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the most. After her impassioned outburst at dinner he’d expected her to be in the front row arguing with him. He’d looked forward to the exchange.
    Instead, he had to content himself with reading her dossier. He hadn’t bothered to grab the others. None of them really interested him. Mr. Bowen obviously had an idea about how this assignment was supposed to go. But he wasn’t here. And Brett had his own agenda.
    However, the more he spun the idea of using Lexi, the more he thought it might actually work. Partly because she was so completely against the project. If he could convince her of the benefits, her father would have to listen. And if he convinced the mayor, the rest of the council would follow.
    He flipped through the pages. Looking at the detailed information Mr. Bowen had provided gave Brett the creeps. He’d included her high school transcript, pictures from her childhood, even how she preferred her coffee. Brett had no idea how the man had gotten the information and probably didn’t want to know.
    His boss was an asshole, but a powerful one.
    She’d been an adorable child, even if her eyes had often been clouded by shyness. She rarely looked at the camera straight on. But her cheeks were rounded with health, and when she didn’t know the camera was there the life and light in her expression made his chest ache.
    Toward the back, a single photograph caught his attention. Lexi was bundled up in a thick winter coat. It skimmed the middle of her thighs. A hood lined with fur surrounded her face. Behind her, snow-capped mountains jutted into the sky.
    It was breathtaking, but not because of the amazing location. It was the smile on her face, the sheer joy and uninhibited exhilaration that caught his attention.
    Something told him Lexi rarely let this side of herself free. She was cautious. Methodical. And he could appreciate that since he was usually the same. But there was a passion that ran beneath. Passion he couldn’t help but want to see.
    Even if he shouldn’t.
    Now that he knew it was there...
    Throwing the dossier into the passenger seat, Brett exited the car. It was late, but after the meeting he’d needed to get away from town before he did something he’d regret. Driving out to the property had seemed like a good idea.
    Until he’d realized just how far out it was.
    Plop him down in the middle of an urban jungle and he was perfectly fine. But he had no idea what to do with the trees and overwhelming scent of pine.
    He was here, though, so he picked his way through the overgrown brush. Everything was lush and green, fully in the throes of summer. A sliver of moon peeked through the branches above him.
    He pointed a flashlight onto the unfamiliar ground.
    The land was big, fifty-plus acres. For the most part, they were untouched. Somewhere there was a house, but from the pictures he’d seen it was ninety years old and practically condemnable. It hadn’t been inhabited for at least twenty years.
    The closest Brett had come to this much green space was the park down the street from the apartment building he’d grown up in. And he sure as heck wouldn’t have thought to venture out there at night. At least, not without a weapon.
    A surprising sense of peace stole through Brett. Bullfrogs called into the night and water lapped gently at the lake’s shore. He wanted to see it. From the moment Mr. Bowen had handed him the photographs of this place he’d been drawn to the lake.
    He hadn’t consciously come here with a purpose, but his feet moved unerringly through the trees toward the water. Stepping out from beneath the shadows, Brett got his first real glimpse. The scent of damp earth filled his lungs. He stopped at the shore, his new shoes crunching on the sandy ground.
    Brett stared out across the water to the far shore. It was so...quiet. Here he could imagine the sort of family fun he’d never had. Pushing Hunter’s head beneath the water. Wakeboarding. Fishing.
    He didn’t want to mar the