“So you’re here for all the wedding party things but you’re not in the wedding party. How did that work out? How did you and Helene meet?” Sam asked.

“Ugh, our meet cute was actually kind of a bummer.”

“What happened?”

“It was in a Starbucks out in Malibu. I walked in as another customer said some pretty racist things to Helene and she was just in shock. She didn’t respond. I told the lady off and then sat outside with Helene until she felt okay to drive home. You know, sometimes your adrenaline’s so high you almost feel dizzy?”

“Oh yeah. I’ve been there. Rodeo circuit was full of good ole boys who wanted my dad and my brother gone. You get your racist studio exec here and there, but I heard the worst of it standing right by the chutes.”

“I don’t know what a chute is, but yeah, you get it. She asked for my number so she could thank me properly when she was more clearheaded and we’ve been friends ever since. She invites me to things all the time, but my schedule is weird and I don’t always get to make it out. This whole seeing-each-other-twice-within-seven-days thing is an anomaly.”

“Ah, okay.”

“I’m here a day early because again Helene is amazing and just wanted to give me a little time away from Los Angeles. I appreciate the break.”

“Oh, well, if it’s a little R and R you need, you’ve come to the right place, little lady. I do have the hookup around these parts and could get you access to all the ranch’s fine amenities.”

“Okay, slow down there, Tex. I’m just here to chill.”

“Nah, you didn’t come all the way out here just to chill. I’m serious. Perks of knowing a Pleasant. In the biblical sense.” Sam waggled his eyebrows and was rewarded with another of one of Cha-Cha’s sexy smiles. “For real. You’re not in the wedding. I’m not in the wedding. They will not notice if we disappear for a while.”

Her smile dropped and she looked over at him like he had lost his damn mind. “Are you kidding?”

“What? Helene has seven hundred people in this wedding and the staff of the whole ranch is at their service. You won’t be missed.”

She sucked her teeth. “No, I mean we’re in the middle of an open field, so unless you want to army crawl to that barn way over there using the dogs as cover—”

Sam laughed quietly at that particular visual.

“I’m not just walking off with you during this rehearsal.”