Heaven, Texas Read Free Page B

IV.”
    He looked around at the crowd and grinned. “Am I the only one hearin' wedding bells?”
    Gracie was smiling herself at his chicanery as she leaned forward to whisper in Bruno's ear. “Isn't this a little demeaning?”
    “Not if she wins. You got any idea how much Bobby Tom's worth?”
    Quite a lot, she imagined. She listened as he fired off two more questions, both of which Julie answered. In addition to being beautiful, the blonde was quite knowledgeable, but Gracie had the distinct feeling she wasn't nearly smart enough to stay ahead of Bobby Tom Denton.
    Once again, she whispered to Bruno. “Do those young women really believe he's serious about this?”
    “Of course he's serious. Why else do you think a man who loves women as much as he does hasn't ever gotten married?”
    “Maybe he's gay,” she suggested, purely as a point of discussion.
    Bruno's shaggy eyebrows shot up into his forehead and he began to sputter. “Gay! Bobby Tom Denton? Shit, he's nailed more tail than a frontier trapper. Cheezus, don't let him hear you say that. He'd probably— Well, I don't even want to imagine what he'd do.”
    Gracie had never believed that any man who was securely heterosexual should be threatened by homosexuality, but since she was hardly an expert on male behavior, she could quite possibly be missing something.
    Julie answered a question about a person named Walter Payton and another about the Pittsburgh Steelers. Bobby Tom rose from his chair and began to pace along the back edge of the platform, as if he were in deep thought, which Gracie didn't believe for a minute.
    “All right, honey, now concentrate. You're only one question away from that long walk down the center aisle, and I'm already thinkin' about what good-looking babies we're gonna have. I haven't felt this much pressure since my first Super Bowl. Are you concentrating?”
    Creases had formed in Julie's perfect forehead. “I'm concentrating.”
    “Okay, sweetheart, now don't disappoint me.” He tilted the beer to his lips, drained it, and set the bottle down. “Everybody knows the goalposts have to be eighteen feet, six inches wide. The top face of the crossbar—”
    “Ten feet above the ground!” Julie shrieked.
    “Aw, honey, I respect you too much to insult your intelligence with a question that easy. Wait till I finish, or you're gonna end up with a two-question penalty.”
    She looked so stricken that Gracie's heart went out to her.
    Bobby Tom crossed his arms over his chest. “The top face of the crossbar is ten feet above the ground. The vertical posts have to extend at least thirty feet above the crossbar. Now here's your question, sweetheart, and before you answer, remember that you're holding my heart in your hands.” Gracie waited expectantly. “For the chance to be Mrs. Bobby Tom Denton, give me the exact dimensions of the ribbon attached to the top of each upright.”
    Julie shot up from the edge of the hot tub. “I know this, Bobby Tom! I know it!”
    Bobby Tom went very still. “You do?”
    A soft giggle slipped through Gracie's lips. It would serve him right if Julie answered the question.
    “Four inches by sixty inches!”
    Bobby Tom punched his chest. “Aw, baby! You just ripped out my heart and stomped the sucker flat.”
    Julie's face crumpled.
    “It's four inches by forty-eight. Forty-eight inches, sweetheart. We were only twelve inches away from eternal marital bliss. I can't remember the last time I was so depressed.”
    Gracie watched him take Julie in his arms and kiss her quite thoroughly. This man might be the most blatant male chauvinist left in North America, but she had to admire his audacity. She watched with fascination as his hand, which was suntanned and exceptionally strong looking, curled over the bare globe of Julie's glistening bottom. The muscles in her own bottom tightened unconsciously in response.
    The guests began to mill and a few of the men stepped up on the platform to offer condolences to