Page 23 of Billionaire's Coastal Haven

“Right, so we start with ten cabins five hundred yards behind the house and expand later as needed.”

Archer leans his elbows on the table. “It rains two hundred days a year.”

“And?”

“If we’re spreading guests around the property, how do they reliably get to the main house for breakfast without getting drenched?”

“Golf carts. Umbrellas. They’ll be fine. This place will be marketed for its peace and privacy. People who want to play Scrabble in the library every night are unlikely guests.”

“Does that match what the town council wants? Tourism is their primary concern. Growth. Dollars. They want guests who visit Main Street, buy souvenirs at the bookstore, grab coffee, eat burgers and fries on the bay. Those people play Scrabble. We need to plan for them.” Archer’s eyes narrow. “Or is your plan to price the cabins so high that only your billionaire cronies can afford to stay here? No regular people allowed.”

There’s that possessive tone again. I don’t appreciate the condescending assumptions either.

But it is nice to see his fire.

I recline in one of the chairs and kick my feet up on the table, resting my hands on my stomach. “Why are you really going along with Zoe’s scheme?”

“Besides helping a friend?” Collin asks.

“This is a big project to agree to just because you’re friends.” Have they ever been more than friends? Nausea squirms in my stomach. It shouldn’t matter, so why does my gut rebel against the idea?

Zoe’s beautiful, but there will only ever be animosity between us. It doesn’t matter who she’s dated. At least, it shouldn’t.

But the idea of her making out with either of the men in front of me almost has me bunching my fists and demanding they tell me their history with her.

What’s wrong with me? Women never have this effect on me. Why her? Why now? Or is this a symptom of my loneliness?

That’s got to be it. She’s the only attractive woman I’ve met in months, so my body reacts to her. It’s desire, lust. Nothing more. Nothing worth acting on. Definitely not worth blocking a deal over it.

“She’s right to put my company in charge of the renovation.” Collin gestures toward the men and women moving through the office on the other side of the conference room windows. In jeans and flannel, they don’t look like professionals, but I guess professional contractors don’t wear suits, do they?

I’ve never renovated an old estate before. We’ve always started from scratch, wiped clear whatever was on the land and built skyscrapers that host a thousand guest rooms using multinational construction companies who move from project to project. Nothing grassroots like this.

“But why you? Why are you the best?” I spread my hands.

“The other construction companies in the area won’t do the job justice. Like Zoe said, our name is on the front gate. Our family’s reputation is at stake just like yours is. We won’t let you down because that would be letting our family down.”

“What about you? Do you agree with Zoe?” I ask Archer.

“It will take time to get used to looking up at the bluff and seeing lights through the trees, but I can’t argue that our local economy doesn’t need the boost.”

“There are other ways to grow an economy besides tourism. There’s an ocean full of opportunities on the other side of the bay. Why not reopen the shipping company?”

Archer shakes his head. “This is a small town in the middle of nowhere. One hundred years ago, our great grandfather could get away with having his headquarters here. Now, we can’t compete with the ports in San Francisco or Vancouver.”

“What about fishing? Manufacturing?” I tick ideas off on my fingers. “If you make the area attractive to tech companies, they will build campuses that rival Silicon Valley for half the price. That’s a lot of jobs.”

“And destroy the forest in the process? No, thanks. Besides, that’s not the job. Renovating the estate and making the resort profitable are.”

I drop my feet to the floor. “Does everyone do what the town council wants? You think a resort is the only way to help Rainwater Bay?”

“Why are you here?” Collin asks. “Why our family’s estate? There must be places better suited to your original vision. Why jump through their hoops if you don’t have to?”

“That’s personal.”

“Not business?” Archer’s gaze darts to Collin then back to me.

“We’re out if this is a whim,” Collin says. “You can’t get bored in six months and ditch this project. That would ruin me.”