Page 60 of Montana Freedom

“I think the tuxedo is my second favorite look.”

An eyebrow quirked. “Second?”

“Second,” I told him. “Because I already know what’sunderthe tuxedo, and it doesn’t matter how many clothes you put on, nothing will ever compare to when you take them off.”

He grinned. “A man could get used to compliments like that.”

“Better get used to them, then.”

Taking my hand, he helped me down the stairs and back up into the truck, taking a healthy handful of my ass as he did so. “Naughty.”

“It’s the dress,” he said with a shrug. “My self-control is nothing in comparison.”

“If I’d known all it would take to get you to lose control was a pretty dress, I’d have made Kate lend me onewaysooner.”

Daniel smiled, and as he liked to do while we were driving, he took my hand. This time, he lifted mine so he could kiss the back of it.

“Any word?”

He shook his head.

We hadn’t heard anything from Agent Phillips in a few days, not since my encounter with him outside my therapy appointment. No sign of whether he’d decided to abide by my request to keep my name private until after tonight.

But I was determined not to spend the entire night worrying about it. This was going to be fun. I was going to dance with Daniel, and Simon wasn’t going to ruin it.

The venue was actually Grace’s home, a few miles down the road from Resting Warrior. A ranch named Ruby Round. It no longer had any animals, and the barn had been turned into a space where she and Harlan could host parties or, in this case, host a wedding. I was told Grace and Harlan’s wedding had been here as well.

We pulled up to lovely house, the ranch just as green and beautiful as Resting Warrior. We were a little early, as Daniel was in the groom’s party. But not so early it would be awkward.

Daniel helped me out of the truck, and I loved the possessive hand on my back as we headed around the house to the barn, which was decorated with fabric and flowers. Lena was in a pretty pink dress, directing Jude to adjust a last-minute decoration, and she beamed when she saw me. “Hi! Daniel, I know Lucas wants to see you in the house. I’ll make sure Emma gets to her seat.”

“All right.” He turned and looked down at me. “You’ll be okay?”

“Yeah.”

There was a second’s hesitation before he leaned down and brushed his lips across mine. But I didn’t need to hesitate. He was looking at me to see if it was all right since this would be the first kiss in front of people we knew. And yes, it was fine. It was more than fine.

I held on to him longer than was strictly necessary, and he smiled at me when he released me. “See you soon.”

Lena looped her arm through mine and walked me into the barn. “Seems like everything worked out?”

“It’s working out for now,” I said with a laugh. “I should thank Jude. He said something to Daniel to change his mind. Or at least to make him realize he was overthinking it.”

The inside of the barn was light and airy, all the windows open for an uncharacteristically mild summer day. It also looked absolutely magical. The theme of pink and white continued throughout the space, with deeper shades mixed in as accents. And lots of flowers sprinkled around in the same color scheme.

“This is beautiful,” I told her.

“Thank you. I want everything to be perfect for Evie. She deserves it.”

I’d picked up bits and pieces of Evelyn and Lucas’s story, and when I was at Kate’s house, she’d finally told me the rest of it. What she knew, anyway. She hadn’t been here for it. But the story of Evelyn’s stalker of an ex-fiancé who’d been so obsessed with her he’d scarred hertwicetugged on my heartstrings.

I knew exactly what it felt like to have someone who was supposed to love you more than anything turn on you and do harm. For both Evelyn and Lucas, this wedding had been a long time coming.

“Yeah, she does. And I’m grateful she let me come. I know last-minute changes can throw things off.”

Lena led me up to the front of the barn to the second row of seats. “Honey, it was no trouble at all. We have plenty of space, and like we already told you, all of us are way more excited to see Daniel with someone than we’d ever tell him to his face. I hoped he would ask you, but Jude told me I couldn’t just put you on the guest list without asking Daniel. Otherwise, I would have.”

I laughed, but the gesture struck me. “You guys are all so nice, and you just met me.”

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