A hand rested on hers. “Hey.”
Her gaze shot to Chase’s. “What?” Her heart beat in double time.
He pulled his hand away. “You had a haunted look in your eyes. What’s going on? Is there more to this project than you’re saying?”
If he knew how much was riding on this deal maybe he’d help her out of pity. She opened her mouth to tell him, but snapped it shut. It wasn’t fair to put him in that position. Besides, she didn’t want his pity. If this project was going to work then it would be on its own merit.
“Piper?”
“Let’s just say, this development is personal, and I very much want to see it succeed.”
“Okay. I’m not crazy about the extra traffic and people it will bring to the island. Let me think on it a while before I give you an answer about my support for the project.”
The waiter left the bill on the table.
“Fair enough.”
He reached for the check, but she snatched it up.
“Thanks for hearing me out.” She placed the total, along with a generous tip, into the black leather sleeve containing the bill.
He slid his chair back and stood. “And thank you for dinner. May I help you carry anything to your car?”
“Sure.” She handed him the design tube. Her shoulder brushed his arm, sending tingles zipping through her body. She must be overly tired. She’d spent hours working on this hoping her pitch would seal the deal with Chase.
They left the building and strolled to her Jeep. “I really appreciate you hearing me out. When do you think you’ll have a decision?”
He frowned. “I don’t like to be rushed.”
She shook her head, panic rising. “I only wanted an idea. I have people counting on me and waiting for an answer.”
“Understood. Give me a day. I’ll let you know by tomorrow night.”
“That sounds fair.” She opened the back door and slid her stuff onto the seat.
He reached past her and placed the tube on the seat as well. “I enjoyed myself tonight, Piper. Even if I don’t agree to support your plan when you present it to the town council, know you have a solid presentation.”
She couldn’t stop the grin that stretched her mouth. “That means a lot coming from you, Chase. Thanks.” She opened the driver’s door and slid behind the wheel.
“Maybe we can do this again sometime. My treat.”
“I’d like that.” She grinned. “Talk to you tomorrow.” She pulled out of the lot and headed for the B&B. Had Chase asked her out—as in a date? Her stomach fluttered with the thought of going out with him on an actual date. He was a good guy, but she’d thought that about Devon too. She sobered and turned her thoughts to work. She’d done her best, the rest would be up to Chase and the town council. Would he support the resort or would he fight it?
Crickets chirped in the darkness all around Chase as he sat on the Adirondack chair overlooking the Sound. Lights from the other side of the Sound lit the sky, but here on the island stillness surrounded him as though he was the last person on earth. An owl hooted in the distance. He frowned. He’d asked Piper out, but now he wondered if that had been a good idea. He’d enjoyed her enthusiasm as she made her pitch. The sparkle in her eyes made him want to throw his full support behind what she was trying to do, but she was attempting to bring unwelcome change to the island, and it would be hard to separate the person from the job. She represented change. How would having a resort as his next-door neighbor alter his little paradise?
Piper’s plan included a huge buffer of woods between the resort development and his property, so there was a good chance it wouldn’t have any effect on his personal property, but what about the rest of the island?
He couldn’t help but be impressed with her ideas. She’d really thought things through and considered not only the impact on the land, but on the community as well. The jobs this place would bring were much needed. How could he say no to that?
But the wear and tear the extra cars would cause on the roads would raise the cost of maintenance for all the locals. Lord, what should I do? He looked up at the sky lit by countless stars as if the answer would be written there. Piper’s anxious eyes flitted across his mind. The resort meant so much to her. More than seemed reasonable. He liked her and wanted to say he’d support her plan, but when it came right down to it he didn’t want all those people here. The slow pace and quiet were the reason he lived on Wildflower Island. Bring in a resort and everything would change.
He disliked change about as much as he disliked going to the dentist. Which reminded him of a dentist appointment he had the next day. With a sigh he stood. He needed to catch the early ferry in the morning. Maybe a little distance from Wildflower would give him perspective—about the development and Piper.
Chapter Six
Nick spotted Zoe standing in the backyard facing the Sound. His brother had picked up Aiden earlier this evening, so other than the honeymooners, who rarely left their room, and Piper, it was only him and Zoe. Maybe now would be a good time to share his concern with her. He approached her and cleared his throat when he was about ten feet away.
She turned and smiled. “What’s up?”
He sidled over to her and draped an arm across her shoulders. “Want to take a walk down to the beach?”
“I’d love that.” She snuggled closer.
He wrapped his other arm around her and held her for a moment enjoying the closeness. Though tempting, they couldn’t stand there forever. He removed his arm from her shoulder and wrapped his hand around her cold one. “You’re freezing.”
“I’m fine.” She shivered. “I just need you to hold me close again.”
He chuckled. “You’ll get no arguments from me on that, but it might be a little awkward walking like that.” Hold on a minute. He jogged to the house and grabbed their coats off the hook beside the door, then jogged back to her. “I don’t want you catching pneumonia.”
