“I beg to differ. You’re not wound tight, just steady.”
“Which is worse?”
She eyed me. “I find steady very sexy.”
It struck me then. How much I wanted this. Wanted her.
As we ate our salads, the conversation inevitably turned to the renovation. But there was no trace of tension, no butting heads over different visions. I wanted to know more, how she was really coping. I studied her face. “How do you feel about taking on a loan after all?”
Originally, my partnership and investment were designed to avoid external financing. But it hadn’t worked out that way after we decided to renovate multiple areas at once to speed up the overall project.
She was quiet for a moment, thoughtful. “Honestly? Worried at first. But it was the only option, and with you onboard…” She paused to meet my eyes, sincerity obvious in hers. “I feel like we might actually pull it off. Thank you for believing in us.”
I swallowed, trying to mask how deeply her words impacted me. How much they meant. I couldn’t look away from her. “I didn’t invest just to help. I invested because I knew you’d make it work. We’d make it work.”
Before she could respond, our entrees arrived, a flawless presentation of fish fresh from local waters.
“Oh, wow. This looks incredible,” she said, examining her plate.
“I told you this was a bribe.”
She laughed again, the sound everything I wanted this night to be.
I was about to change the subject when Stella Markham herself came over to our table. “Harper Coleridge, the busiest woman in Dove Key.” Her voice was friendly and assured. In her mid-thirties, with dark hair pulled back, Stella had a confident energy that was vibrant and alive even under the restraint of a crisp chef’s coat. “Isaw you from the kitchen and thought I’d say hello. What brings you all the way over here?”
Harper grinned, standing to give Stella a hug. “Chase does,” she said, full of pride and something else I couldn’t quite pin down. “We’ve got him all tied up with the resort renovation, but I’ve corralled him into a break.”
Stella’s eyes flicked to me, sizing me up with the expert precision of a head chef dissecting a challenging dish. “So, you’re the man behind the project everyone’s talking about.”
“Chase Ashworth, Latitudes Design.” I briefly rose to shake her hand. It couldn’t be a bad idea for a Markham to know my firm’s name.
“I’ll have to take a proper tour when it’s all said and done.” She then nodded toward our steaming entrees, her professional focus returning. “How is everything looking?”
Harper leaned forward, her eyes shining as she took in her plate. “Stella, it looks absolutely incredible. We haven’t even taken a bite yet, but the presentation alone is breathtaking.”
A spark of passion ignited in Stella’s eyes, transforming her from a sharp businesswoman to an animated artist. “You both made excellent choices. My father actually brought those in himself this afternoon. Harper, yoursnapperwas line-caught just off Sombrero Reef around two o’clock. It’s pan-seared with that citrus-herb butter. It should melt in your mouth.” She turned to me, pride evident on her face. “And Chase, yourdoradowas speared by him near the old freighter wreck, theBenson. We’re serving it with a citrus-mango salsa and coconut rice tonight. Both are about as fresh as it gets without eating it on the boat.”
The way she spoke about the fish and the directconnection to her father was why I loved having local connections like this.
Stella shot us both a smile. “But enough yammering. I’ll let you both enjoy your dinner.” She gave Harper another quick nod, then to me. “Nice to meet you, Chase. Perhaps when Sunset Siesta is finished, Calypso Key will need to hire you for ournextbig project to keep up.”
She grinned, a flash of humor, then with a final, “Enjoy your night,” she was gone, disappearing back toward the hum of her kitchen as smoothly as she’d arrived.
I tried not to read too much into her final statement or how much a big contract like Calypso Key Resort could mean to a new firm. Instead, I concentrated on the exceptional dish in front of me. Each entrée was a gastronomic marvel, each bite bursting with flavor. The presentation alone was worth the drive, with vibrant seasonal vegetables and artful drizzles of sauce that made the plates look like they belonged in a food magazine. As I savored the first mouthful, I knew my instincts were right. This was the kind of date we needed, and I felt a smug sense of accomplishment at having pulled it off. Harper gave a contented sigh after her first taste and beamed at me from across the table.
As the candles winked and the night grew darker, we split a dessert, some decadent chocolate thing that made me mentally add a mile to tomorrow’s run. Harper leaned back with a touch of the whipped cream on her upper lip. I couldn’t resist the urge to wipe it away, then lick it off my thumb with a wink at her.
She smiled brightly and a soft, slightly flustered laugh escaped her. She quickly looked down at her water glass, tracing the condensation with a fingertip. “I have a confession.”Her voice was quieter now, as if testing the waters. She lifted her gaze, her eyes searching mine. “When you mentioned noticing me when you were in college…”
I held my breath, suddenly wary. “Yeah?”
“Well,” she continued, drawing the word out, “it wasn’t entirely one-sided.”
My heart gave a distinct thump against my ribs. “It wasn’t?”
She shook her head. “There was this one time, right after you graduated. You, Eli, and I were grabbing beers at Conch Republic after work. I couldn’t have been more than twenty-three. Eli was going on about wanting to rearrange the dive shop—you know how he gets these grand, impractical ideas.”
I snorted. “Vaguely involving duct tape, cardboard, and ignoring basic physics?”
