Chapter Sixteen
HARPER
I drummedmy fingers on one of the several renovation binders, and Jules’s latest budget projections stared back at me accusingly. The resort’s transformation was moving forward, but the numbers always made my stomach clench. I checked my calendar and made a mental note to pick Finn up from the resort Kids Club by five, to tell Mom about Chase, and to confirm when the first round of room furniture would arrive. I was just wrangling several stray locks of hair into some sort of order when Mom knocked on my doorframe.
“There you are,” she said. She wore a fitted shirt and capris, and her silver-streaked brown hair was loosely held with a silver clip. “I was afraid I’d have to hunt you down.”
“Ah, you’re here to interrogate the suspect in her natural habitat?” I gestured to the chaos.
Her expression was serious. “Yes. She appears overworked.”
I smiled. “You sound like Brenna. Is this going to be a family-wide thing?”
Mom came the rest of the way in, closing the door gently. “Maybe it should be. Did you get that timeline update?”
“Timelines, I have. Delivery dates, I don’t. I was about to start grilling Joe.”
She glanced over the binders on my desk. “All in due time.”
I raised an eyebrow. “You’re uncharacteristically patient.”
“A habit I’ve learned is handy to acquire.” With a smile, she took a seat in one of the armchairs. “Are we ready to tackle the updated financials?”
I nodded, pulling the printed budget spreadsheet from a drawer and handing it to her. Though Mom was stepping back from day-to-day operations, she still liked to be somewhat in the loop. She perused the document.
“All looks good to me.” Her sandals barely made a sound on the carpet as she got up to hand the paperwork back.
“Wow.” I accepted the spreadsheet before stacking it neatly. “You really have gone soft. You’re sure you didn’t swap my mom for a different model? Less scolding, more complimenting?”
She laughed, the same sharp but affectionate sound as always. “You know me better than that. Just wait until you’re my age. You’ll be ganging up on poor Finn before you know it.”
My chest tightened as she pushed to her feet. I took a deep breath, hesitating, then leaped. “Mom—there’s something else we need to discuss.”
She turned and sat again. A glint of curiosity showed in her eyes, or maybe even expectation. “Oh?”
I swallowed, realizing how much I’d built this up in my mind. How many different ways I’d imagined this moment playing out. “It’s about Chase. We’re seeing each other, and it could become serious.”
It already is serious.
I braced for the blow. An explosiveWhat are you doing?Maybe a more subtle variant—a thinly veiled lecture. But I got none of that.
She was quiet, and then a knowing, almost amused smile touched her lips. “Well, I have to admit, I’ve been wondering when one of you would finally acknowledge it. It’s been rather obvious for a while now.”
My jaw dropped. “Wait, what? Obvious?”
She sat back in the chair, crossing her legs and looking entirely too satisfied with herself. “Yes, obvious. To everyone except, apparently, you two.”
“We’ve been careful,” I insisted, confused and trying to retrace every supposedly subtle step.
“Not careful enough to fool a mother,” she said. “I had my suspicions about the way you two played off each other when the renovations started. That impression has only strengthened since.”
“Huh?” I felt like I’d stepped into a different universe, one where everything I believed was true had inverted. “You’re not mad?”
“No. I’m happy for you both.” Then she laughed. “After what happened with Eli and Jules, I can hardly protest.”
I let out the breath I’d been holding, relief washing over me. “So, you’re okay with this?”
“Okay, yes. But you know my feelings about mixing resort business with personal relationships.” Her tone softened, but her gaze was steady. “Chase being a partner adds another layer entirely.”
