Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 117915 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 590(@200wpm)___ 472(@250wpm)___ 393(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 117915 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 590(@200wpm)___ 472(@250wpm)___ 393(@300wpm)
“Still,” I said, not giving up. “This is a big property with lots of workmen hanging around. You sure you’ve vetted them all well enough?” I nodded toward a particularly rough-looking man using a pitchfork to commit violent homicide on a nearby hay bale.
“Old Jimbo?” he scoffed. “The man kissed Marissa’s skinned knees a time or two back in the day. Naw. Folks around here won’t betray Mr. Drakes if they know what’s good for ’em. But for damn sure, no one here’s gonna betray Marissa, because they love her to pieces. You get me?”
What I got was that Levi was still suspicious of me. Terrific.
“Sure,” I agreed easily. “She seems like a great person.” We reached the house and turned down the hallway to the bathroom. “Thanks for showing me the way,” I said. “I’ll meet you back out front in a few minutes.”
“I’ll wait so you don’t get lost on your way back.” Levi narrowed his eyes at me. “You know, you sure do use the bathroom a lot. First at the Nashville house and now—”
“Does that revirgination plan seem odd to you?” I blurted, trying to distract him from his train of thought.
“Huh?”
“Marissa saying she and Trey weren’t sleeping together until the wedding. I’ve never heard of such a thing. Have you?”
“Well… I guess I’ve never thought about it. But I think it’s smart. And if that’s what Marissa wants, Trey should respect it.”
I tried looking around while he spoke, but it was impossible to see anything while standing in a farmhouse hallway. There was nothing but wooden plaques on the wall with phrases like Live, Laugh, Love and Make Hay While the Sun Shines… No, Really.
“I suppose you’re right.” I forced a laugh. “But God, could you go that long?”
“You’d be surprised what you can do when you love someone,” Levi said starkly. He nodded at the bathroom behind me. “Did you change your mind?”
“Huh? Oh. No.” After an awkward pause, I disappeared into the bathroom and shut the door. Then I braced my hands on the vanity and tried to think.
Levi was not going to just let me waltz around this place on my own during these wedding-planning meetings. If he was right about the staff who worked here—and I got the sense he was—they were loyal to Tommy and utterly devoted to Marissa, so trying to bribe them would likely backfire. Five weeks wasn’t long enough to earn Levi’s trust. So I needed more Levi-free time here at the farm.
I could handle subcontractors for Quinn every day, which would give me more access and earn me points with the sexy man, but the farm’s staff would still be a problem. I could also get some of my team in here as painters and landscapers, but I’d have to wait for Hux to provide them with some kind of background cover first since I was pretty sure Levi would want to run down every contractor Quinn hired.
As I flushed the toilet and washed my hands in the sink, I brainstormed ways to make myself useful while also getting unhindered access to the property, but I kept coming up blank.
Thankfully, Quinn was way ahead of me. It turned out, he’d zeroed in on the perfect solution without even realizing it… he just needed me to helpfully point it out.
9
QUINN
“This is going to work perfectly,” I told Marissa, doing a small pirouette around the giant, cavernous bunkhouse out of sheer relief.
I’d been expecting hogs and mud, and yes, there were exponentially more of both than I would have preferred. But there was also the prettiest vista in Licking Thicket and this big, empty room right near the ceremony location, which was just dying to be turned into a prep area once we removed the bunk beds and old furniture.
I’d done a lot more with a lot less.
“I’m envisioning setting aside a room in the house for Trey and his groomsmen while you and your court get ready here,” I said excitedly. “This area—” I waved around at the walls. “—I’m thinking we’ll do a cream wash, decorate with plenty of greenery and copper fairy lights, and clean up these hardwoods while leaving them rustic and beautiful. We’ll do a light renovation of the powder room, of course, but have a salon chair and nail station set up in here for you and the bridesmaids. When it’s time for the ceremony, your carriage will ascend the hill, creating the most beautiful fairy-tale aesthetic, and then you’ll be married right in front of that view.”
“Yes. Yes.” Marissa nodded excitedly. “I swear when you say this stuff, it’s like you’re painting a picture in my head, Quinn! So are you thinking tables and chairs, or…”
“Maybe we go more informal,” I suggested. “You said a sunset ceremony, right? So maybe we go for homey and warm.” I winked. “Something very you.”