Lucy leaned against the railing, pulling Rob’s coat tighter. The sun was setting, reflecting brilliant pink and orange beams off the water.
“You’ve sort of outdone yourself,” she finally said, turning to face him.
A smile crossed his face for a brief moment before fading. “I’m glad you think so. Maybe you’ll consider going out with me again?”
Her heart leapt and she paused, pretending to think on it.
It was odd. Lucy’s romances never started out this way. It was never slow. Men either recoiled from her immediately,disqualifying themselves as romantic partners, or they pursued her with an intensity that matched her own.
Those tended to fizzle out quickly, though sometimes she’d let it drag out when she couldn’t decide how she felt about the guy.
There was no question here. Her heart was pounding in her chest. Somehow, Rob had snuck up on her. He’d worked his way into her life, and now she couldn’t imagine him leaving.
“Yeah,” she finally said, suppressing a smile. “I think I could do that.”
“Lucy...” He looked out onto the water, then back at her. “I’ve been meaning to tell you something, but I don’t know how to do it.”
She studied him and squinted her eyes. “Is it going to ruin the moment?”
He took a step closer. “Well, yes, but – ”
“Then don’t say it.” Wearing heels was the right idea. They put her at the perfect height. She leaned in, lifting her face to his.
Rob smiled before leaning down to kiss her.
Chapter Twenty-six
There had to be a way to build Grippy’s compound without involving The Grand Madrona hotel. Rob just needed more time to figure it out.
When he got back from his dinner with Lucy, he spent the rest of the night trying to see the problem from every angle. There was a chance they could skip the hotel and instead expand further north or south, though both directions bordered elaborate homes that would be difficult to claim.
After a few hours, he got the wild idea of building the compound over the water of East Sound. From what he could tell online, it was only ninety feet deep.
That didn’t sound so bad. Buildings were more than ninety feet high, right? What was a few ninety-foot cement pillars in the grand scheme of things? That’d be something for Grippy to brag about – having an ocean compound.
Unfortunately, after hours of brainstorming, that was his least insane idea. He felt like he was being driven to madness. He couldn’t allow the hotel to be taken, and he couldn’t allow the deal to fall through, either. There had to be a solution, and he needed itnow.
It was the madness that almost made him spill his guts to Lucy. The guilt over the project was killing him, and he wanted to throw himself at her mercy. Plus, if anyone would have an idea of what to do, it would be her. But she’d looked up at him with that excitement in her eyes, her hair blowing in the breeze, and that dress…
He couldn’t do it. He couldn’t tell her. Not only that, she’d told him not to ruin the moment!
Rob knew he was running out of time, but he couldn’t lose everything now. She was finally starting to like him.
After their date, he decided what he really needed was to take a page out of Lucy’s book. She never let anything stop her. He would find a way to make everyone happy – Grippy, OSS, and Lucy – even if it killed him.
On Sunday, he was busy researching other properties near the hotel when his dad called.
It wasn’t a good time to talk, but he so rarely called that Rob didn’t dare miss it. “Hey Dad. Everything okay?”
“Yeah, sure.”
“Things are hectic at work for me right now.”
“That’s why I’m calling!” he said with a laugh. “I wanted to congratulate you. I heard about this new deal from your brother. All the Silicon Valley startup guys are going crazy for it. They’re saying they need to hire you.”
“Oh?” More publicity. Great.
“Don’t sound so excited.”
