“A guided tour of the animals on your ranch. And if Mary can feed the llamas, it would make her day.”
With a smile that made her toes curl, Sean held out his hand. “It’s a deal. You don’t know how grateful I am.”
She shook his hand and sighed. “I just hope Ashley is happy with the choices we make. There’s a lot that could go wrong with Matthew’s surprise wedding.”
“And a lot that could go right.”
Becky forgot to breathe as she looked into Sean’s eyes. Her gran would be telling her to throw caution to the wind and see where these feelings would take her. But she had a business to manage, a little girl who depended on her, and a life that didn’t leave a lot of time for socializing.
Building any type of relationship with Sean would be impossible.
The following evening,Sean parked his truck outside a small cottage four blocks from Happy Petals. Becky’s front door was surrounded by large containers filled with flowers. They softened the wooden siding, matching the bright orange trim around the windows and the yellow mailbox perched above the white picket fence.
Her home made him feel lighter, less weighed down by his brother’s expectations and his own insecurities. Organizing anyone’s wedding was a huge responsibility. When it was your twin’s, it was worse. He knew Matthew better than anyone else. Even if his brother was disorganized and leaped from one idea to the next, he’d do whatever it took to make him happy.
Tonight, with Becky’s help, they would take the first step in creating a day no one would forget. With a folder full of notes, Ashley’s scrapbook, and a plate of cookies, he stepped onto the veranda and pushed the doorbell.
Within seconds, the front door swung open. Mary’s grinning face beamed up at him.
“Hi, Mr. Gray.”
“Hi, Mary. Is Becky here?”
“She’s in the garden getting rid of the weeds.”
“That’s a good thing to do.”
“That’s what Becky said.”
The woman in question hurried down the hallway toward them. With a baseball cap pushed to the back of her head and a smile on her face, she looked more relaxed and carefree than she had yesterday.
“Hi, Sean. Welcome to our home.” She saw the chocolate chip cookies and smiled. “You’ve been baking?”
He shook his head. “Not this time. I bought them from Angel Wings Café.”
“They look delicious. Come into the kitchen. Would you like a cup of coffee, tea, or something cold to drink?”
“Something cold would be great.”
“Orange juice?”
“Perfect.”
Mary walked beside him. “Did you bring your llamas with you?”
She was looking at him so hopefully he didn’t want to tell her they weren’t here. “They’re having dinner at the ranch.”
“Do they like cookies?”
“Cookies would give them a tummy ache. Their favorite food is grass. Sometimes, when they’re extra good, we give them blackberries and dandelions.”
Mary’s eyes widened. “We’ve got dandelions.” With an excited gleam in her eyes, she rushed past Becky and tore down the hallway.
Becky laughed. “I have a feeling you’ll be going home with a bag of weeds.”
“I don’t mind,” Sean said softly. “Mary reminds me of my brother’s two children. Toby and Catherine would do the same thing.”
“Do they live on the ranch, too?”
