Chapter 1

CHAPTER

ONE

"Listen, damn you. You're going to do what I say, or I will literally destroy you."

Ella O'Conner didn't tend toward violence, but today was an exception. She was running on her twenty-five-thousandth night of no sleep and couldn't get the scent of fondant and modeling chocolate out of her nose.

"Oh shit, Elly-Belly is cursing to herself. That is not a good sign."

Ella grimaced at the childhood nickname, even though her friend Lilah Collingwood didn't mean it with even one iota of malice.

Lilah had had a crappy nickname too. But Lilah-Crylah had been used a grand total of twice by Jonathan McMahon in second grade before Lilah popped him in the nose and put an end to that.

Ella wasn't a pop-someone-in-the-nose type of person. In second grade or now. But the modeling chocolate on the table in front of her might truly send her into a life of violence if it didn't start cooperating.

"You okay over there, Ella?"

Ella set down the carving tool and got up off the stool at her workstation, stretching her shoulders and neck. She smiled over at Becky Mackay, who had been her best friend since before either of them could walk.

"I just want these to be perfect, you know? Sugar and Spice are such a huge part of the bride's life. They're even in the wedding, for crying out loud."

She glanced back down at the mini-Aussiedoodle and yellow lab dressed as a bride and groom she'd been trying to create out of a mixture of modeling chocolate and fondant icing. She wanted the cake topper to be absolutely perfect for her friend Eva.

Ella wiped the back of her hand across her forehead, studying her not-quite-right creations. "I shouldn't have left this to the last minute. And now you guys are bogged down with me."

Lilah let out a snort from where she was making delicate flowers out of icing to go on one of the tiers of the cake. It was amazing that a woman known all over the world for her fighting prowess could also be good with work so delicate. Not only that, seemed to really enjoy doing it.

"You didn't leave it to the last minute," Lilah said. "You didn't expect the last week to be taken up with every past, present, and future resident of Oak Creek wanting you to supply them with Fancy Pants sweets while they were here."

That was true. When Ella had agreed to make Eva Dempsey and Theo Lindstrom's wedding cake, groom's cake, and treat baskets for all the families coming into town for the wedding, she hadn't expected to also have a mad rush at her bakery every single day.

Great for business, not so great for Ella having any time to sleep.

"And we don't mind helping." Becky shot Ella a gentle smile. "It's kind of nice to be away from all the madness for a little bit."

Eva and Theo's wedding was in two days. The ceremony was being held on the Linear Tactical property since Theo ran the survival and defense training center and Eva worked there full time as a vet, taking care of the therapy animals Linear had incorporated in the last few years.

The reception would be about an hour away in the glory of Wyoming's Teton mountains. Since so many people were coming in from out of town, they'd decided to make it a weekend extravaganza, full of parties and fun and…stunts.

Stunts .

No, Ella wasn't going to think about that, lest it derail her entire day.

"Are you sure Eva doesn't need you two for anything today?" Ella sat down on the stool again and turned back to the chocolate dogs. "Isn't a bride supposed to be surrounded by her bridesmaids every waking moment two days before her wedding?"

Becky was arranging different treats into small white boxes that would be going up to the Tetons tomorrow. "You know Eva—she doesn't want a big production. And after so many years of being separated from her parents, I think she's really wanting to spend time with them right now."

Lilah cracked her knuckles, and Ella and Becky shot looks at each other. They both knew the action meant their friend was envisioning using her fists on someone—in this case, the man who'd kept Eva separated from her parents all those years.

"Her bastard ex is in jail, Lilah," Ella said. "Don't ruin your beautiful flowers over him."

Lilah took a steadying breath. "Five minutes alone with him. That's all I would need."

They'd all like five minutes alone with the man who'd spent years gaslighting and emotionally abusing their friend, making her a shadow of the woman she'd once been. Ella might not be able to fight as well as Lilah, but she could get a few good blows in.

"Let's not think about that," Becky said. "Let's think about how much Eva and Theo love each other and how she has been absolutely glowing the past few months."

Lilah went back to her flowers. "And how fucking fantastic Eva is for choosing amazing bridesmaid dresses instead of ones we'll never wear again and that make us look frumpy."

Ella smiled at that. Eva had asked her to be a bridesmaid also, but Ella had been more enthused about providing all the sweets for the wedding. Fancy Pants wasn't just her business; it was her passion.

Plus, unlike Lilah and Becky, almost every dress looked frumpy on Ella.

She'd long since accepted that frumpy was just sort of who she was. Plain. A little overweight. No need to cry about it.

But no need to announce the frumpy either by standing in front of all their family and friends—and him —with a stunning bride and two gorgeous bridesmaids.

"You all will look amazing." Ella had no doubt of it.

"At least Eva is giving us the choice of whether to be bridesmaids or not." Lilah shot a pointed look at Becky. "Unlike your weddings. Both of them."

Becky grinned, glowing just as much as Eva had been lately. She hadn't had wedding attendants at either of her weddings to Derek Bollinger—not the one in Vegas years ago no one had known about or the one that had happened at the July Fourth picnic last year.

"Yeah, but there were fireworks at my wedding." Becky winked at them.

"How is Derek doing?" Ella asked.

"We take it a day at a time." Becky shrugged. "PTSD can be pretty damned insidious, but for the most part, my sexy hubby is kicking ass. Speaking of needing to kick some ass, did you hear about last night at the Eagle's Nest?"

Lilah muttered a curse under her breath. "That's half the reason I'm hiding in here tonight."

Ella's eyes grew wide. "What? What happened? I've been stuck in here and missing all the gossip."

