“Daddio, what can I do for you?” Hopefully he didn’t notice the tremor in her voice. She didn’t want to worry him.
“My Lilybug. Could you please check my room and see if you can find my wallet? I’ve left without it, and I’m taking Miss Leona to lunch. I think I left it in my pants last night.”
“One moment, please.” Lily-Grace slipped on a T-shirt and hurried down to her father’s bedroom. His pants were hanging over the end of his armchair, and sure enough, she could see his wallet weighing it down. She pulled it and smiled at how it was packed with neatly folded receipts. His personal bookkeeping system would horrify his clients.
“Got it.”
“Do you mind bringing it over to the office?”
“Any excuse to take Knight Rider out for a spin. I’m on it.”
“I would think you’d come up with a more appropriate name for that tank,” he joked.
“Knight Tank it is. I just got out of the shower. I’ll be there in ... twenty-six minutes.”
“Much appreciated.”
She ended the call, then went to finish getting dressed. She didn’t see a need to wait for a special occasion, so she slipped on her new bracelet from Jesse. It went perfectly with her T-shirt and jeans. She triple-checked to make sure she had all her things, including her own wallet, before she locked up the house and jumped in the car.
There was a new email alert on her phone when she set it in its holder. She knew she shouldn’t check it but she did. It was an email from Dane.
I assume you’ve moved on. Wishing you and Jesse all the best.
She scowled as she clicked on the link he’d included below the message. It was the link to the article about the date auction. Her eyes rolled on their own as she closed the article just as quickly and put her phone on Do Not Disturb. Dane probably had a Google alert on her name, which fine, whatever, if that was how he wanted to spend his pathetic time, have at it. She quickly snapped an adorable selfie with her fingers delicately placed under her chin, showing off the tennis bracelet, then sent it to Jesse. Maybe after she’d dropped off her father’s wallet she’d see if he was free for lunch.
* * *
Jesse was gonna do it. He was gonna take a selfie. He’d just gotten off the phone with Cynthia, thanking her and the team at A New Way Forward for their interest and faith in him, but he was going to have to decline. She understood his reasoning, even though he didn’t go into to detail, but she had siblings of her own and could see how hard it would be to walk away from his brother and the family business. She wished him well, which Jesse appreciated, but if he was keeping it all the way real, he’d already moved on from the conversation before the screen on his phone dimmed. He needed to text a certain someone back.
Jesse liked the idea of him and Lily-Grace sending pictures to each other throughout the day, but while she showed off the gift he’d bought her, she’d also sent over a beautiful picture of herself. He wanted to send something back, something more than a text that saidDamn, girl, you look good,just to let her know he was thinking about her. He looked around his office, trying to find the best spot for this momentous occasion. Lilah and Vega were always taking selfies, and Evie had mastered the art of it, but he wasn’t a beautiful woman. Sam took the occasional selfie for his fans on Instagram, but that was different. He had actual fans.
Jesse went over to the window that looked out over the front of the property all the way down to the road. He’d heard Lilah go on and on about how Black people looked best in natural sunlight. He sized himself up on screen and snapped five or six terrible pictures. He tried again and almost dropped his phone as Zach knocked and opened the door at the same time.
“Hey—what are you doing?”
“Uh, nothing.” Jesse moved back over to his desk like he wasn’t completely busted. “What’s going on?”
“Nothing my ass. What the fuck are you doing?” Zach chuckled.
“I was ... taking a picture to send to Lily-Grace.”
“You are really into her.” Zach smiled as he flopped down into one of the chairs on the other side of Jesse’s desk.
“I may have been looking for stables closer to her house this morning.”
“Stables for what—are you gonna buy her a horse?” Zach’s eyebrows shot up to his hairline.
“She expressed an interest in acquiring a horse. There were some conversations about love languages, and I’m about twenty years behind, buying any romantic partner any kind of gifts. I figure what I could have spent over the years might add up to the price of a horse and a year of boarding.”
“I mean, you could board it here.”
“Yeah, but I would like it to be Lily-Grace’s thing completely. Separate from the ranch. And if I find the right horse, say something as handsome as Bam Bam, the guests will want to ride him. I don’t want that.”
“First of all, you aren’t going to find a horse as pretty as Bam Bam,” Zach said, defending his youngest horsey son. Jesse was serious, though, he realized. He wanted to give Lily-Grace something special, something she wanted. When he didn’t respond, Zach knew Jesse was serious too. “Call Peggy Garcia. The Whittiers are moving at the end of the month, and they are taking both of their mares with them. She’d happily take your stable fees.”
Jesse knew Peggy well. He’d call her soon. “Thanks.”
“So this is what it’s like?” Zach said. He settled back in the leather chair, shaking his head as a knowing smile turned up the edges of his mustache.
