Page 105 of One Wild Chance

I stare at him in disbelief. “What?”

“I know,” he says, shaking his head. “It must be your lucky day, Summer Daniels, because this may not ever happen again.”

This changes everything. Not only can I pull off a bigger event now, the brothers can take pictures and videos for social media, which will draw in more interest for the wedding venue. The coincidence seems too perfect to ignore.

“They could help set up on Thursday,” Jaxon suggests.

“Would they be willing to do promotion ahead of it? Possibly a newspaper interview?” I ask. “Jess Connors at the Golden Springs Gazette emailed me the other day about the venue launch. If I gave her the opportunity to do an interview with your brothers, she’d give us prime coverage in the paper. I know doing a small-town interview is far below their usual media appearances, but it would be huge for us.”

Jaxon shrugs. “I don’t see why not. They’re all in on this venue idea. And Wyatt, I should warn you, takes parties very seriously. The man threw a fundraiser for a charity last year that broke their fundraising record. He’d love an excuse to go all out for this event.”

“Really?”

“You say the word, and he’ll handle the entertainment. As long as you take care of the wedding part.”

“I can do that.” I lean back in my chair, my mind spinning with ideas. If the party is going to include his famous brothers, I don’t want to only invite a dozen couples. We might as well go really big. “I’m planning on inviting some people in town. Maybe we open it up to the community.”

Jaxon’s brows rise. “Everyone?”

“Why not?” I shrug. “It’ll get people talking. You know Golden Springs loves their gossip. Might as well give them something worth talking about.”

“Talking about us…or the barn?”

“Hmm.” I smile over the rim of my coffee cup. “Unavoidably both, at this point.”

He lifts an eyebrow. “I don’t think Golden Springs has had this much excitement since Rhett got drafted to the NHL.”

I squeeze his hand across the table. “All because of you.” Then I stand, realizing I have a thousand things to get done today. “I’d better start planning.”

Jaxon’s gaze drops to my shirt. His jersey, actually. “Aren’t you going to change clothes first?”

“Nope,” I say. “For the record, I’m wearing this today.”

“I figured.” He laughs, his eyes crinkling at the corners. “Summer, you look good in my name.”

I want to scream-laugh, fist in my teeth, but instead I just grin like a fool. I may never recover from hearing those words.

“Good thing it fits, then,” I say. “Because I’m keeping it for good.”

I spend the rest of the day prepping for the open house, which turns out to be an excellent distraction from thinking about last night.

I’ve already set up the space with a few more lights and tables near the far wall. I’m using a few of Miriam’s best linen tablecloths on the tables and layering them with simple place settings. I’ll add centerpieces closer to the open house with the last of the late-season dahlias, dried lavender and whatever else is blooming. That way it’ll give a glimpse into what it could look like.

Jaxon’s been at the yearling barn all day with Earl, prepping for Keeneland. We’re both too busy to see each other, but he texts me at least three times, and every single time my phone buzzes, my heart does a little flip. I’m in the middle of wrestling with a metal arch that I’ll cover with flowers, once it’s actually assembled. According to the manual, I need to insert Part F into Slot C before attaching the curved support beam. I look at the pieces on the ground. None of them are labeled.

Good grief, I will never figure this out. My phone buzzes and I put aside the pieces.

Jaxon: I asked my brothers about helping with the open house and they’re all in. Wyatt just asked me about the dress code. Have you decided on one?

Me: No. Should I?

Jaxon: He’s suggesting a cowboy theme for us guys.

Me: I love that idea!

Jaxon: Hang on. Telling Wyatt now.

I turn back to the arch while Jaxon texts his brother. I’m pretty sure this manual was translated by someone who’s never actually assembled anything before. I pick up what I think is the right part and try to fit it into the slot on the diagram. It goes in, which feels like a giant victory, until the entire left side of the arch slowly leans to the right. I push it straight, only to watch it lean the opposite direction. My phone buzzes again.