Lilah let out an exaggerated sigh. "Evidently, our fathers and uncles were reenacting some Cowboy boogie dance they once did."

"Oh dear Lord. Not The Cowboy Git Up ." Ella shook her head. "Please say it wasn't so. Were Electric Smurfs involved?"

"Yep and yep, unfortunately," Becky replied.

All three women groaned. The blue alcoholic drinks were legendary in Oak Creek back from when their parents had basically run the town. Maybe legendary wasn't the word— infamous was more like it.

"And there was footage involved." Lilah shook her head without looking up from the flower she was completing. "You know that means we're going to be required to watch it. My father was a Navy SEAL, for God's sake. I cannot believe he was involved with this. Sigh. Where's the self-respect?"

Gabe Collingwood—codename Angel —was a giant of a man and obviously a warrior even now in his sixties. He had always seemed a little scary to Ella growing up, although he'd never been anything but gentle and kind to her.

Seeing him do some sort of line dance to a song from decades ago about being a cowboy? Ella couldn't wrap her mind around it.

Becky shook her head. "Oh, my dad too. And the wives were all there cheering them on—my mother apparently was one of the rowdiest ones."

This story just kept getting better. "She was?" Ella couldn't imagine quiet Dr. Anne ever being rowdy.

"Right? I expect that from my mother-in-law. Charlie Bollinger prides herself on still being boisterous, even now. But Mom? For shame." Becky shook her head.

"Who else was in on it?" Listening to this was actually helping Ella relax, and the modeling was coming much easier.

"Everybody, it sounds like," Becky said. "Even Uncle Dorian and Aunt Ray."

"And Uncle Boy and Aunt Girl Riley," Lilah put in.

Ella's head flew up before she could stop herself. She found Lilah looking at her with one eyebrow raised.

Ella cleared her throat then deliberately looked back down at the modeling chocolate in front of her. "Of course they're here. They love Eva and Theo too."

"And because Colton is one of the groomsmen."

Ella didn't look up this time, but there was no point in trying to hide what everyone in the room— hell, everyone in Oak Creek —already knew: Ella O'Conner had a big, fat, honking crush on Colton Harrison. Had for years.

But she wasn't going to admit it outright either. What was the point since nothing was ever going to come of it?

Colton Harrison, like his father, was an extreme sport superstar. He had millions of followers who watched with bated breath every time he broadcast one of his jaw-dropping stunts.

Snowboarding, BASE jumping, Jet Skiing, motocross, abseiling, skydiving.

Why focus on just one when you were pretty damned amazing at all of them? Especially when you could have the most charming grin and a wink for the camera while you were doing it.

Ella couldn't think about that sexy grin right now. Not if she wanted to be able to finish everything on her literal and figurative plate.

"Of course Colton is one of the groomsmen." She hoped she sounded as light and breezy as she did in her mind. "He and Theo have been friends their whole lives."

"Have you talked to Colton since he got into town?" Becky asked gently.

"Nah." Light and breezy. Light and breezy. "Too much going on in here."

That much was true, at least.

"You need to ask him out, for fuck's sake." Lilah had never been, nor ever would be, as gentle as Becky. "For fuck's sake. Literally, for fuck's sake."

She laughed at her own unintentional pun.

"Lilah," Becky chided softly, but Ella could hear the smile in her voice.

"What?" Lilah stepped back from her finished flower before starting another. "Hell, we've both been contributing to that digital scrapbook for as long as I can remember."

Ella grimaced at the mention of that thing. Her friends had started the shared file in Ella's name years ago where they could all place digital clippings about anything Colton Harrison. She hadn't opened it in years; although she got a notification every time one of her friends placed something in it, which was pretty regularly. That thing was massive now.

"Yeah, but that scrapbook is mostly a joke," Becky said.

"You know what's not a joke? The fact that Colton is who Elly-Belly wants. How is she ever going to get him if she doesn't let him know that?"

As if. As if that was all it would take—for Ella to just shimmy up to Colton, bat her eyelashes, and lead him to her bed. And they would live happily ever after.

This wasn't the first time her friends had encouraged her to ask him out. Ella needed to nip this in the bud before it became a full lecture about taking what she wanted , complete with inappropriate sound effects from Lilah.

"This isn't the right time to tell him." Light and breezy . "I've got my hands full with the desserts, and he's got that snowboard stunt on Sunday."

That was part of the reason for the unusual second reception in the mountains.

Lilah shook her head. "Yeah, I can't believe he's got that stunt scheduled for the same weekend as the wedding."

Ella didn't know all the details, but she knew it involved a helicopter and a particularly treacherous pass that would be live-broadcast for Colton's gabillion followers. Social media had been buzzing about it for weeks.

Which Ella knew because she was a pathetic regular on the fan sites.

"In Colton's defense…" She tried to stop herself but couldn't. "The stunt had been planned before the wedding details were solidified. It's not like he's trying to grab the attention from one of his best friends."

Ella grimaced as Becky and Lilah shot each other a glance. She was just making it worse by defending him. Reinforcing her patheticity. Which wasn't a word, but close enough.

Lilah was about to launch into another tirade about why Ella should let Colton know she was interested, but Ella didn't have time for it, so she cut her friend off.

"I tell you what, next time he's in town and there's no wedding or huge stunt planned, I'll talk to him. Scout's honor."

And she would. She wouldn't ask him out, but she would talk to him. Hell, they'd known each other most of their lives, so of course she would talk to him if the situation arose. A friendly hello. Catching up. They did it basically every time they saw each other.

But more than that wasn't ever going to happen.