for the divorce. She was also interested in something other than food, but the logical side of her realized she probably needed to eat. “Sure, that sounds good.”

  He got stuff out of the refrigerator and it all looked amazing. He’d obviously marinated some chicken kabobs along with veggies, and then he put rice in the cooker, and now her stomach took notice.

  “Anything I can do to help?” she asked.

  He cocked his head to the side. “You want to help me cook?”

  “Not particularly. I was just being polite.”

  He laughed. “Come on. You can keep me company outside while I put these on the grill.”

  “Sounds like a plan.” She had finished her wine, so she rinsed her glass and followed him out to the patio, where he got the grill ready and laid the kabobs on.

  As he worked, she looked out over his property. It was beautiful out here. Green and lush, with so much space she could walk forever. It was one of the things she loved the most about living on the Bellini property, and probably why she had never moved out. Living in some cramped apartment would make her feel claustrophobic. Having wide open spaces was home to her.

  This felt like home, and as she got up and wandered outside the fenced area of the yard, Bettie followed. She inhaled the pungent smell of hay and horses and cattle, listening to the sounds of mooing cows and watching as the horses nudged each other in their pasture.

  She could lose a lot of time out here. But she also realized that despite its small size, Owen had a lot of responsibility, on top of being the owner of a craft brewery.

  She made her way back to the yard and closed the gate behind her.

  He looked up and smiled. “Hey, you’re just in time. The rice is finished and so are these. You ready to eat?”

  “Sure.”

  “You want to eat inside or outside?”

  She looked around. “Let’s eat outside. The weather is so perfect tonight.”

  “Okay.”

  They went inside and got plates together, and Owen put the rice in a covered bowl. He also pulled out a fruit salad from the fridge. They carried everything outside and set it on the table. Owen went back inside and came out with a couple of glasses of iced tea.

  “I don’t know about you,” he said as he took a seat. “But I’m so hungry.”

  “Me, too.”

  They dug in, and the chicken and veggies tasted amazing. So did everything else.

  “This is so good, Owen,” she said. “Thank you for inviting me over.”

  “Oh, I didn’t,” he said, sliding chicken and veggies off a skewer. “It was all Bettie’s idea.”

  She laughed. “Right, I forgot.” She looked down at the dog, who was curled up under the table. “Thanks for inviting me, Bettie.”

  “Bettie’s thinking of having a big barbecue for Memorial Day, inviting a bunch of people over. What do you think?”

  “I think it’s a fantastic idea. Do you need help organizing?”

  “Always. Bettie likes to think she has everything handled, but just between you and me, she’s all paws and could use a good assistant.”

  She took a sip of her iced tea, then set the glass down and smiled at him. “I’ll be more than happy to be Bettie’s helper.”

  “Okay. She doesn’t have fingers so I’ll have to act as go-between and text and call you.”

  “I can suffer through that.” She scooped up some rice on her fork. “This rice is amazing. What do you do to it?”

  “It’s a secret. Can’t have you stealing my recipe, can I?”

  “Oh, right. Like I’m going to take up cooking.”

  “Good point. Lemon and gin, and I add almonds.”

  “No kidding. There’s gin in here?”

  “First, I never joke about food. Second, just a little splash.”

  “Huh. You’re very good with the food thing. And I consider myself kind of an expert. At eating it.”

  He laughed. “Then I accept the compliment.”

  They finished the meal and cleaned up, put away the leftovers and washed dishes. Or, rather, she pushed him out of the kitchen while she rinsed and washed, and he went outside to clean off the grill.

  Once she was finished in the kitchen, she stepped outside. Owen was just covering the grill. He turned and smiled at her.

  “Before the sun goes down, I thought we might take a walk.”

  “That sounds perfect.”

  He reached into one of the cabinets on the patio and pulled out some bug spray. It was light and unscented, which she appreciated.

  “Can’t have the mosquitoes biting on you,” he said, then stepped behind her and crouched down to spray the back of her legs.