Maybe because he wore jeans and a well-worn T-shirt, he looked like he needed cash. He didn’t know. But, while his dad’s estate was worth billions, he and his brothers had always lived on their own earnings. And they all did pretty well for themselves. “I don’t need much.”

“Well, this is about more than your bank account. This is about creating a legacy for your family, your children…generations to come. Providing the essential oil for House of Villeneuve…it’s an honor. It—”

“Can’t really see myself having kids.”

“Oh, my God. This is not a game to me.” She growled out her frustration. “Look, now that you know about this rare plant, you can see how criminal it would be to plow it up. Especially when you can build a house anywhere on this property.”

“I don’t know about criminal, but I do know I’m only plowing one little section of it. Besides, they’re bulbs. I can always dig them up and plant them somewhere else.” Okay, so he’d play with her just a little.

Her gaze turned steely. “I’d like to gain exclusive rights to this flower on your property. I’ll pay you for the annual use of the land as we collect the petals and then assure you a dividend as long as we make and sell the product.”

Christ. Time to get back to work. “Look, I don’t need your money. I’m not selling or leasing the meadow. But I’m always down for a new business project, so thanks for cluing me into some value on our land I didn’t know about. I’ll be sure to look into the essential oil thing.” He turned back to his bulldozer.

“Hang on, what does that mean?”

“It means, if it’s as good as you say, I might want to use it in my hotel’s spa products. What we have now’s kind of bland. Something like cucumber and Earl Gray.” He reached down and picked up another bulb, sniffed it. It was nice. “Isn’t the sense of smell the strongest memory trigger? Every time a tourist uses our body lotion or wash, she’ll remember her great trip to that old wild west town in Wyoming.” Yeah, this was a good idea.

Her laugh held no amusement. “It’s not that simple. You can’t just bottle the smell. It took years to get the Nocturne formula just right, and it’s got proprietary ingredients.”

“I’ll tell you what. I have no interest in getting into the perfume business. How about you create the essential oil and then we’ll work together? I’ll use it for my hotel, and you can use it for your perfume company.”

“Oh, no. My parents would never go for that. We’d have to have exclusive rights.”