She shuddered and slipped her arms into the sleeves of the purple hoodie. “Don’t say that word. It’s been two weeks since my friend was released from the hospital, and she’s still not one-hundred percent.”
“She had an especially bad case. But nonetheless, I want you healthy. We have a wedding to plan.”
“About that,” Zoe said.
They picked their way along the path toward the rocky beach. “Have you come up with any ideas yet?”
“One.”
He swallowed the lump that formed in his throat at the odd tone of her voice. He braced himself for the worst.
“You mentioned wanting to get married soon and that you’d like to keep it small.”
“True, but if you’d like to wait or have a large wedding, that’s okay,” Nick said.
“No. I’m fine with a small wedding, and I agree, the sooner the better.”
His stomach lurched. “Really?”
She stopped and looked at him as if she was looking clear to his soul. “Dr. Jackson, you sounded worried. Is everything okay?”
“You tell me.”
Zoe’s heart hammered in her chest. Had she done something wrong? Why was Nick acting this way? “I don’t understand. Why would anything be wrong?” Yes, she’d wondered if they were rushing into marriage, but she loved Nick and knew he was the man for her. So why wait?
“I don’t know. You seem secretive lately.”
“Are you kidding? Why would you say that?”
“The other day you took off without saying where you were going, and then you hid something from me in your trunk. That’s not like you. Are you having second thoughts? Because if you are, please tell me. I know that Kyle really messed with your head when he cheated on you, and I don’t want you to get cold feet because of him.”
Whoa! Zoe stopped walking and faced Nick. She took his hands in hers and looked directly into his eyes. “I love you, Nick. What you saw the other day was me trying to hide my wedding dress from you. That’s all.”
Tempered relief shone in hi
s eyes. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. I want to marry you as soon as possible. In fact, if you don’t mind, I think the third week in September would be perfect. I heard this place is beautiful in the fall.”
A grin lit his face. He wrapped his arms around her and raised her off the ground, whirling her in a circle.
“Stop. Put me down.” She laughed.
He lowered her until her feet touched the rocky beach. “You have no idea how relieved I am to hear that.”
“I think maybe I do. What’s with you thinking I’d change my mind anyway?” She stepped out of the circle of his arms and playfully punched him in the shoulder.
“I don’t know. You’ve been so quiet and withdrawn. I guess I was afraid you had.”
“Not going to happen. In fact I have our wedding all planned—at least in my head. We need to print out invitations and get those out in the next day or two so we will have guests.”
“I don’t care about guests. All I care about is you.”
“I want guests.” When had Nick turned so sentimental? She never knew this about him. In fact, this wasn’t the first thing about Nick she’d never noticed before. Maybe they were rushing things. They had only known each other since June. She’d known Kyle a lot longer than that and that hadn’t ended well. She needed to talk with Michelle. Her foster mom always knew how to counsel her.
Chapter Seven
“Hi, Dad. I’m checking in.” Piper rested her head against the back of the chair in her bedroom at the bed-and-breakfast. The place had proven to be as exceptional as she’d hoped.
“It’s about time,” her dad snapped. “You haven’t returned any of my calls. I was ready to drive down there myself. What’s going on?”
Piper squeezed her eyes tight and inhaled deeply as he continued to chew on her. She let the breath out slowly. “Dad!”
“What?”
“Everything here is moving along. I met with my local contact today to go over the design. I think this version will suit Wildflower Island much better than the old one. By the way, how long has it been since you’ve been to the island?” She couldn’t understand why her parents hadn’t warned her the original resort was too much for this place. Sure they had plenty of land, but if the infrastructure wasn’t in place to support the development it would be a waste of money to build it.
“Oh, I don’t know. Before you were born, I guess.”
That explained a lot. He probably expected the island to move forward with time when it hadn’t. At least not much. “I’m guessing the island looks virtually the same since you were last here.”
“You’re kidding.” He sounded incredulous.
“I’m not.” She was surprised he hadn’t kept better tabs on this investment. That wasn’t like her dad.
“Then maybe dropping that kind of money there is a waste,” he muttered as if talking to himself. “Perhaps I should sell now and count my blessings.”
“No one in their right mind would buy that property.” No matter how beautiful, it was worthless if it couldn’t be developed. “Dad?”
“I’m here, just thinking. I received an offer for the property yesterday for five hundred thousand dollars cash. I didn’t take it seriously until now. I’m sorry sweetie, I know I promised this to you, but maybe it’d be best to sell. I don’t want to toss money at a lost cause.”
Piper gasped. “Sell? Who made the offer? And why would you sell at that price. There are six hundred and forty acres there. That’s a steal!”
“I paid off that land a long time ago, and the property taxes are a nuisance. If development isn’t feasible then why not cut my losses and get out? I could invest that money someplace else. I’ll even let you pick the spot and give you the same deal as before. You develop the land into a money making venture and it’s yours. Your mother and I want to see you settled and successful.”
Piper’s pulse thrummed in her ears. Working alongside her dad was the reason she’d pursued design and architecture. She blinked back tears and cleared her throat. Dad considered crying a weakness. “Who made the offer?” Her voice didn’t waver.
