Chapter 2

TWO

Bella took a breath, surprised by how nervous she was.

She’d made thousands of dinners for family, friends, and all the dude ranch guests. She knew what she was doing when it came to food.

But this was different.

“You look terrified.”

Bella looked over at her sister Meg Hart, who had come to Boston for the evening to help her. Meg looked gorgeous in a calf-length emerald silk dress that made her brown skin radiate with beauty.

“I am kind of terrified,” Bella admitted.

“Why? You cook all the time.”

“I know. I just…”

Meg smiled. “You don’t want to mess this up.”

Bella took a breath and nodded. “Piper and Kitty did me a huge favor by letting me cater this wedding. And I don’t want to blow it.” Piper Townsend, a wedding planner, and Kitty Jones, a former popstar now in her sixties, were the owners of a brand-new boutique event-planning firm called ToJo Events. They’d formed ToJo to focus on weddings, but a cancelled wedding and a girl power moment had inspired a surge of parties by women, for women, celebrating women.

After growing up surrounded by brothers, Bella had fallen madly in love with the female friendship and support that Piper, Maddie, and the others had so generously included her and Meg in.

Meg raised her brows. “You do know you’re a billionaire, right? You don’t need this job.”

“But I do need it.” Bella watched Piper and Kitty hurry through the ballroom, making last minute adjustments on the tables. Their friend, Maddie Vale, who was now Bella’s sister-in-law, and how Bella had met Piper, was making final touches on the flowers. Maddie’s two other friends, Tori and Keira, were also there, all of them racing around and having fun, cheering each other on as they worked to have it ready by the time the two brides arrived. “Not for money. For my soul.”

Meg nodded slowly. “I get it. These women have the most amazing friendship, and they’ve welcomed us in. It feels pretty special.”

“I know.” Bella tucked her arm through Meg’s. “I love our brothers and the ranch, but I feel like I’ve been trapped there for so long. Coming to Boston, getting to know these women, and cooking for this happy event…it just feels amazing.”

Meg cocked her brow. “You want to stay, don’t you?”

Bella shrugged. “I just got here two days ago.” She’d stayed in Oregon for the whole season of the dude ranch, but the minute their last guest had left, she’d packed her bags and hopped on one of their jets. She’d been counting the days until she could come, and it had been everything she’d wanted. Everything she’d hoped for. “I feel like I’m free for the first time in my life.”

Meg glanced over at her. “You know you’re not actually free, right? You know that he’s still out there somewhere. He’ll find you if you start appearing on social media for this company.”

“I know.” Bella pressed her lips together for a minute. “Watching Maddie be brave made me feel like a wimp for hiding for so long. I can do it.” She patted her gun that was hidden under her left arm. “I got a license to carry concealed in Massachusetts, and I could kill at least some men with my bare hands.”

“I know, but…” Meg sighed. “I just love you. I’ll miss you at the ranch. I don’t want you to move out here, even as much as I want you to have the life you want.”

Bella’s throat tightened. “I’m not going anywhere,” she said finally. “It’s just an adventure for a few weeks. A working vacation.” But the thought of going back to the ranch made her throat constrict.

She loved the ranch. She loved her brothers and Meg. But ever since she’d met Maddie a few months ago, living this amazing life in Boston, something inside Bella had come alive and refused to go back to sleep.

What did she want? She didn’t know.

But she knew she wasn’t going to find it on the Hart Ranch, with cowboys, horses, a shared past of trauma, homelessness, and her specialty, pulled-pork sandwiches.

Kitty Jones, the popstar turned country-club-maven, record exec, and the sassiest woman Bella had ever met, jogged up, moving with an energy that made it seem like her concerts would have been amazing. Kitty might have kids in their thirties, but she had enough zest and zeal to put any thirty-something to shame. “The wedding ceremony’s over. Everyone’s on the way. ETA fifteen minutes. You good?”

Energy shot through Bella. “My team’s ready.” Bella had hired a local catering staff, using her money and connections to put together a team she could count on, even though they’d been together for only two days.

Kitty winked at her. “You look terrified. Bella, today isn’t about perfection. It’s about the power of women, it’s about love, and all sorts of fun stuff. We deliver full-on girl power, not sterile perfection. So, go be real, be delicious, and just let your amazing talents out into the world. Got it?”

Bella let out a breath. How much did she love this woman? Kitty reminded her so much of Bella’s mom, back before she’d been sucked into the world of drugs and addiction when Bella was fourteen. “Thanks, Kitty. I’ll try to relax.”

“Don’t relax! Energize!” Kitty pointed at Meg. “You. I need help moving tables. Bring that gorgeous emerald dress with you and come help.”

Meg shot a look at Bella as she followed Kitty. “I’ll be back in a sec.”

“No worries. I got this.” Bella took a moment to breathe in the beautiful Cape Cod vista overlooking the ocean that surged with energy. God, she wanted to be a part of this world so much, to feel the purpose that Kitty and Piper did. To feel like she mattered.

To feel seen.

To feel like a woman who was badass, free, and beautiful.

Not like a woman who was scared, hid in her beautiful ranch, and smelled like horses and garlic every night when she walked in the door.

Kitty looked over at Bella and gestured impatiently, waving her out of the room.

“Right. I’m going!” Bella turned away and headed toward the kitchen. She shook the nervousness out of her shoulders, and then pushed open the door to the kitchen. “Fifteen minutes,” she called out. “Let’s go!”