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He strode from the barn and nearly collided with the very person he’d been looking for. Lucas let out a disgruntled sound as he dodged his brother. Daniel might not be the oldest, but he was definitely the biggest. The guy could probably bench-press a full-grown bull if he wanted to.
“Did you call for me?” Daniel said.
“Yeah.” Lucas glanced around his brother. “Where were you?”
His brother stared at him blankly.
“You know what? Doesn’t matter. I just needed some help. I’m going on a date with Ella Thompson—” Lucas shot his brother a sharp look. “Don’t even say a word.”
Daniel shrugged. “I wasn’t gonna.”
“Anyway, Ella is smart—likereallysmart. She’s got all this education in architecture and carpentry. She could probably take one look at a building and know what year it was built andhow they did it…” Man, Ella was amazing. It wasn’t any wonder why he’d been so drawn to her.
“And what did you want me to do?” Daniel’s quiet voice dragged Lucas from his thoughts.
“You know about that stuff, right? You could teach me some of it?”
Daniel gave his brother a funny look. “You want me toteachyou about architecture? You realize that’s not something you can just learn in a couple days, right?”
“A couple days? No. I need some pointers right now.” Lucas glanced down at his watch. “I’m gonna be leaving in about an hour. I need to know enough that I won’t sound like an idiot.”
Daniel snorted, to which Lucas scowled at him.
“This isn’t funny,” he insisted. “I need her to think I’m smart.”
Once again, his brother made a sound that made it clear he didn’t think this was going to work.
“What? You don’t think you could give me a few things to say that I could throw into conversation?”
Daniel shook his head. “I don’t know. Have you tried saying you think that a building is pretty?”
Lucas’s scowl deepened. “Fine. I get it. I’m an idiot who doesn’t have a prayer of impressing her. And no amount of tips or tricks will do me any good.” He turned to walk away, but Daniel’s sigh stopped him.
“Okay,” Daniel groaned, “you twisted my arm. I’ve got a few things you can memorize, but it’s not gonna be all that great for you if she wants you to expand on what you’re saying.”
Lucas turned around and grinned. “That’s a risk I’m willing to take.”
His brother gave him one look and then shook his head. “Okay, but if I help you, you have to promise that you sayeverything the way I tell you. Otherwise, we’re both gonna look like idiots.”
“Deal.”
Over the next sixty minutes, Daniel showed Lucas various pictures of buildings and explained what made them unique. Lucas did his best to pay attention, but they all melted together after a while. How was he supposed to remember what was significant about the pitch of a roof or when people stopped designing their buildings a certain way?
There were a handful of things he knew he could remember. And one of the things his brother said would make him sound intellectual. He just had to slip it into their normal conversation.
By the end of their little crash course, Lucas was ready to leave Daniel far behind and strut his stuff.
He pulled up in front of the mayor’s home and stared through the glass at the front door. Strange how he’d driven past this home so many times over the years and even through high school and it hadn’t held any significance for him whatsoever.
Now was different. Behind that door, Ella would be waiting.
Heat crept into his stomach, reminding him of their undeniable chemistry. He had to do whatever it took to get this one right.
Lucas climbed out of his truck and headed toward the house. He focused on his breathing but then scowled at himself. What did he have to be worried about? He’d been on a thousand dates at least and rarely was his anxiety even a blip on the radar. And yet the nerves building within him at this moment were worse than all those dates combined.
He lifted his hand and paused. The worst-case scenario was that he bombed this date, and the next few months would be torture as they finished renovating the barn. Best-case scenario was that everything went perfect, and they had to deal with their growing feelings on a daily basis.
The best-case outcome sounded terrifying. He’d never worried about getting his heart broken before. Ella was the only one who had come close to having that power, and he wasn’t sure he wanted to give it to her.
