I took on a lumbering crazed killer janitor on my own but meeting Pierce’s cousin again terrified me. What if he took one look at me and decided I wasn’t worthy of Pierce? I mean I knew I totally was, but how much did Pierce listen to this guy? Would he talk sense into him and tell him to find someone of his own status?
Literally I spent years of my life hating on Pierce and his family. It wouldn’t win me points at family Christmas dinner. Would they ever accept me?
Pierce held the front door to the bed-and-breakfast open for me and then we stopped again in the lobby. It was the longest walk to lunch I’d ever taken. He drew out the suspense like a masterful puppeteer. I waited in the open section while Pierce checked in at the receptionist’s desk.
He’d owned the historical building for a little over a month now and hadn’t bulldozed it. His restraint impressed me. If he asked, I’d totally deny it, but secretively I appreciated he seemed to keep his word about not building something else. It’d only been a month, though.
“I have another reason for bringing you here, too,” he said when he came back to my side.
Oh no.
He fidgeted with his jacket lapel. Pierce never fidgeted. He was cocky and self-assured. Sometimes angry—normally when I yelled at him—but he never fidgeted.
What if he did something stupid like propose or shit?
Fuck.
What would I say? Would I accept?
My stomach twisted in anticipation and I smiled.
Wow.
I guess I’d say yes.
“Spit it out,” I practically yelled at him as I moved nervously from foot to foot. Pierce may have never fidgeted, but I couldn’t ever stop moving. We were exact opposites.
He stared into my eyes. “I bought this hotel for you, Katy, but it needs to be restored. I want you to lead the project.”
I let out the breath I’d been holding so I didn’t pass out as my shoulders fell. Whoa, okay. Not what I expected him to say, but good. And from my visibly relaxing part maybe I wasn’t ready for a proposal even if my heart picked up in excitement at the thought. We had time. If I didn’t kill him in his sleep first.
Could I believe him about the bed-and-breakfast? I’d have to unpack those feelings later. They were still mixed in with grief for my grandmother, and I had a feeling it would take months to sort them out and make sense of my emotions. At that point I just wanted to trudge forward and make Nanna proud.
“You’re asking me to help restore the hotel?”
Pierce cocked his head to the side. “Yeah, what did you expect? I promised I wouldn’t tear it down when I bought it and I never planned to demolish it.”
He had promised.
I chose to ignore his first question and handle the second part of his reply. “So you won’t tear it down, but you want me to change it. Update it to the modern era.” I used quotes around modern. Everyone thought modern was better, but old school was good too.
“No, keep it the same. Restoration is the goal not modernization. Just also stop the foundation from crumbling and there’s wiring issues on the second floor. Modernize it behind the scenes, but keep the outward appearance the same.”
Wow, a job restoring the bed-and-breakfast. I didn’t believe him before, but things had changed between us. Could I work for Pierce? It would help me keep a special part of Pelican Bay alive. I loved the idea, but life was never that simple. Not for me.
“I have to find a job.” The bank and I were about to become not-so-close friends once I bought groceries next month.
Pierce made the noise in his throat that was a sign I’d said something to annoy him. Normally I loved the sound. It meant I was maddening him, but this time it ruffled my feathers. Not all of us had family trust funds to keep us stocked in Pop-Tarts and Lucky Charms.
“I want you to manage it as well. They have had no one on managerial staff since Tara left almost a year ago. They’re running on a skeleton crew and the place is falling apart.”
“That’s a lot of issues.” I didn’t realize the old place had fallen into such disrepair.
Pierce smiled. Damn I loved it when he looked at me that way. It made my stomach flip flop. “That’s why I need someone with grit to do the dirty work and see the job through. Someone like you.”
I turned to him and tugged on the edge of his lapel, mimicking his earlier action. I’d never dated someone who wore suits ninety-nine percent of the time. It turned me on, damn it. I also enjoyed taking them off him. Pierce was always so put together and no one could mess him up the way I did.
“I’m assuming the restoration will have a big budget,” I said widening my eyes as an indication on how big it needed to be.
