Mom’s maintenance fund was quite useful. It didn’t go to the project she had intended, but it went into something she would be proud of given the right circumstances.

Her voice echoed in my head.

Nikola, don’t believe people when they say it’s what’s on the inside that counts. If you can’t look past the outside than the inside is irrelevant.

I was five, and my parents’ had come home to host a New Years party. Mom was ordering invitations to their big soiree. It was my first lesson in superficial economics. The value came from what people perceived, not what was real.

I held the invitation to the open house in my hand and rubbed my fingers over the embossed lettering. Premium paper. Foiled envelopes. Fabulous font choice. I had done a superior job with the invites, and it showed in the number of RSVP’s we’d received—twice as many as we expected. This was both exciting and problematic given our limited resources.

Three weeks ago was a turning point in my life. Dylan Thomas’s poem replayed in my head, Do not go gentle into that good night… It was a poem about dying, and it was fitting because I made a decision to let Nikola Stone the trust fund baby, go.

The moment I sold that picture to TMZ for thousands, I knew the millions were no longer an option. I also knew I’d be okay. I was following my passion. I loved photography, and I was good at it. Maybe film was in my blood. Maybe genetics passed something good from my parents’ to me. Maybe I was something more than hair extensions and acrylic nails.

I’d taken several wildlife shots and some pretty amazing landscape pictures. I submitted them to several contests. I also uploaded a bunch of pictures to sites like Fotolia, and Deposit Photo, and to my surprise, I had begun to pull in a consistent income—enough to keep me in Pop Tarts and coffee for a while.

“What are you doing?” Colton leaned over me and nuzzled my neck.

“Planning.” I tilted my head back giving him more of my neck.

He ran his lips across the tender skin causing bumps of excitement to rise. “I’m going to pay you back for everything you’ve done for me.”

“I don’t want anything but you.” The little truth was he could never afford to reimburse me for my sacrifice. The big truth was that although he was the motivation to act, he wasn’t the isolated reason for my actions. The longer I stayed under the financial umbrella of my parents, the less likely I was to know me—the real me, the me who felt comfortable in mousy brown hair and torn jeans, the girl who traded the yoke of wealth for a camera and a man. If I was going to be choked, I chose to have the noose of my passion around my neck as opposed to the oppression of my parents' wealth.

We made love twice this morning. We’d never exchanged the words, but it felt like love if love was the feeling of having your heart ripped from your chest each time he went away.

“I’m heading out. I’ll be back by the end of the week. I’ve hidden the bear spray.”

I stood up and wrapped my arms around his waist. “Ha ha.” I pressed my nose into his chest and inhaled until my lungs were near bursting. “I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too darlin’.” He covered my mouth with his and gave me a soul-searing kiss.

It would never be enough to hold me over while he was gone. Bo squeezed between us and wiggled his body trying to get his share of affection.

The hairy beast and I walked him to the door and watched from the porch as he drove away. A cloud of dust followed him.

Colton was heading across Texas to pick up some horses and steer from Ten’s Highland Ranch. Several of the McCoy’s were helping us out. Molly would be here in a few days to help me set up everything. Ten’s sisters, Ryder and Pepper, were coming to help with Molly and Ten’s children. Jaxson was bringing his prize bull. It was going to be a regular hoedown minus the regular ho’s. This would be my first party that didn’t require Botox, miniskirts, or five-inch heels.

Rachel, Andrea, Tori, and Bethany had been excited to attend until I mentioned sweat and horses and mosquitos, then their calendars become impossible to change.

With Colton gone, I went cabin to cabin and tidied them up. Max would be staying in mine while a few of the other guests would be occupying the two across the pond.

The McCoy’s had opted to stay at Hunt Hotel.

That afternoon I harvested what I could from the garden. My newest skill was canning. Who knew I could be so domestic? Rosemarie would be proud. I often wondered which was stronger—nature or nurture. I’d been created by two Hollywood powerhouses but produced by a Latin American nanny with a heart of gold. I never realized her sacrifice until this moment. She’d given up everything because I was more important. I was giving up everything because Colton had more value than money. It didn’t hurt that I had a beachfront property to sell as well. It’s not like I’d be destitute. I was fast becoming average, and I liked it.

* * *

Molly and her entourage showed up just in time to help me tell the caterers where to set up the tents.

Since Molly had worked at the Hunt Hotel, she was used to preparing for the privileged.

“So, are you in love with him?” She pulled chairs from the stands and set them in front of the tables.

I chewed on my lips hoping to keep my mouth from blurting out the truth. I was hopelessly in love with Colton Becket.

“There’s no shame in love, Nik.”

“No, but there’s risk in giving your heart away.”

“I know that better than most. Do you know Ten’s and my story?” She pulled a chair in front of me and sat. I hopped up on the nearby table and waited for her to begin.

She explained how Ten had thought she’d betrayed him. How she was pregnant and too full of pride to ask for his help. How he did the right thing and took care of her and their unborn child. How the truth came out, but his doubt in her still held them apart.

“Colton and I are different. Our lives are different, but somehow we complement each other.”

“Do you think you’re different because you're rich and he’s poor?” She rubbed her foot across the dirt beneath her feet. A few swirls of her booted toe, and a heart appeared. “I was poorer than poor, and Ten was rich. I had a real problem with wealthy people. Then I became one and had to get over it.” She laughed.

“Oh, I’m not rich. I was, but I’m not any longer. My parents cut me off and told me to find my bliss. If I did, they would re-instate my inheritance.”

“So you will be rich again. You found your bliss in Colton. In this land. In that camera.” She pointed to the Nikon sitting on the table next to me. “How long before they reinstate you?”

I shook my head. “It’s not going to happen. I did something they will never understand. I sacrificed everything on the hope of a future with Colton.” I hopped off the table and pulled more chairs from the stands.

“What did you do?”

I looked around the tent and beyond. “I did what I had to do, to make this all work out for Colton.”

My nanny, Rosemarie had always told me that a silent sacrifice was worth more. To brag about your gift was like waving a sign that said, see what I did? I didn’t need a banner of proof that I did the right thing. All I needed was a smile from Colton.

In a way, he did this himself with a little hint from Janice. Without that picture we’d be grilling hot dogs for a few locals and placing jars on counters, hoping for spare change. Now we’re entertaining some of Hollywood’s Elite. The press alone would bring him the attention he needed. When this year’s Academy Award winner was coming to his ranch to rally for clean energy, people paid attention.

The crunch of gravel and the cloud of dust that billowed in the distance meant the quiet moments would end. It was game time.

Colton and the McCoy’s unloaded animals in the pens I had delivered yesterday. Food and water troughs were already in place. Truck after truck came down the dusty road. Saddle horses. Saddles. Boxes of Stetsons. Kegs of beer. Chocolate windmills for centerpieces. Max.

By sunset, it was all in place. Tomorrow was the day that would change Colton’s life. He’d already changed mine. Without him, I would have never known my value. I would have never found my passion. I owed everything to this man.

We stood on the porch fingers entwined, Bo at our feet. I’d transformed this little piece of paradise into a dude ranch.

Max stood on the small dock and cast his line. He’d never been fishing, and I wondered what he’d do if he caught one. He’d have to figure it out himself, but oh what a picture that would have made.

“Come inside.” I pulled Colton inside the cabin and shut the door tight. Tomorrow I’d have to share him with the world. Tonight he was all mine.