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reached into the pocket of his denim shirt and produced a business card.
    Meredith read it—then did a double take.
    “What’s wrong?”
    “Nothing. I just didn’t read your card right the first time.” She looked up at him. At his quizzical look, she decided to confess. “I’ve just never actually met anyone named Ward before.”
    “I know—it’s odd, isn’t it? But Edward’s a family name, and my parents didn’t want me being ‘Eddie the fourth.’ I’ve never seen it anywhere else as a first name.”
    “You’ve never heard of Ward Bond?” She slipped the card into her pocket.
    Ward Breaux shook his head. “No. Who’s he?”
    Meredith’s jaw unhinged momentarily. “ The Searchers? Rio Bravo? The Quiet Man? ” At the title of each film, the contractor shook his head. “Surely, you’ve at least seen Fort Apache? ”
    “Um ... if those are westerns, I can guarantee you I’ve never seen them.”
    “They’re not just westerns, they’re John Wayne classics—Ward Bond costarred in all of those and a bunch more with John Wayne.”
    “Well, there you go.” Ward winked at her. “I’ve never seen a John Wayne movie.”
    “Never? Oh, you don’t know what you’re missing. Fort Apache and She Wore a Yellow Ribbon are my two favorite movies.”
    Ward’s eyes crinkled a bit at the corners when he smiled. “Then I guess I’ll have to watch them sometime if they’re your favorites.”
    Movement behind him caught Meredith’s attention, and she bent to grab her basket. “Sorry, Rob. I’m ready—” She glanced askance at Ward and held up the can in her hand. “At least, I think I am.”
    “That’s the putty I always use.” Ward turned toward Rob. “I’ll be done by the time you finish ringing up Miss...?” He swung his head around, brows raised.
    Her skin tingled at the way his dark lashes perfectly framed his gray eyes. “Meredith Guidry.”
    “Miss Guidry.”
    Meredith tried her best not to look back as she followed Rob to the sales counter. She nearly bounced on each step, buoyed by high spirits. Never before had a man flirted with her like that.
    After handing her check card to Rob, she pulled a business card out of her wallet. She stared at it a moment. MEREDITH E. GUIDRY, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, EVENTS & FACILITIES MANAGEMENT. Her title always made her feel pretentious, though she supposed it did reflect her real job better than “the event planner,” which is what most people called her. She signed her receipt and willed Rob to move slower in bagging her purchases.
    Her heart jangled like a cartoon telephone when footsteps approached from behind. She drew in a calming breath. Strange. In the eight years since she’d first met Major, she’d never experienced this level of attraction toward anyone else. Maybe she was finally getting over him.
    She handed Ward her business card while Rob scanned Ward’s three cans of primer.
    “Impressive.” Ward’s flirtatious gaze made her almost want to forgive him for having been so condescending to her a few minutes ago. “Never would have expected someone as young as you to be such a bigwig with a company as huge as B-G Enterprises. You must be good at what you do.”
    Rob’s chuckle brought flames of embarrassment to Meredith’s cheeks. All of a sudden, all she could think of was her grubby appearance. Who was she kidding, thinking that a man like Ward Breaux was flirting with her?
    “E-mail or call me, and we can set up a time for you to come by the house to look it over and then review my plans so that you can start putting together a bid.” She grabbed her bags off the counter. “Thanks, Rob. Happy New Year.”
    She didn’t usually take the coward’s way out, but she pretended not to hear Ward calling for her to wait up and ran through the rain to her SUV.
    The puppy awoke with a yip when the can of epoxy fell off the seat and bumped him.
    “Oh, goodness—I’m so sorry.” She leaned over the console and rubbed his head before