Free Love Under Construction (The Love Under Series Book 1) by Jody Pardo

dropped her wrist. If looks could kill, I would be dead where I stood. 
    “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to grab on you. I was just going to give you a goodnight kiss.” She moved to the other side of the open door putting the barrier between us. 
    “Goodnight, Max,” she said quietly as she slowly closed the door. 
    Well, I fucked that up! I stared at the door in disbelief for a long minute before going back to my truck. I tried to think where things took the fast track straight to fucked up. I thought it was going well. Women were so hard to read sometimes. I started my truck and pulled out of the driveway from Aunt Kelli’s ranch and headed home with the taste of Suzie’s lip balm on my lips. 

Suzie
    “Just try them on,” Aubrey urged.
    “I feel silly!” I protested.
    “You only feel silly because it’s not capris and flip flops, but that shit won’t fly in the fields,” Aubrey yelled from the other side of the dressing room door. 
    “I feel like this is Halloween, and it’s only June,” I whined, turning from side to side in the dressing room mirror
    “Come on let me see,” she huffed.
    Aubrey picked out a pair of skintight Wrangler Riders with boot bottoms, a blue and grey plaid shirt with button flaps, and a brown pair of Justin boots. I felt like a clown. It was so not me. Reluctantly, I unlatched the door, and it swung outward to an awaiting Aubrey standing with her arms crossed waiting for me to show her the outfit. 
    “You look great!” she squealed, coming over to me and turning me around to look at me. “Girl, you fill out those jeans like a champ! Gonna have those ropers after you for sure!”
    “Aubrey …” I groaned.
    “Too soon?” she feigned innocence. Her look was priceless—shocked with big sad eyes and her hand covering her mouth. 
    “A little,” I replied. “Why do I need to get all dressed up to go to the auction? Isn’t it just like shopping? I don’t see anyone getting all dressed up to go to Walmart.”
    “Suzie, I know you didn’t compare the auction and rodeo to Walmart.” She glared at me. 
    “What? Auction equals shopping like Ebay but just in person!”
    “Girl, that’s just the auction part, a very small part, I might add, to the whole experience. There are the shows and then the rodeo in the evening. You will see.”
    “Let me get out of this,” I returned to the dressing room to change back into my everyday clothes.
    “Fine, I’m going to make some more additions to your wardrobe while we are here. You need to get out of those yoga pants!” she shouted over the door.
    “I have a limited wardrobe, cut me some slack.”
    “I have cut you some slack for a whole week, and now the excuses are over. Time to rejoin the living.” She left me to finish changing and went out on the sales floor to choose my wardrobe. 
    By the time I finished lacing up my sneakers and gathered the outfit for the auction, Aubrey was at the counter with a heaping pile of clothing at the register. 
    “What’s all this?”
    “Your new wardrobe,” she said. The girl behind the register handed Aubrey her credit card back and started placing the clothes in a handled paper shopping bag. 
    “I can’t afford all this. I thought we were just coming in for one outfit for the auction.”
    “You need clothes, and it isn’t that much. Consider it a house warming present.” she said proudly.
    “If this is a house warming present shouldn’t it toast or blend something?” I nudged. 
    “You can blend and toast all you want in these! Wait, did someone break my toaster?” Aubrey was suddenly concerned. 
    “The toaster works just fine. Relax. Seriously, Aubs, this is too much,” I pleaded.
    “You are my best friend. It’s never too much. Now, you pay for your boots and let’s go.”
    “But I don’t even know if any of this fits.”
    “It’s the same size as the stuff you tried on. I have been shopping here for years and the sizes are parallel. Besides, no