The Marriage Charm (Bliss County 2) by Linda Lael Miller

comment, of course. Apparently, the sexual tension part was TMI. One of them licked his paw.
    *
    T HE GOAL OF her day was to work, so she set out to do more sketches, something to wow her wealthy and eccentric patron, the one who’d pay her a small fortune. It would be nice to make some progress.
    As usual, when inspiration flowed, it...flowed. She became engrossed, focused, and her pen took on a life of its own.
    She drew a portrait of Spence.
    She’d always been an easy study, quick with a brush or a pencil, and since his face was so fresh in her mind, she had no problem picturing the unique curve of his lips as he smiled, or the way his raven hair curled against his neck, or the clean line of his jaw...
    “Howdy, sister girl.”
    She glanced up to see Bex breeze through the door without so much as a knock, a personal-size container of ice cream in each hand. The screen banged lightly back into place. Her friend said, “I think after yesterday we both deserve a little of this. Part one of the pact fulfilled. Let’s celebrate with a few calories. Do you want the praline or the chocolate fudge?”
    It was good to see her, but that was Bex, spontaneous and with a mind-reading sensitivity that could be unsettling, especially now. Melody hastily closed her sketchbook, hoping Bex wouldn’t notice. If she was caught drawing a picture of Spencer Hogan, there’d be some ’splainin’ to do. She didn’t even know how she felt about the whole thing yet, so that would be impossible to pull off.
    “Praline,” she said, jumping up. “I’ll get the spoons.”
    “I see the triumvirate is in an Egyptian mood today.” Bex followed her into the kitchen and settled comfortably at the old table, an heirloom Melody had inherited, its distressed patina the result of years of scrubbing. Melody had never entertained the thought of getting it refinished. It was beautiful to her, reminiscent of her grandmother in her apron, cleaning up after Sunday dinner, or her grandfather reading the paper with a cup of coffee in front of him.
    She was out of regular napkins but she did manage to scrounge up a few cocktail napkins that said All My Girlfriends have One Thing in Common. They Wine Well With Others! Hadleigh had given them to her once upon a time before she and Tripp had made up with a vengeance, when they’d commiserated with each other over some vino. They seemed appropriate now.
    “You sure bolted out of the Moose Jaw early,” Bex said, whipping the lid off her carton and scooping out a generous spoonful. “Or else you went and hid in the bathroom or something. I looked there, actually. No you.”
    “My feet insisted. They plotted a prison break.” She dipped in, too. The ice cream was heavenly. Ice cream for lunch... As Bex had said, she deserved it. There was no way she could’ve sat and munched down on fried chicken with Spence, making polite conversation, after what had happened between them. “Besides, I told you I was getting out of there.”
    “Your car was still in the parking lot.” Direct as always, Bex looked at her pointedly, licking her spoon. “How’d you get home?”
    That question was actually a relief. It meant that all of Mustang Creek didn’t know Spence had carted her off. If anyone had seen them, Bex would know about it. Melody stammered, “I, er, I caught a ride with someone whose car wasn’t hemmed in like cattle in a feed lot. How was the rest of the party?”
    “Cowboy wild. It was fun.”
    “Do I sense a pensive note?”
    “I’m happy for Hadleigh and Tripp. Goes without saying.” Bex looked resigned. “We all are. It really was beautiful to see them pledge their lives to each other. He’s so in love with her. I have to admit to a certain envy I just can’t help. I’ve been to a lot of weddings but none like theirs. They have something special. I want that . Yesterday reinforced it.”
    Since Melody knew exactly what she was talking about, she nodded. “I’m in the same boat. The