“Really?” I try to control my reaction, but she sees it, her green gaze narrowing slightly. But she doesn’t know what it would mean to me, to have the land saved.
“You have all those boards in your workshop. Black Axes. Beautiful. In perfect condition. You could sell them all and, while I know it won’t cover the full cost, it’ll put you in a better position with the bank. I might know someone who can help with the financing, but we’ll need a deposit.”
I like how she says “we.” “I get why you think that. But those boards aren’t for sale. Well, they are. But not all at once. If a bunch of brand-new Axes came on the market, people would start asking questions about where they came from. One or two a year is fine. But not twenty in one go.”
“You do that?”
“I do what?”
“Release them onto the market every once in a while.”
“Sometimes. Like, if there’s something we need on the island and I want to contribute. But, like I say, I can’t do it with a lot at once. I gave up full-time shaping for a reason.”
She stares at me, and I know she wants to ask. But she doesn’t. She chews her lip for a moment before she speaks again. “I can’t afford to buy the land. But maybe we could do a Kickstarter or something, raise the funds? I have a pretty massive social media reach, I’m sure I could get us there.”
Fuck. This is not what I’d hoped for.
“No. Absolutely not.” I try to keep the sharpness from my tone. But this is a bad idea, for a lot of reasons.
She blinks, sitting back a little. “No? Look, I know it’s not the best plan. But if people can see how special it is?—”
“They’ll come here in droves, destroying the place in an effort to get the best selfie. And the damn hotel will probably need to be built to accommodate them all.” I pause, taking a breath. That came out more sharply than I meant it to.
Her throat moves, a sheen of tears in her green gaze. “Yeah. Sorry. You’re right, of course. I just… I can’t bear the thought of it being used like that.”
“You can’t buy it?” Perhaps a bit too direct, but I’m almost at the end of my rope.
She shakes her head. “I make a lot of money,” she says, in answer to my questioning look. “More than enough. If I wasn’t paying for something else.”
“Something else?”
She looks down. “I told you I didn’t have the best upbringing, right? But I did have someone, other than Dora. My twin brother, Jasper. He’s awesome, super smart. I’ve been paying for him to go to university for the past few years. He’s doing his Master’s now. At Harvard.”
Fuck. That explains a lot. And I feel guilty again. I’m supposed to be wooing her, not making her upset. I take her hand again, playing with her slender fingers. “I’m sorry,” I say. “I’m doing a pretty shitty job of wooing you, aren’t I? And your idea was great, apart from the fact it will expose everyone here to the rest of the world, including me.”
“No, it was shit.” She still looks upset, her smooth brow crinkled. “A stupid idea. I don’t know what I was thinking. Maybe, could we speak to the developer? Ask them to leave the cave as it is?”
“I doubt they’d listen.”
“But it’s a historic place. Surely there’s some protection available for it.”
“Nothing they would care about.” Bitterness floods me, poison-sharp.
She pauses, her eyes narrowing. “What aren’t you telling me?”
A lot.But I’m not unpicking old wounds tonight.
“Nothing.” I bring her hand to my mouth, kissing it. “And I really am sorry.” The band has started up, a Dua Lipa cover. “We can worry about this tomorrow.”
“Axel, you’d tell me, wouldn’t you? If there was something else I could do?”
“I would. And there isn’t.” This is the truth.
“I don’t want to give up.”
A catch in my chest, at how much she obviously cares about this place. She understands; I know she does. I saw it in her face, when I took her to the temple and then the cave. “Nor do I. And we won’t. But tonight”—I kiss her fingers again, flicking my tongue against them—“I believe there is wooing to be done.”
Her lips part. “Yes. I believe there is.”
