‘Our hats?’ Nina asked.
‘Our dancing hats!’ Poppy chirped. She ran to the hall closet.
‘Poppy, get my red one for Nina!’ Sierra called after her.
‘’Kay!’
Poppy returned a moment later, two cowgirl hats in her hands. Hers was pink suede with a single faux pink rose in the hatband. Sierra’s, the one Poppy passed to Nina, was red leather.
‘You don’t mind?’ Nina asked Sierra as she took the hat.
‘No. I haven’t worn one in years, and your black hair is just begging for that red.’
Nina plopped the hat on her head, tipped it back. ‘How does it look?’
Sexy as hell, Mav thought, but because his mouth had gone dry, he just nodded like an idiot.
Sierra said, ‘Movie worthy.’
Poppy gushed, ‘We’re so pretty!’
Nina held out her hand, and when Poppy took it unquestioningly, she said, ‘Heck yes, we are.’
He watched them walk to the front door hand in hand, waited for them to amble outside before turning back to his sister. He had been meaning to check in with her one last time, but the look of wry amusement on her face stole his words. Was he that obvious?
Sierra started for the kitchen and her waiting glass of wine, but she tossed, ‘You’re in trouble, Mav!’ over her shoulder as she left.
Maverick only sighed, muttered, ‘I know it,’ and followed them outside.
He loaded Shadow into the back seat of the Jeep and then climbed into the driver’s seat. Poppy climbed through and perched on the armrest between him and Nina, something he allowed when they were on ranch property.
It was only once they were on their way that Nina asked, ‘Are these barbecues a regular occasion? I haven’t really explored any of the ranch activities yet.’
‘We have some sort of outdoor event every night,’ he replied, ‘but it’s not always barbecue.’
‘Everynight?’
‘Yup. The schedule is posted in the lobby and on the website. We have guests checking in and out almost every day, so there has to be something happening every night. Sometimes it’s just cocktails and appetizers by the lake. Sometimes it’s a barbecue with live music – like tonight.’
‘Daddy sings!’ Poppy offered.
Nina didn’t seem surprised. In fact, she sent him a comical look, said, ‘Of course you do.’
‘Not often.’
‘But you’ll sing for me sometime?’ she asked, and when he groaned, she shot him an exaggerated version of puppy-dog eyes that made Poppy giggle.
‘One time,’ he decided. ‘And I choose when and where.’
‘Deal.’ She turned back to the road and the approaching resort building. ‘I suppose I never thought about how exhausting it must be, planning this all, day in and day out.’
‘Yeah – but not so much for me anymore. We have an event planner on staff. He and his assistant do almost everything without any hand holding. The only time they need us anymore is if their budget isn’t sufficient or if somebody makes a complaint.’
‘Does that happen often?’
‘Oh yeah. You can’t charge the prices we do and not have people nitpick every detail. But for the most part, they’re easy to appease.’
‘The customer’s always right?’
