Cowboy Ever After

Chapter 2

When Liam moved toward the front of the café, Gretchen got her first look at the new arrival. And her pulse shot straight into a gallop. Of all the good-looking cowboys who had stepped through the door of the Primrose, this guy put them all to shame. Dark hair, blue eyes, nicely built with what looked like the perfect amount of muscle. Somewhere in her mind, she knew she was staring. But she couldn't stop, at least not until his gaze shifted past Liam to her.

She startled so much that she knocked over the check spindle next to the register. When she grabbed for it, her suddenly inept fingers just sent it flying onto the floor, where it was nearly trampled by Daisy.

When Gretchen finally managed to grab it and set it back where it belonged, she was pretty sure her cheeks were as red as the strawberry pies being made in the kitchen for the lunch crowd. To make matters worse, the evidently famous cowboy had made his way over to one of her tables—the one occupied by Savannah and Abby. At that moment, Abby laughed at something he said.

Gretchen knew it made her nine kinds of fool, but her heart sank at the sight. Of course he would be attracted to a woman who was not only beautiful but also successful, the same as all the other cowboys who'd captured her interest only to fall for someone else. She took a deep breath, trying to banish the self-pity that she hated. Normally, she was good at keeping it at bay, focusing on the positives instead of the negatives. But sometimes those negatives snuck up on her.

With another deep breath, she grabbed a menu and headed toward the table, determined to look at champion cowboy Matt Evans as nothing more than the potential for a decent tip.