“Hey, please tell me you’re still in town.”

“I’m just leaving the school now. What’s up?”

“Wanna come over to my place for coffee? I have information that I’m pretty sure you’ll enjoy.” I pull into my driveway and bite my lip. I’m going nuts. It’s time to bring in the girlfriends to yank me back from the ledge.

“Sure. Should I pick Lo up on my way?”

“Sounds good. I’ll put the coffee on now.”

“See you in a few.”

I tromp through the freshly fallen snow and into the house. Thank God it’s warm in here. Whatever magic the furnace guy used has worked.

I set the coffee on, change out of my work clothes into jeans and an old sweatshirt, and pile my hair into a knot just as my doorbell rings.

“We’re here!” Cara calls.

“And we brought brownies!” Lauren says in a singsong, making me grin.

“You’re lifesavers,” I assure them and lead them into the kitchen. I pour us all a cup of coffee, set cream and sugar on the table, and we dig into the brownies without plates or forks. They won’t survive long enough for that.

“So, what’s going on?” Lo asks around a large bite of chocolaty goodness.

“I’m being a girl.”

Cara rolls her eyes and sips her coffee. “Oh good. ’Cause you are a girl.”

I sit back in my chair and lick chocolate off my lip. “I sort of have news.”

My friends share a glance and then both lean in closer to me.

“Spill,” Lo commands.

“I slept with Zack.”

They blink at me for a moment before breaking out in wide grins.

“You owe me twenty,” Cara tells Lo. “I told you it would happen before Christmas.”

“You had a fucking bet going on whether or not I’d bang Zack?”

“Of course. The sexual chemistry between you two is off the charts. It was just a matter of time.” Lo shakes her head.

“When did you say it would happen?” I ask her.

“I thought you’d hold out until New Year’s.”

I laugh and then shrug, already feeling better. “Well, it happened.”

“When?” Cara asks and dives back into the pan of brownies.

“Last weekend. Seth spent the weekend at a friend’s house, so I went to the ranch.”

“Hold up.” Cara holds up a hand and then shoves it through her hair. “You were at the ranch all weekend and I never saw you once?”

“It’s a big ranch, Cara.”

“Okay, so get to the good stuff,” Lauren interrupts. “Tell us everything.”

“Well, at first I wasn’t going to sleep with him. We were just going to hang out.”

“Yeah, I tried that with Josh,” Cara says. “It obviously didn’t work for me either. The King boys are just too hot for that.”

“Yeah, and then the roads got too icy for me to drive back to town, and then one thing led to another, and then next thing I knew it was Sunday and Seth was home and we were snowmobiling and playing video games and having dinner.” I pull my knees up to my chest and wrap my arms around my legs.

“So it didn’t suck,” Cara says.

“No, it was fun.”

“What’s the problem?” Lo asks.

“Well, I spoke with Zack that night after I got home, but haven’t heard a word from him since then. I’ve texted him a couple of times, but nothing.” I shrug in exasperation.

“It’s only been three days,” Cara says with a frown.

“He said he wanted to see me this week and would call.” I sound ridiculous. “Am I becoming one of those girls who checks her phone every three seconds and stalks his social media?”

“Zack doesn’t do any social media,” Cara replies with a grin.

“I know, I checked—and that makes me a tiny bit psycho.”

Lauren laughs. “Did you drive past his house? Call his mom? Hire a PI?”

“Of course not.”

“Then I’d say you’re good.”

“Why didn’t you just call one of us to talk it out?” Cara asks. “I live on the same property. I have the inside scoop, you know.”

“What do you know?” I lower my legs and help myself to a brownie.

“Well, he probably didn’t call because he’s been in the barn with a sick horse for the best part of the last few days.” Cara sips her coffee and I feel like the biggest idiot on the face of the earth.

“I’m a moron,” I whisper.

“No, you’re just a woman who wants attention from the man she’s currently sleeping with,” Lauren replies and pats my shoulder. “That’s understandable.”

“He said he’d call, and when he didn’t, it pissed me off. Most men promise the world and then typically end up disappointing you.”

“Not always. You’ve just had shitty luck with men.” Cara crosses to the coffeepot to refill our cups. “He’ll call. He and Josh have been out with the vet and that horse almost nonstop. The poor thing.”

I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. “He could have at least returned my texts.”

“Zack’s famous for forgetting his phone in the house. It’s not yet habit to grab it—he spent too many years in the field and they didn’t have cell phones out there.”