Cowboy Ever After

Chapter 4

Gretchen didn't think she'd ever had so much trouble not looking at something in her life. But as the morning progressed and customers came and went, Matt Evans continued sitting right where he was, even after Savannah and Abby left. She kept filling his coffee cup until she was pretty sure he was going to float away.

As if thinking about him forced her head to turn in his direction, she looked his way to find him staring back. He smiled and held up his cup.

"I think you've got a fan," Daisy said as she walked by on her way to the kitchen.

That was the last thing Gretchen needed implanted in her mind because Matt would only be here for a short time and then he'd move on to bigger and more profitable rodeos if he was as big a star as Liam claimed.

With a deep breath, she grabbed the coffeepot and headed toward him.

"You must really like coffee," she said with a smile.

"Or the scenery."

She gripped the handle of the coffeepot tighter to keep her hand from shaking. Flirting from the Old Dudes Club was one thing, but this was another. If, in fact, that's what Matt was doing. She didn't really trust her judgment when it came to assessing the intent of the opposite sex.

Playing along, she lifted an eyebrow. "You like the interior of the Primrose?"

"I have no idea. I've been too busy watching you."

"Oh." Well, now wasn't that a great response. But she supposed running away wasn't any better of an option.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to embarrass you."

"Can I get you anything else?"

"No, I'm good."

Flustered, Gretchen headed into the back of the building. Needing a moment to calm her nerves, she ducked into the bathroom and splashed her face with cold water. After drying her face, she leaned back against the wall and concentrated on taking slow, deep breaths.

As she stared at herself in the mirror, she wondered what had caused Matt to notice her. After all, Daisy was cute, and he'd been sitting with two beautiful women. She wanted to believe a guy like Matt could be attracted to her even with other, more beautiful women nearby, but it just seemed so unrealistic considering her track record.

With a shake of her head, she headed out of the restroom and back to work.