Brenda Harlen - Her Seven-Day Fiancé

Then one day, when she was picking up a few groceries at The Trading Post, she overheard Frieda Zimmerman (whose husband was the local mechanic and tow truck operator) tell Thomas Mann (the owner of Mann’s Theater) that her niece Erika had run off to Vegas to be a dancer. Alyssa hadn’t been paying too much attention to their conversation, but her attention was snagged when Mr. Mann commented that Diggers’ was going to be short a bartender. Because that was a job Alyssa had some experience with, having worked part-time at a campus bar while she was in college.

Her parents had acknowledged the value of their youngest daughter gaining some work experience and contributing to the cost of her education, but they hadn’t approved of the late hours or the work environment. It was the first time Alyssa hadn’t backed down in the face of their opposition, and although the job had been physically demanding, she’d enjoyed the work—and the chance to forget about her studies and everything else for a while.

Even on Friday nights, Diggers’ didn’t draw a crowd comparable to a college bar in Irvine, but Alyssa was eager for something— anything —to fill some empty hours. Duke Hawkins had been wary about hiring a schoolteacher to tend his bar, but as she was the only applicant with any actual experience, he’d agreed to give her a chance. In only a few short weeks, she’d earned regular shifts on Tuesday and Friday nights.

Sunday through Thursday, there was only one bartender on duty, but on weekends, there were two scheduled with overlapping shifts. Alyssa worked from seven until midnight and Skylar Gilmore came in at eight and stayed until closing. Sky was a couple years younger than Alyssa, but she’d been working part-time at the bar since she was of age and was now a master of the subtle flirtation that kept customers coming back without expecting anything more from the woman who filled their glasses.

Everyone in town knew Sky as the youngest daughter of David Gilmore, owner and operator of the Circle G—reputedly the biggest and most prosperous cattle ranch in Nevada. Few people knew that she was working toward her master’s degree in psychology. She was also open and warm and funny, and she knew everything there was to know about Diggers’ regular customers—and most of the less regular patrons, too.

Sky was the third of four kids. Her older sister was an attorney married to the local sheriff, Reid Davidson. In February, Katelyn and Reid had added a baby girl to their family, and proud Aunt Sky was always ready to pull out her phone and share recent pictures of her niece, Tessa. Liam, the second oldest, currently worked at the Circle G with his father and brother, though he’d recently purchased the abandoned Stagecoach Inn with the intention of renovating and reopening it as a boutique hotel and spa.

This plan had caused some tension with his father, who apparently insisted that Gilmores were ranchers, not innkeepers, which led to Liam spending less time at the Circle G and more at Diggers’—which was how Alyssa got to know him. Caleb, the youngest, seemed content to work on the ranch, though Sky remarked that he hadn’t been truly happy since a former girlfriend moved out of town a few years back.

“Liam said to tell you that one of the bulls broke through the fence bordering the south pasture,” Sky said when she joined Alyssa behind the bar Friday night.

“Does that mean he’s not coming in tonight?”

“He’s coming in,” her coworker assured her. “But he’s going to be late.”

“Oh. Okay,” she said, though she knew that if he was too late, her plan B would fall apart.

“What he didn’t tell me,” Sky continued, as if thinking aloud, “is why it was so important for him to show up tonight—or why you would have any interest in his plans.”

“It’s a long story,” Alyssa warned.

“We’ve got time—this place won’t get busy for at least another hour.”

So Alyssa told Sky about Diego’s impending visit to Haven. Ordinarily, she’d have no qualms about spending time with a family friend visiting from out of town, except that her mother had been less than subtle in her efforts to facilitate a romance between her youngest daughter and the nephew of her best friend, and Alyssa wasn’t the least bit interested.

“Is he a jerk?” Sky asked.

“No.”

“Unattractive?”

“No.” Because although she wasn’t attracted to him, she could appreciate that he had a certain appeal.

“Unemployed?”

“No,” she said again. “In fact, he works as a project engineer in the aerospace industry.”

“So why aren’t you interested?” Sky wondered.

“Because I don’t want to date anyone right now—especially not someone handpicked by my mother for the sole purpose of enticing me to move back to California.”

“How does my brother figure into any of this?”

“He had the misfortune of being here Tuesday night when my mother called to tell me about Diego’s potential travel plans. And he suggested that the only sure way to stop her from setting me up with someone from home was to tell her I’m dating someone here. So—” she looked at Sky, trying to gauge her friend’s reaction “—Liam’s going to be my pretend boyfriend tonight.”

Her friend’s brows lifted. “Pretend, huh?”

“Pretend,” Alyssa said firmly.

“Oh,” Sky said, sounding disappointed. “For a minute, I thought this story might be as good as the sexy book I stayed up all night reading.”

“Maybe I can borrow it when you’re done, because the only romance I want these days is in the pages of a novel,” Alyssa told her.

“Why’s that?”

“Because I like my life the way it is—uncomplicated by the expectations of a man.”

“Most men are simple creatures driven by simple desires to eat, sleep and have sex.” Sky grinned. “Although not necessarily in that order.”

Alyssa’s experiences with the male gender were too limited for her to be able to contradict her friend’s assessment. Instead, she said, “And I have no desire to cook so that a man can eat, or make up the bed for him to sleep on.”

“I noticed that you didn’t dis the sex,” Sky said, her tone contemplative.

“My experience in that area is limited,” she admitted.

“How limited?”

“Let’s just say I really don’t get what all the fuss is about.”

“Then you haven’t been with the right kind of guy,” her friend said. “And it’s probably a good thing you only want Liam to be a pretend boyfriend.”

“Now you’ve piqued my curiosity,” Alyssa said.

“I love both of my brothers dearly, but Liam is...” Sky paused, as if searching for the right words to express what she was thinking. “He’s not always considerate of a woman’s emotions.” She smiled wryly. “Sometimes he’s not even cognizant of them.”

“So if I was going to fall for one of the Gilmore boys, I should set my sights on Caleb?” Alyssa joked.

Her friend shook her head. “Except that my younger brother, though inherently more compassionate, is completely emotionally unavailable.”

“Then I guess it’s a good thing I’m not looking to fall for anyone,” she noted.

“Those not looking are most likely to fall,” Sky warned.

“I’m not concerned.”

“How long have you been in Haven?” her friend asked as she began to unload a tray of glasses.

“Eight months,” she answered.

“How many dates have you had in that time?”

“Two,” she admitted.

“Two dates with the same guy or two different guys?” Sky continued to multitask as she interrogated her.

“Two different guys,” Alyssa clarified. “Neither of which I wanted a second date with.”