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“Maybe,” Cayden said, smiling in a way that told Spur to stop talking about his dating life. He did, and they moved on to the issue in row house seven, where some weak boards had been found. Half of it needed to be rebuilt, and Ian had started putting together a proposal and a budget.
The ranch had ninety-six pregnant mares now, and Spur had decided that was plenty. Their stud fees were through the roof this year, and he needed to stop spending money. The trays and trays of food in the back of the truck weren’t helping that cause, that was for sure.
He pulled up to the banquet hall he and Olli had rented for this dinner, and he and Cayden took all the food inside. Someone had already been there to set up the tables and chairs, and white cloths covered them, with beautiful white china and glinting silver utensils.
“Olli is going to love this,” he said.
“I’m surprised there’s no centerpieces,” Cayden said. “This place is so nice that it seems so plain.”
“Olli is bringing them,” Spur said. “She’s supplying all of the flowers for the wedding from her gardens. That way, she says it’ll smell the way she wants it to.” Spur wanted Olli to have everything she wanted, and he’d offered to pay for whatever she couldn’t.
She’d refused to even take a penny from him, and Spur had considered talking to her mother about it.
“He is here.”
He turned toward the sound of Olli’s voice, sunshine filling his soul. “Hey, there, baby,” he said, taking the enormous black bucket from her. Cut flowers filled it, and how she’d carried it, he didn’t know. Water sloshed in the bottom of it, and Spur took it to a side table while she turned to direct Ginny, who carried a second bucket.
“Cayden,” Spur said, and his brother turned from where he’d been looking at his phone. He strode toward Ginny, took the bucket from her, and joined Spur at the side table as Olli and Ginny sized up the banquet hall.
“Who is that?” Cayden asked.
“You know her,” Spur said, surprised as he looked at Cayden, who had his eyes stuck to Ginny. “It’s Ginny Winters. Her family owns Sweet Rose Whiskey.” Olli had told him that everyone in Kentucky knew the Winters. That obviously wasn’t true, as Cayden had just stuck his thumb in his mouth and was chewing on his nail.
Spur turned around fully, realizing what was happening here. “Go ask her out.”
“What? No.” Cayden looked at him for such a short time, it could barely be considered a glance. “I don’t even know her.”
“You like her.” Spur stepped in front of his brother and swatted Cayden’s hand away from his mouth. “I’m not blind. I can see it.”
“She’s beautiful,” Cayden said, his voice a touch haunted. “And Spur, there was a spark just from me taking that bucket from her.”
A grin split Spur’s face. “That’s great, Cay. Okay.” He breathed in deeply and moved back to his brother’s side so they faced the two women. “You start to get to know her. She hangs around Olli all the time. She dresses her, and they’ve been friends for ages.”
“I don’t want to be set up,” Cayden said. “I’ll get to know her myself. Do you know if she’s seeing anyone?”
“I want to say no,” Spur said. “Seems like Olli said she doesn’t date much, because of her family situation.”
“What situation is that?”
“My guess?” Spur folded his arms and leaned against the table. “It’s a lot like ours. Complicated.”
“Sounds like a recipe for disaster,” Cayden said. He sucked in a breath and spun around as Ginny looked their way.
“Get over here,” Olli said. “I need your brilliant mind.”
Spur grinned at his fiancée, pushed to a standing position, and said, “Come on, Cay. They need our help and you can see if that spark is as hot as you thought.”
* * *
Hours later,Spur had showered for the second time that day, dressed in a nice pair of slacks, buttoned up his white shirt, and put on his cowboy casual tie. He sprayed his signature cologne on his shirt, not his skin, as per Olli’s instructions, and he stepped into a pair of cowboy boots he’d only worn twice. They still pinched a little, but another couple of outings, and they’d be fine.
He and Olli had decided against formalwear for this dinner, as Olli said they’d be having a rehearsal dinner for the wedding too. That was when she’d inspect everyone’s clothes and pass them off. Spur’s tuxedo had already been approved, and if the men’s wear shop could get it tailored in time, he’d be set.
“Gotta be there in thirty,” he yelled to the three men sitting on the couch when he entered the kitchen. Various forms of assent met his ears as he went down the hall and collected his keys.
A few minutes later, he stood on Olli’s front porch the way he had many times before. He rang the doorbell, somehow just as nervous to pick her up tonight as he had been for their first date.
For some reason, he thought she’d wake up at any moment and realize what a colossal mistake she’d made by agreeing to marry him.
