“I’m sorry. It wasn’t a lie. I was just trying to get some more time…”
“More time? Why?” She was confused. Why would he need more time, and why had he lied about the inspection in the first place? He could have just told her it was going to take more time. That seemed reasonable for a loan. “Is there a problem with the loan going through?”
“Why don’t you sit down, and we can talk?” He put his hand out to take her arm, and she jerked away.
“I don’t want to sit and talk. I want to know about the loan.”
Nick sighed. “Well, there was a snag with the loan, but I’m working on it. I apologize about the inspection thing. I guess I shouldn’t have said that, but I didn’t know how to tell you there was a snag.”
Jules made a face. How dumb was that? He didn’t know how to tell her? She sensed there was more going on, but what? “We’re not getting the loan, are we?”
“I didn’t say that. It just hit a roadblock, but I’m working on it.”
“But there’s a problem?”
“Yes, but I think I can get it to go through.”
“Think? Ughh… that’s just great. We just hired a carpenter and bought things for the motel rooms, and now we might not have money. Perfect!” She threw her hands up in exasperation then opened her mouth to say more but realized she had no more to say. She spun on her heel and stormed off. She felt depleted, depressed. She didn’t know if she was angrier at the lie or at feeling foolish that she’d thought she and Nick could become friends, or maybe even something more.
* * *
Nick sighedand went back behind his desk, ignoring Louanne’s raised-brow look from the teller window.
On his desk sat the application for the Beachcomber Motel loan. Corporate had kicked it back, and he was reworking some terms. It turned out that the loan was problematic and not only because Gramps had a stick in his craw about Jules’s grandmother. Since there had been no income for decades, the bank saw it as a high risk, especially taking the bad credit of the debtors into account. Nick was trying to work around that, but he was going to have to go out on a limb and give a guarantee that might come back to bite him.
Gramps would not be happy when he found out.
All Nick’s life, he’d done things for Gramps. Maybe it was about time he did something for himself.
Why had he panicked and lied about the inspection? It was stupid, stupid, stupid! He’d hoped maybe the loan would come through before anyone found out, and the inspection was something that would be needed anyway.
But even if he’d messed things up with Jules, the loan for the motel wouldn’t be for nothing. The town needed that motel. Without it, there was no place for tourists to stay. And with no place for them to stay, there was no way for the town to thrive. Nick loved Shell Cove, and he wanted, more than anything, for the town to prosper. The town needed the Beachcomber Motel, and he needed the town. Even if Jules might never speak to him again.
He smiled when he thought of the flash of anger in her brown eyes, the flush on her cheeks. It had made her even more attractive, even though it had been directed at him in a negative way.
Guaranteeing the loan would be a big risk, but earning back Jules’s trust, and giving the town something it desperately needed, was worth it.
* * *
Rose pulledinto the bank parking lot just as Jules was storming out.
“Oh my, she looks angry,” Pearl said as they watched her get into her car and slam the door.
“Must be a tiff with Nick. Get your money ready because I think I might be about to win a bet.” Leena watched Jules speed off.
“Not so fast.” Rose pulled into her favorite parking spot in the first row from the door. “It’s probably just a little misunderstanding. Things will settle down.”
“Hmm, maybe,” Leena said.
Pearl smoothed her blouse and looked into the bank. “If Nick is anything like his grandfather, he might turn into an old crab, so it might be in Jules’s best interest to cut him loose now, before she gets too serious.”
“You seem to be mentioning Henry a lot lately,” Rose said.
“I am not. It’s just hard to avoid when talking about Nick.”
“Henry did used to be a lot of fun,” Leena said. “We all used to be friends. Maybe we should try to bring him out of his gloom.”
“I think he’s been gloomy too long for that,” Rose said.
