We do?
“You do?” Marissa gasped, eyes shining.
“Absolutely! And the best part is… we’ll move out here with you! We’ll keep you company in the evening and be on hand all day to oversee the landscapers and construction crews.”
We will?
“You will?” Marissa clasped her hands under her chin.
“No, you damn well won’t,” Levi said firmly, and for once, I was totally Team Levi, because what the fuck was Champ thinking? “Rissy, your father will never allow it. Remember they had a break-in attempt at the Nashville house just last night.”
Champ stiffened.
Marissa lifted her chin and cut Levi off. “Someone tried to get into the garage because they wanted one of Dad’s classic cars. That has nothing to do with this. Dad will be fine with it, as long as you don’t fill his head with a bunch of stupid conspiracy theory nonsense. I’m not eight years old, Levi, and there are no enemies coming through the valley. I don’t need you to protect me. I have never wanted your protection.”
“Riss, stop and think—” Levi threw out a hand toward Champ.
“No, you stop and think. You’re not my big brother!” Marissa’s cheeks flamed red. “And this is not your wedding, is it?”
Levi ground his teeth together so hard I thought his molars would crack. “No.”
“No. So that means I’m in charge. And I say Quinn and Champ are going to move out here to the farm. And so am I. And if you try to sabotage that, I’ll… I’ll… never speak to you again.” She nodded resolutely, hands on her hips. “And you know I mean it.”
“Marissa.” Levi sounded appalled and anguished. “I’m just trying to…” He blew out a frustrated breath. “You don’t even know these guys. Your dad doesn’t know them. You can’t let them just wander around—”
“I know that they’re gonna help me plan my wedding and not be all… negative about it.” Marissa took a step in Levi’s direction and poked him in the center of the chest with one perfectly manicured finger. “All you’ve been doing lately is telling me I’m wrong about this and wrong about that. Wrong for letting my mom convince me to take a few weeks off until the wedding. Wrong for letting Trey’s mom railroad me about the bridal shower. Wrong for wanting the wedding here at the farm. Wrong for trusting Quinn and Champ. Since when d’you think I’m incompetent, huh? What the heck is your problem?”
Levi looked like he’d swallowed something sour. “Nothing! That’s not… this is different, Riss.”
“Is it? Because it feels like more of the same thing. I don’t need a keeper, Levi. At least Trey thinks I can take care of myself. Trey thinks I’m perfectly capable of handling wedding plans.”
“I never said… I didn’t mean…” He ran both hands through his dark hair. “Fuck,” he whispered under his breath. “Fine, then.” He lifted his hands and let them drop. “You wanna move out here, we’ll make that happen.”
“That’s exactly what I want,” Marissa said primly. “Thank you.” Then she turned to me. “Great! That’s settled. So what’s next?”
“Uh.” I glanced down at my tablet so I wouldn’t have to see her brittle smile. “Invitations. Those need to go to the printer today as a rush job. We’re already pushing it with timing.”
“Right. Okay. Let’s do it.” She headed for the little golf cart, only realizing it wasn’t big enough for the four of us when she stood beside it. “Oh! I can walk back—”
“Nonsense. You and Levi go on ahead in the cart,” I insisted. “My Afternoon Delight and I will walk down and meet you. We need to have a quick chat about logistics anyway.”
“You mean you want to have a moment alone with your sweetheart.” Marissa winked. “So cute. Don’t take too long, okay?”
I forced a smile and managed to wait until the cart had turned and headed down the hill before I rounded on Percy Champion and let loose.
“I am going to get the definition of silent partner tattooed on the inside of your eyelids, because you keep fucking forgetting.”
“I know. I know! I’m sorry. I should not have signed you up for that without talking to you first—”
“You really shouldn’t! Especially—”
“Especially not after I signed you up for the farm wedding without talking to you, yeah,” he went on, taking the wind out of my sails.
“Exactly,” I rallied. “And after—”
“After I signed myself up as your fiancé without asking you first. I get it. But when I tried to check the house, Levi wouldn’t let me out of his sight. He practically offered to come in the bathroom and hold my dick while I peed. And then we got up here, and suddenly, Levi was a step away from pledging his love—”
“No shit. And it’s way worse than I thought the other day because I’m pretty sure Marissa has feelings too. But I need this wedding to happen, Champ.”