“Would you please stop playing with me? I’m serious about this.”

He liked this woman. She was sharp, beautiful, and passionate. He wondered what she did for the princess. “I can see that, but it’s not for sale.”

“I’ll pay you market value. We can go into town right now and talk to an estate agent.”

What the hell was she up to? “Aren’t you from St. Christophe?”

“Yes, I am.” Her tone said, So?

“So, what’re you going to do with a couple hundred acres in the middle of my family’s ranch in Wyoming?”

All at once she relaxed, as though she’d finally found a way to get what she wanted. “My family runs a perfume company. Nocturne?”

He actually knew that one. It was his mom’s “signature scent.” Out of nowhere, a childhood memory hit him. He and his brothers wrestling in his mom’s New York City bedroom, crashing into her dressing table and knocking over all the fancy bottles and jars. He would never forget the scent of that perfume, since it had lingered in the apartment, and he’d had to smell it every day until his mom had shipped them back to their dad.

Still, he wasn’t seeing the connection. “Okay?”

“St. Christophe’s a mountain town in the Alps at the same elevation as Calamity. The soil and climates are similar. I wondered if I’d find our own lyantha here. This isn’t it, but it’s in the same family.” She held out the bulb. “I’m a perfumer, and I’ve been trying to convince my family to expand our offerings for years. I’ve dreamed of finding another flower in the same genus, so I could convince them to try something new—but still within our brand. This is it.”

“Huh. So, I’ve got something special here.”

“Well, it’s special to me. Ours is the most exotic and unique scent in the world, and I’m betting I can make an equally good perfume out of this one. I understand if you can’t sell a parcel of your family’s land, but would you at least consider leasing it to me? I can give you a very lucrative contract.”

He was done messing around. It obviously meant a lot to her. “Not gonna happen. We’re breaking ground on my house next week.”

He could see her mind working, intelligence firing in her eyes.

Interest kicked up. Brodie liked a challenge. Show me what you’ve got.

“Nocturne is the world’s most expensive perfume. It comes from an essential oil my family’s been making for centuries. I could do the same thing with this flower. I could make you a very wealthy man.”