Brodie glanced up, not liking the heaviness in the princess’s voice. Something had happened out there on the side of the road. She’d gone from wild and free to…sad. All from sending someone a picture of a bison.

“Trust me, you’re easy compared to most brides.” Knox, his brother’s wife, knelt on the pedestal, a Velcro bracelet of pins strapped to her wrist. “I want you to love this dress, so we’ll keep at it until we nail it. There’s no rush, right?”

Rosie stared at the frothy white gown in the full-length mirror in Knox’s office. “Not at all.”

“Then we’re good.” Knox got up. “Let me grab my sketch pad, okay? I want to remember every detail we talked about.”

“Should I stay in the dress?” From her almost panicked look, Brodie had the impression she wanted to strip the gown off and fling it across the room. Maybe stomp on it, for good measure.

“Definitely. Be right back.”

The moment Knox left, Brodie hit send on the email to the modeler, giving his list of adjustments. Then, he got up and leaned against the desk, arms folded across his chest. “You want me to unzip it? We can jump on the bike and head for the hills.”

“It’s that obvious?” She rallied with a smile. “I’m not very good at hiding my feelings.”

“You don’t like the dress, tell her. She’ll start over if you want.” The princess was certainly paying enough.

“It’s fine.”

“Fine? Shouldn’t it be better than fine?”

“No, I mean, I love the dress.” He watched her slip back into princess mode. “With a few alterations, it’ll be perfect.”

He pushed off the desk and took the few steps over to her. “Remember what I said about privacy? You’re safe here, princess. You don’t have to pretend with me.”

Color crested in her cheeks. She grabbed handfuls of the fancy white material and turned to face him. She wanted to say something, he could tell.

He wasn’t the kind of guy who got into people’s business. Other than his brothers, he didn’t ask too many questions or get too involved. But there was something so vibrant, so vital, about this woman, that he didn’t like seeing her reduced in any way. “Something happened back there, when you were going to send the picture.”

She gave a bitter laugh. “My two closest friends let me down. That’s why I came out here, instead of letting Knox come to me. I just needed to get away from them.”

He didn’t think any words he had to offer would help, so he stayed quiet.