Forever After (Montana Brides) by Leeanna Morgan Page B

he’s changed. And he practically plastered himself to your body at mom and dad’s place.”
    Nicky stared at her sister. “I’m not some weirdo stalking her boss.”
    “I bet he wouldn’t mind. Especially if you wore something a bit more revealing than jeans and a sweater.”
    Nicky threw a cushion across the table, narrowly missing Emily’s head. “There’s no stalking going on anywhere, so get your mind out of the gutter.” Her hand shook as she reached for her juice.  
    Stalking presumed someone didn’t want to be caught. And she knew for a fact that Sam wouldn’t mind being caught in another whirlwind like the one they’d created last week.  
    “For the record,” Erin added, waving her fork in the air, “there’s nothing wrong with the gutter, especially if you’re sharing it with a six-foot-three hunk who likes to get a little bit dirty.”
    The thought of Sam getting down and dirty was too much for Nicky. She pushed her half eaten plate of food across the table. “Whose turn is it to make coffee?”
    “Mine,” Emily said. “I don’t trust you to remember my instructions.”
    Erin disappeared into the kitchen and pulled three pieces of pecan pie out of a bag. “I’ll have a coffee machine any day over a man,” she sighed. “At least with coffee I know what I like, and once I know what I’m doing I get a good brew.”
    Emily laughed. “What am I going to do with you two? What happened to the romantic women I once knew?”
    “They got wise,” Nicky said, stretching her hand toward a yummy looking slice of pie. “Most of the men I’ve dated have either been all form and no substance, or they’ve got the personality of a screwdriver.”  
    Emily poured hot frothy milk into a coffee mug. “What you both need is someone with impeccable taste. Someone who knows what you need in a man. And as luck would have it I’ve nearly finished my design course. If anyone can find the perfect match for both of you, it’s me.”
    Nicky gasped, clutching her chest in mock horror. “Don’t even think about fixing me up with someone. I’m still recovering from your last disastrous blind date experiment.”  
    “Nonsense,” Emily said in a stern voice. “You just got distracted by superficial packaging. He really was a great guy if you overlooked all the metal studs and black nail polish.”  
    “And…”
    “Okay,” Emily admitted. “He did smell like raw garlic.”
    “I rest my case. You may be an up-and-coming fashion designer, but you suck at choosing men.” Nicky bit into her slice of pie, and sighed.
    “Maybe a little romance is what you need to add zing to your life.” Emily sipped her latte, smacking her lips together in a satisfied pucker. “God, I’m clever.”
    Nicky cleared her throat, staring pointedly at Emily’s latte. “I’m still waiting to see how clever you are in the coffee department. And I don’t need any zing, and definitely no man.” She’d already been there, done that, and all she had to show for it were sleepless nights and an aversion to stepping out of her office door.  
    “I’m here for another month and then I’m heading back to Denver.” Nicky squinted at her younger sister. “Get that dreamy look off your face. I’ll be mean and bitchy to any man if I think you’ve planted him in front of me.”
    “You couldn’t be mean or bitchy if you tried. But I do have an idea of what we could do to get rid of whatever’s bothering you.”
    “You’d better make that coffee fast.” Erin laughed. “I think Nicky’s going to need it.”
    Emily frothed some more milk. She moved around the counter, a cup of latte steaming in her hands. “Sniff.”
    Nicky inhaled. “Sublime. Well?”
    “You get this when you agree to go to the spa with me tomorrow. And frowning won’t change anything,” Emily growled. “You’re coming because at two o’clock we’re going to an exclusive charity fashion show. All the fashionistas of Montana will be there. And