CHAPTERONE
Jessica Flynn picked her way along the grassy roadside. To her right, the forest beckoned, wild and beautiful. The timing wasn’t perfect, but after eyeing this undeveloped tract of land next to her spa for years, it had finally been put up for sale. And now it was going to be hers.
She rubbed at the headache squeezing her temples, remembering—belatedly—that she’d meant to take some ibuprofen before she headed out to meet with the realtor. Oh well, too late now. And actually, now that she was away from the hustle and bustle of the spa, she realized her whole body hurt, a deep ache in her joints and a shivery sensitivity on her skin that felt an awful lot like she was coming down with something.
Which was just friggin’ great. Half her staff had been out with the flu already this month, and she was booked solid with client appointments for the rest of the week.
But first things first…
About ten yards ahead, a white SUV sat in the gravel driveway beside the For Sale sign. As she approached, the vehicle’s front door opened, and a balding, middle-aged man stepped out.
“Ms. Flynn?” he asked.
“Yes.”
“I’m Gordon McDermott.” He stuck out a hand, and she shook it. “You said on the phone you own the adjacent property?”
“That’s right,” she said. The Haven Spa was her baby, the culmination of years of sweat, tears, and dreams. And once she’d bought this additional land, she was going to expand the spa into a rustic yet luxurious resort.
“Then he must own the property on the other side because he told me the same thing.” Gordon nodded toward a man standing at the end of the gravel driveway, his back to them.
Jessica’s spine stiffened as if it had turned to steel. He was tall, lean, and muscular, his black hair close-cropped, hands shoved into the front pockets of his jeans. And she’d know him anywhere.
Mark Dalton, the first man to own—and break—her heart. The man she couldn’t get within five feet of without wanting to kick him in the shins for being such a jerk when they were teenagers. And unluckily for her, he was also one of the owners of the property on the other side of this one.
He turned, and their eyes met. His were the color of rich espresso, sizzling in their intensity. His bronzed skin was marred by a vicious scar that slashed his right cheek, the only outwardly visible reminder of the accident that ended his Army career. “Jess,” he said, his voice deep and a little scratchy.
“Mark.” Her hands clenched into fists. It figured he and his friends would have their eye on this property too. Well, she’d just have to outbid them because she’d been dreaming about expanding the spa for a lot longer than they’d been giving zip-line tours over at Off-the-Grid Adventures.
“I take it you two already know each other?” Gordon said, looking pleased.
She and Mark both nodded, eyeing each other warily.
“Great. Well, as you may have heard, the property owner, Randy Wexler, passed away unexpectedly a few weeks ago, and his family is looking to sell this property as quickly as possible to settle his estate. My impression,” he said, raising his eyebrows for emphasis, “is that he left behind quite a few bills that need paying.”
“That’s sad,” Jessica said. “I wonder why he never got around to building anything out here?”
“He’d owned this property for decades, hoped to someday retire and build his dream home here,” Gordon said. “Unfortunately, he waited too long to make it happen. Naturally, the family is thrilled that we already have not one, but two, interested buyers for the land.”
“I bet.” Jessica eyed Mark again. He still stood near the end of the gravel driveway—the driveway that Randy Wexler had envisioned leading to his dream home but instead dead-ended into the forest beyond.
Mark, never one for casual conversation, said nothing.
“As you both know, there’s a little over forty acres out there, all undeveloped. The property is zoned residential, but with businesses on both sides, I wouldn’t anticipate a problem having it rezoned commercial.”
Mark cocked an eyebrow. She’d heard that the guys had had quite a time getting their property rezoned to allow Off-the-Grid to open, but in the end, it had worked out. And the realtor was right—with businesses on both sides, rezoning was a no-brainer.
“You mind if I have a look around?” Mark asked.
“Not at all. Take your time. I imagine you both are familiar with where the property lines lie,” Gordon said, gesturing toward the forest before them.
“Thank you,” Jessica said. “I’d like to poke around a bit too.” She’d already done some snooping on her own, but she couldn’t pass up the chance to openly explore. This land wrapped around behind the spa, and since no one used it for anything, she’d occasionally hiked through, daydreaming about little cabins with private hot tubs nestled in the woods.
Mark walked to the end of the driveway then turned and looked back, as if waiting for her to catch up.Dammit.She’d been planning to strike out on her own. Well, maybe she could feel him out for how serious he and the guys were about buying. “I didn’t know you guys were interested in more land,” she said as she fell into step beside him—well, kind of beside him. She’d left a few feet of space between them for good measure. Any closer and she might wind up wanting to strangle him. Because if she looked too deeply into his cocoa eyes, the memories threatened to swamp her. So many stolen kisses and whispered promises. This was the man she’d thought she might spend the rest of her life with, right up until he dropped her like a bad habit when he enlisted in the Army.
Mark kept his eyes on the leaf-strewn ground before them. “We’ve been talking about adding a mountain bike course. Ethan says there are some hills back here that would be perfect.”
A mountain biking course? She wasn’t opposed to the idea except for the fact that this property bordered her spa on two sides, and she wasn’t sure she wanted adrenaline-seeking men and women racing past her natural spring-fed hot tubs yelling and carrying on while her clients were trying to relax and unwind. “Why can’t you build that on the land you already own?”
