It wasn’t easy.
“If only the goats didn’t need that pasture,” Levi said with a sigh. “And you know how your dad feels about crop rotation.”
Marissa squinted at him. “Not really, no?”
“Well, let’s just say, the three pastures over there are off-limits.” He pointed to fields of what looked like marijuana. “Your dad read an article about hemp cultivation, and now he’s obsessed. You know, maybe you should find a different place. Or wait a year, until the crops are—”
“What about the overlook?” Marissa suggested.
Levi froze for a second, then turned toward her. “You wanna marry Trey at the overlook?”
Marissa lifted her chin just slightly. “Why not?”
Levi opened his mouth like he wanted to say something. Then he flicked a glance at me and Quinn and shut it firmly again. “No reason.” He set his jaw. “No reason at all.” He marched ahead, leading us up a gravel path.
As soon as we climbed over the rise of a hill, I felt Quinn’s entire body language change. “Holy… yes. That’s it,” he said reverently. “It’s gorgeous.”
Levi glanced at Marissa, but she was too busy gazing out at the view next to Quinn to notice. “Isn’t it amazing?” she whispered.
Quinn sighed happily. “It’s the most beautiful spot in the county, I’m sure of it. Look how far you can see.”
Marissa pointed to the large river snaking through the valley in the distance. “That’s the Big South Fork of the Harriman River.”
“You can see it even better since the trees aren’t in bloom,” Quinn agreed. “And—oh my word! Look at that rock formation over there!” He squeezed Marissa’s arm excitedly. “Does that, or does that not, look like…”
“A heart!” he and Marissa finished together, wearing identical grins.
“That’s Emmaline Proud-Nutter’s land across the valley there,” Marissa said. “I bet she’d let us decorate around it.”
“This is the most gorgeous spot ever.” Quinn sounded blissed-out, a tone I’d only ever heard when he was close to orgasm, and I had to turn away because the urge to wrap my arms around him was so strong.
“I had my first kiss right here,” Levi said so quietly, I almost didn’t catch it.
At the same time, Marissa sighed and told Quinn, “I had my very first kiss here.”
Quinn and I made significant eye contact. Oh hell.
“Great,” Quinn said with a loud hand clap. Three of us startled at the sound. “That’s a sign this wedding was meant to happen right here. So romantic. The most romantic spot on the entire farm. We’ll get a huge event tent set up with gas heaters and fairy lights everywhere. We’ll have a fleet of horse-drawn carriages to bring guests out here from the house, and they’ll be decked out in greenery and floral headpieces. I have pictures of what I’m thinking of. We’ll put them on the design board.”
As he continued to spell out his vision for the hilltop wedding reception, Marissa stood spellbound. I didn’t blame her at all. Quinn was charming and magnetic. It was clear he was good at what he did, and I hoped like hell he would get the reputation he wanted in the industry.
While I stared at the moody spitfire in front of me, Levi stared at the bride. Someone else’s bride.
This was going to be a major problem, but it wasn’t one that was in my wheelhouse. I needed to keep my focus on my mission—finding the Horn, retrieving the smuggled data, saving my client, and keeping Champion Security’s lucrative contract with HOG Corporate.
The faster I did all those things, the easier it would be for Quinn to get his job done. So I needed to do some recon.
“Marissa, would you mind if I head back to the house and use the bathroom?” I asked, flashing her a smile. “Shouldn’t have gotten the large coffee on the way here.”
She barely glanced away from the view. “Make yourself at home. If you go in the front door, there’s a powder room down the hall to the right.”
I thanked her and began walking toward the house. Within a few steps, I realized I wasn’t alone. Levi trailed me like a pesky shadow.
“I’m sure I can find it on my own,” I joked, hoping he wasn’t following me for security purposes.
“We don’t let anyone into Mr. Drakes’s house unattended. I’m sure you understand.”
I didn’t respond. Instead, I used the trip across the field to try and figure out how to get time away from him. After a minute, I tried the obvious. “I would have thought you’d be tasked with watching Marissa.”
“Rissy? No,” he said with a snort. “She wouldn’t stand for it. But I taught her to defend herself a long time ago. She’s almost a better shot than me, and she’s got a hell of a right hook.”
A sharpshooter brawling bride who was afraid to mess up her manicure. Only Quinn could find a client like that.