Some Like It Hot (Sweetrock Cowboy Romance Book 1) by Leighann Dobbs Page B

drink and then she’d top it off with coffee before driving.
    Her thoughts turned to the chili contest, the reason why she was in Sweetrock in the first place. Not that it wasn’t great to come and see Tessa. In fact, it had been a visit that was long overdue, but she needed to get her act together. What if she didn’t win the contest? Then what was she going to do? She supposed she would try for another job in Boston. She could always tell her parents it was a strategic move on her part—a stepping stone that would position her better for her own restaurant. Surely one of her friends back there would know someone that could help her get another job. She glanced down at the messages on her phone. One from her parents and one from her sister. None of her Boston friends had even contacted her the whole time she’d been here. Some friends they were.
    She wondered if going back to Boston was even the right move. Her family was there in the suburbs of Massachusetts, and she would miss not having them close. Glancing at the phone again, her heart tugged. She’d been putting off talking to her folks because they wouldn’t understand and she was embarrassed to tell her sister the truth. Sooner or later she was going to have to call them, though. She’d sent her mother several texts assuring her she was fine, but she knew her parents would worry if they didn’t talk to her in person. What would she tell them? She was no good at lying, but she’d have to come up with a suitable story so they didn’t know the truth of how bad things were for her.
    Funny thing how the only person she could really tell her troubles to—Tessa—lived so far away. They’d been as close as sisters in college, celebrating each other’s successes and crying on each other’s shoulders at their failures. In fact, Sam had been instrumental in pulling Tessa from the depths of despair when her childhood sweetheart—some jerk named Derek Masters who Sam had never met and never wanted to meet—had screwed her over.
    Sam could still remember how depressed the normally bubbly Tessa had been, and she was grateful that now her friend seemed much happier and well-balanced. She hoped Tessa would find another love, even though she’d never known her to have more than a week-long fling after that.
    Leaving Tessa was going to be hard after reconnecting and having spent two weeks here.
    But did it have to be that way? This last week with Tessa had been a lot of fun and brought back all those old memories and feelings from college. And it turned out that even though Sweetrock was in the middle of nowhere, living here did have its advantages.
    Less smog.
    Less people.
    Less bullshit.
    But she’d only been here for a week. She was sure if she stayed here for any length of time all that would become dull and boring and she would crave the bright city lights again…despite what Beulah said. Not to mention that the opportunities out here for the type of position she needed were minimal.
    “Penny for your thoughts?” The familiar husky voice sent a shiver down her spine, and she turned to see Nick slipping into the barstool beside her.
    “I was just thinking about how different things are here than in Boston,” she said.
    “I bet. So how was the cooking today?” Nick rested his forearms on the bar, picking at the label of his beer.
    Sam blew out a breath. “Disastrous. One thing went wrong after another.”
    Nick smiled. “I did notice you were covered in chili.”
    Sam laughed. She could only imagine how she’d looked by the end of the day, hair frazzled and covered in red chili sauce. “How about you? How did things go for you?”
    Nick shrugged. “Okay, I guess.” He swung his chair so that he was looking straight at her. “Somehow, I’m not as keen to win as I used to be.”
    She turned her chair, too, their knees brushing against each other. In the light of the bar, Nick’s eyes were more amber than brown, and now she noticed they had little