“You can do all of that,” she said. “And I need one more favor, Spur.”
“Name it,” he said. “Along with the monetary amount, Olli.”
“It’ll be hundreds to pull out the ruined plants and put them in again.” She switched her gaze to the flower garden, which was huge. Just how big Spur hadn’t realized. He reminded himself that she ran a perfumery, and she grew most of the stuff she used to produce the fragrances herself.
“Include your lost product,” he said. “I want to pay for that too.”
“You will,” she said. “I’ll have to do some estimates.”
“You have my number.” He started to turn away from her magnetic gaze, telling himself not to ask her out right now. He couldn’t even believe he was thinking about asking her out. His mother would be thrilled he was “getting back on the horse” again, but Spur wasn’t.
He wasn’t interested in dating. He wasn’t. He simply couldn’t admit his interest in Olli to himself. He first needed to figure out how long he’d be interested in her.
“Spur,” she said, her voice even and calm.
“Hmm?” He looked back at her, unable to just walk away. Not while she wore that pale blue tank top and those denim shorts. Her hair fell in soft waves over her shoulders, and Spur just wanted to brush it back so he could feel her skin there, breathe in the scent of her, and kiss her.
He struggled to get control of his thoughts as she started speaking.
“Probably a thousand for the plants. Send over your guys to get this cleaned up and replanted.” She cocked her head. “I’ll text you about the lost product.”
He nodded, something anchoring him in place. Maybe he didn’t want to leave yet, but he couldn’t fathom why he’d need to stay.
“The favor is that I need you to be my boyfriend for a few days,” Olli said, holding his gaze with strength in her shoulders and back.
Spur stared at her, the words she’d said swimming through his whole system. He started laughing, because she couldn’t be serious.
She smiled too, and Spur relaxed. She was just teasing him, something she’d done before when one of his studs had gotten out and kicked a hole through her storage shed. Then, she’d said she’d like to hire him out for a stud fee, and they’d had a good laugh together.
Today, though, she didn’t join him, and he cut his laughter off pretty quickly. “I’ll see who I have available to come do this,” he said. “Could be a day or two.”
“The party is in a couple of weeks,” she said. “Might not even be a party. But you’ll need to look nice, and wear that cowboy hat that you wear to church, and a pair of boots that you haven’t worn on the ranch.” She dropped her eyes to his current pair of cowboy boots, and Spur’s pulse kicked at his ribs now.
“Party?” he practically growled.
“I have an investor interested in funding my business,” she said, a slight frown appearing between her eyes. “He’s very…traditional, and I’ve been told I need a husband or a boyfriend. A serious boyfriend.” Those perfectly sculpted eyebrows went up, as if to ask him Do you catch my drift, Spur?
He caught it. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to fist it tight and hold it close or throw it right back in her face.
“Dear Lord, you’re not kidding,” he said.
“I am not,” she said, taking another step toward him. “It’ll be for a few days at the most, Spur. It’s a lot of money, and I need it.”
His first instinct was to tell her he’d give her whatever money she needed. He had plenty of money, and not much time or patience for parties or small talk. Cayden, his next youngest brother was the public relations director for the horse breeding ranch. He was the one who cleaned up nice and entertained their buyers and sellers.
Spur had never cleaned his boots for a girlfriend, real or fake.
What if she wasn’t fake?he thought, and he had no idea where that had come from.
“Okay,” he said, just as surprised as Olli. He managed to keep his eyebrows down while hers went up again.
“Really?” she asked.
“It’s a few days, right?” he asked. “I just ruined a lot more work than that. I can wear a clean pair of boots and a nice hat for a few days.”
“You’d just hang on my arm,” she said with a smile. “Charm the socks off of the investor. It’ll be easy.”
Spur had never hung on anyone’s arm, nor did he have much charm, so he didn’t think it would be that easy, but he refrained from rolling his eyes. “Just tell me when,” he said, taking the steps away from her that he needed to clear his head.