“I don’t know. It came through an attorney, and the buyer wishes to remain anonymous.”
“Don’t you think it’s odd that after all these years someone wants to buy the land when we are looking at developing it? Think about the profits a place like this will bring in. Why are you willing to give up so easily?”
“I ran the numbers with the old design and it made sense, but with what you want to do now, I’m not convinced it’s the right way to go for Hunt Enterprises. I want to set you up in life for success, not failure.”
“I appreciate that, but I’m a grown woman. You and Mom don’t need to worry about me.”
“Newsflash. You’re never too old for your parents to stop wanting the best for you.”
“I’m old enough to make grown-up decisions, Dad.”
“Not with my money.”
She heard the edge in his voice and knew she should let it go for now, but couldn’t. She had to prove to her parents that she could not only make this project happen, but that it would be a thriving and profitable investment. “How long until you have to respond to the offer?”
“My answer is due tomorrow.”
“Will you put off responding until then?” Piper held her breath.
“To what end?” Dad’s impatience grew stronger.
“I want to have Tony run the numbers and prove to you this place could be a money maker.”
He sighed. “Okay. You have eighteen hours to prove to me this project will be profitable. Otherwise I’m selling.”
“Thanks, Dad. Love you. Bye.” She stuffed the phone into her purse. Profits and margins weren’t her thing, but they were Tony’s. She’d need to leave the island, and her next meeting with Chase was in thirty minutes. Maybe she could do both.
She reached for her hiking boots and purse. Chase said to meet her at the general store. She wouldn’t be late this time.
Chase allowed his eyes to adjust to the dim lighting of the general store, as Piper’s trim form gradually came into focus. She sat in the rear of the café. Every table was full and a dull roar filled the place. The espresso machine whirred, creating an even more chaotic feel. The place was too busy for his liking. He raised a hand and sauntered in her direction. “Afternoon.”
She stood. “Hi, Chase. I hope you have good news.”
He shook his head. “You want to take a walk?”
“Sure.”
He led the way to the door and held it open for her. “After you.”
“Thanks.” She sipped from the coffee cup she held. “They really know how to make coffee here. I’m impressed.”
He nodded. This was going to be more difficult than he’d thought. He didn’t want to be the bad guy, especially to someone like Piper. She had a good heart and had gone above and beyond to bring him over to her side, but no matter how he looked at it, the resort would only bring trouble. But maybe they could work out a compromise.
He stopped at the end of the building and turned to face Piper. “I’ll arrange for a meeting with the town council where you may present your idea.”
She beamed a smile at him. “Yes! Thank you.” She pumped his hand.
“Hold on a second. Let me finish. I will arrange the meeting, but that’s it.”
Her brow furrowed. “What do you mean?”
“I won’t support the plan. If the council votes to allow the development then so be it.”
“But…” She shook her head, and confusion filled her eyes.
“That’s the best I can do.” He felt like a first-class jerk, but no matter how much he liked Piper, he couldn’t support a project like hers.
“Okay. Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I’ll be in touch.”
Piper frowned. “I can take things from here. I’m sorry we couldn’t have come to an agreement. It would have been nice working with you.”
He raised
a brow. “If you go through with the resort, you can expect a bid from C&G Landscaping. We’d be perfect. We hire locals and always use organic materials whenever possible.”
“I’ll look forward to reading your proposal.”
Did she click the heels of her boots together before spinning around and marching away? He almost called after her to tell her he’d changed his mind. The hurt and disbelief in her eyes made him ashamed of himself for not at least encouraging her. He’d planned to invite her over for dinner tonight too. He should have known she wouldn’t want to spend time with him once he told her about not supporting the development.
His cell vibrated in his pocket. He pulled it out. “This is Chase.”
“How’d it go?” Caleb asked.
His partner was tenacious when it came to business. “I don’t know yet. She needs to present her plan to the town council. In fact I should go deal with that now. I told her I’d make it happen.”
“Great. I knew I could count on you, Chase. Let me know what happens.”
“Yep. Catch you later.” Chase had the mayor on speed dial, since he was a landscaping client. He pressed eight and waited.
“Douglas speaking. That you, Chase?”
“Yes, sir.” He filled him in on Piper’s request.
“This sounds like an interesting proposal. I imagine we better move fast too. Wildflower could use the financial stimulus something like that would bring to the island. Let her know the town council will hear her proposal tonight at seven. I’ll call an emergency meeting.”
“Really?” His voice cracked. He cleared his throat. “I mean there’s no reason to call an emergency meeting. Why not add her to the agenda for next week’s meeting?” Except his offer to buy the property expired tomorrow. He never should have made that offer. It wasn’t too late to withdraw it, but maybe it’d be best to wait and see. He hadn’t considered the fact that Piper would need more time than his offer allowed. He’d reacted with a knee-jerk response.
Island Dreams (Wildflower B&B Romance Book 2) Page 4
