LITMIR.BIZ

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a different male voice said. “Lily? This is Xander Crawford. My brother can’t make it tonight, but I happen to be free for dinner and I’ll be taking his place. See you in five minutes.”

      Uh, what?

      “No, that’s okay,” she said, hoping her voice didn’t sound as clogged to him as it did to her. I am not a charity case! The famed ire of the angry redhead? She was about to blow, people! “No worries. Bye!” She clicked End Call and stuffed her phone in her stupid little purse—she hated purses!—stood up, took another long sip of her wine, and stalked back into the kitchen, wondering how a person could feel angry and so sad at the same time.

      Xander Crawford. Please. She’d seen him up close and personal and he was too good-looking, too sexy—with a Texas drawl, to boot. She’d clam up and stammer or mumble or ramble, especially because of how weird this all was. And what was she? Someone to pity? The poor stood-up date? No thank you!

      She was grateful her fellow cooks and her friend AnnaBeth, a waitress, were all so busy they didn’t see her slip back into the break room. She opened her locker, and a photo of her dogs, one of her beautiful mother, and a restaurant review from the Rust Creek Falls Gazette that had raved about her filet mignon in mushroom peppercorn sauce with roasted rosemary potatoes and sautéed garlic-buttered asparagus reminded her who she was. Lily Hunt. She was meant to be creating magical recipes and figuring out how to get where she wanted to be in a year or two. Not trying to be something she wasn’t: a woman who dated gorgeous, wealthy ranchers the entire town was vying for.

      Yes, vying for. There were five Crawford brothers left and, according to Viv, their dad wanted to see them married and settled down, so he’d put the wedding planner on the case to find them the right women. All the single ladies in town had put their names in the hat, and hell, why not Lily, tomboy and all? She was flattered Viv had even asked.

      And now some stand-in Crawford was showing up, probably only to save the family name since they were new in town and didn’t want their dating reps to be ruined. Yeah, no thanks.

      “Well, Mama,” Lily said, looking at Naomi Hunt’s photo, her red hair all she’d inherited from her sophisticated mother. “I did put myself out there, but it didn’t work this time. Maybe next.” Not that she’d agree to another date anytime soon.

      She changed back into her jeans and sneakers with a relieved ahhh, put on her T-shirt and tied her hoodie around her waist. She wiped off the lipstick and put her hair in a low ponytail, closed her locker and headed out the swinging door into the lobby.

      Right into the muscular chest of Xander Crawford.

      * * *

      “I’m so sorry,” Xander said to the young redhead he’d just barreled into. He’d been in such a hurry to catch Lily Hunt that he hadn’t considered that the door into the kitchen might have someone coming through it from the other side. Luckily it hadn’t been a waiter with a tray of entrées. “Are you okay?”

      “I’m fine,” she said, but her eyes were like saucers and her cheeks were flushed.

      Maybe it was hot in the kitchen? “I’m looking for Lily Hunt. Do you know her? She works here as a cook. Is she still around?”

      The redhead stared at him, and for a moment he swore she was shooting daggers out of those flashing green eyes. “I’m Lily Hunt. We met last month in the dining room. I was with my friend Sarah, who’s married to your brother Logan.”

      Oh hell. Awkward.

      “I’m bad with faces,” he said, which was true. “I’ve met so many people since we moved to Montana that my head’s still spinning.”

      Not to mention all the women who’d introduced themselves to him over the past month. Everywhere he went there seemed to be a smiling woman, offering her card—some of which smelled like perfume—and letting him know she’d “just love to have coffee or a drink or dinner anytime, hon.” At first he’d wondered if women were that friendly in every town in the state of Montana. Until he’d realized why women were coming at him in droves. They were coming at all the single Crawfords—thanks to his dad. Maximilian Crawford had made a deal with a local wedding planner to get him them all hitched, and that wedding planner had apparently spoken to every single woman in Rust Creek Falls.

      Why was that wedding planner so raring to go? Finding all the eligible women in town who might be interested in being set up with a Crawford brother?

      Because Max had offered Viv Dalton one million bucks to get them all married.

      One. Million. Dollars.

      If he and his brother Logan hadn’t witnessed the exchange with their own eyes and ears, Xander never would have believed it.

      Anyway, Xander had a drawer full of scented cards and had not made a single call. His father shook his head a lot over it.

      Still, he was surprised he didn’t remember meeting Lily. She had the determined face of a young woman who was going places. He liked it. She had freckles, too. He’d always liked freckles.

      He was aware he had a smile plastered on his face. Now she did, too.

      “Uh, so,” she said, “like I said on the phone, no worries. Let’s just forget this ever happened, okay?”

      He tilted his head. “What do you mean?”

      “Your brother got cold feet about our blind date and canceled. You felt bad for whatever reason and took his place. You know who I don’t want to be? The woman sitting across from the guy who gave up his evening to ‘do the right thing.’”

      “I always try to do the right thing,” he said. “But trust me, dinner with a lovely woman is hardly a chore, Lily. I’d love to take you out to dinner if you’re up for it.”

      Her expression changed from wary and pissed to surprised. She lifted her chin. “Well, when you put it like that.” She flashed him a smile, a genuine smile that lit up her entire face. For a moment he couldn’t pull his gaze off her.

      “You’re probably wondering why I’m wearing a hoodie and sneakers on a date,” she said. “I just changed back into my work clothes. I could put the dress on again if you want to wait a few minutes.”

      “You look incredibly comfortable,” he said, tugging at the collar of his button-down shirt. “Trust me, I’ll take jeans and a T-shirt over a button-down and tie any day. Luckily, as a rancher, I’m not often forced into a tie.”

      She smiled that smile again. “Well, then, guess we’re not eating here. Unwritten dress code. And to be honest, though I love the food at the Manor, I have it all the time.”

      “Perk of the job, but I get it,” he said. “Casual always works for me. I’m new around here, but I already know Ace in the Hole and Wings to Go pretty well. Either of those sound good?”

      “Ooh, I’m craving chicken wings—in extra tangy barbecue sauce.”

      “Woman after my own heart,” he said, gesturing toward the door.

      She stared at him for a moment, then rushed outside as if she needed a gulp of air. “Uh, Wings to Go isn’t very far.” They started walking, Lily stopping to pet a tiny dog with huge amber eyes, then to look at a red bird on a branch. He liked that she noticed her environment—and animals in particular. Xander’s mind was always so crammed with this and that he’d walked straight into a fence post the other day. Two of his brothers had a good laugh over that one.

      Once inside the small take-out shop, they ordered a heap of wings and four kinds of sauces. Lily got out her wallet, but he told her to put it away, that tonight was on him.

      “Well, thank you very much,” she said. “I appreciate that.”

      “My pleasure.” He glanced out the window. “Given that it’s such a gorgeous night, want to take our dinner to the park? We have a good hour of sunlight left.”

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