Bailey shifted uncomfortably in her chair. “Maybe I should go.”
“Please stay,” Dillon said. “I need your help.”
“What possible good could I do with your trading land for two condos?”
“I’m not done,” Dillon replied.
“Here we go,” Berto said.
When Dillon was certain Bailey would remain, he told the builder, “Three more things. No hidden agenda. First, we’re broke. Both of us need help covering our living expenses.”
“You’re thinking . . .”
“A twenty thousand dollar signing bonus,” he replied. “Each. Ten thousand dollars more at the start of each six month period, until the condos are finished. Each.”
Berto gave that a longish pause, then replied, “I’m not walking out just yet.”
“Next, we don’t have any place to live. Do you have an empty show-home or condo? Two bedrooms, two offices.”
“Still sitting,” Berto replied. “I assume you’ve saved the worst for last.”
“Definitely not the worst,” Dillon replied, and offered the morning’s first smile. “But maybe the craziest.”
* * *
The longer Olivia’s sense of distance remained in place, the more she was able to separate herself into two components. On the one hand, she listened as Dillon outlined a concept that ignited a genuine sense of excitement in both Bailey and Acosta.
On the other, she was granted an opportunity to view herself. In safety and calm. Despite everything.
She had arrived in Miramar burdened by a sense of defeat. The life she had built for herself was over. She was forced to return empty-handed to the world she had struggled so hard to leave behind. Her sense of shame was just another component of a life gone wrong.
And yet.
For the first time in months, Olivia felt herself utterly freed from all the burdens she had been carrying. Dillon’s remarkable plan, the way these two locals almost shouted their agreement and ideas, all formed components of a new day.
Dillon addressed her directly then. “You’re so quiet.”
“Listening,” she replied. “Thinking.”
Bailey asked, “But you’re okay with this?”
“I am.” Even her voice sounded removed from the room and their growing enthusiasm. “Yes.”
“Are you sure about that?” The man she had once wanted to love forever leaned in close. “Olivia, we don’t want to push you into anything you’re not—”
She halted him with an upraised hand. She told the three of them, “This is a true Christmas gift.”
