Page 87 of Wilde Hearts

“You staring at me isn’t going to make me come up with an idea any faster, Gatlin.”

He cleared his throat. “Okay, let’s think about this for a bit.”

“I have been thinking. I’ve been racking my brain to try to remember if she ever mentioned wanting to go somewhere specific.”

“We didn’t go on many vacations growing up because Dad was always working at the store or needed on the farm. We went on a few, but nothing that had Ensley declaring she loved it so much she wanted to go back.”

I folded my arms over my chest, my brow furrowing in thought.

“I’m not good at this kind of stuff either,” Gatlin huffed.

Giving him a look, I replied, “Yet your sister sent you on the mission.”

“A reconnaissance mission, nothing more.”

I shook my head and laughed again.

“Okay, so you can’t do a dinner-and-movie thing because Caden did that.”

Nodding, I said, “What about a picnic under the stars?”

He snarled his lip slightly as he bounced his head from side to side. “That’s okay, but I think you need to go bigger.”

“Hot air balloon to watch the sunrise?”

His head rearing back, he asked, “Have you forgotten she’s afraid of heights?”

“Fuck, I did forget.”

“Let’s see…she loves horses, the stars, mountains, lakes, anything outside.”

“You’re basically describing River Falls Ranch.”

Gatlin grinned. “I guess I am.”

Then an idea hit me. “Banff. It reminds me a lot of River Falls. One of the reasons I went was because Grady wanted to go, and the only reason he wanted to visit was because Ensley mentioned it years ago. What if I plan a trip up to Banff? Picnic under the stars, a beautiful hotel suite overlooking the mountains? A sleigh ride on the shores of Lake Louise.”

“Now that would be a first date,” Gatlin said with a wide smile. “What about your clients? And Ensley’s?”

“I think we can manage to slip away for a long weekend. I might even be able to plan it for this weekend, if I can contact everyone without her knowing.”

Gatlin’s brows rose. “If you can pull that off for this weekend, I’ll drop before you and declare you the king of first dates.”

Laughing, I stood and walked around to my chair. “If I’m going to pull this off, I need to make some phone calls.”

Standing, he slipped his black cowboy hat back onto his head and grinned. “And I’ll report back to my sister that you have, in fact, not started any planning to throw her off. If you need help calling her clients, let me know.”

I smiled. “Thanks, Gatlin.”

He tipped his cowboy hat as he said, “There’s a reason I’m her favorite brother.”

“I thought Caden was,” I quipped, and Gatlin snarled his upper lip.

“That’s a common misconception. I’m definitely the favorite.”

I held up my hands and replied, “I won’t argue with you.”

Gatlin nodded. “I always knew you were my favorite.”