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She should say no. It was already enough to stay at his house several times a week. But going away on a romantic weekend together?

Okay, having him accompany her on a trip the purpose of which was to settle outstanding real estate matters with her ex-husband wasn't exactly the height of romance. But still...

"We can go to dinner, get a hotel room..." He squeezed suggestively at her waist. "Sleep in. Not have to get out of bed all day if we don't want to..."

"That sounds like heaven," she said before she could think better of it. The song ended, and she rose up on her tiptoes to kiss him on the cheek, earning a shocked smile.

He tucked her hand into his and led her off the dance floor.

Chapter 18

"Well, what do you think?" JT asked Paulina, who flipped to the last page of his proposal. He planned to build two new premium cabins, a fitness room, and upgrade the pool in time for next summer's season.

"The drawings and plans Liam did look beautiful, and you have enough spreadsheets and numbers to make my eyes cross. I think it looks great." She tucked the packet back together and handed it to JT. "But you know in the end it doesn't matter what I think. It's everyone else you have to convince."

JT nodded. "Hopefully I can get them on board. If we want to get this done in time for next season, Liam and his crew are going to have to bust their asses before the first snowfall."

She stood up from her desk and gave him a quick hug. "Knock 'em dead, brother."

He returned to his office and waited for his dad, Uncle Mike, and Uncle Jack to join him for the meeting he'd requested. The next official board meeting wasn't until October, but if he wanted this project to be successful, he needed to get going on it by September at the latest.

His father arrived first. He gave JT a pat on the shoulder and poured himself a cup of coffee from the carafe on JT's desk. His uncles arrived together and sat flanking JT's dad with their cowboy hats in their laps.

"What did you want to see us about, son?"

JT handed each one of them a copy of his proposal. "This is a plan for some new construction on the ranch and improvements we can make to increase revenues going forward."

As they flipped through the packets, JT went over the highlights.

"I don't see what we need with a fitness center," Uncle Mike said, scratching his chin. "We've been in business nearly a hundred years and we've never had need of a treadmill."

"It's an amenity that most guests have come to expect. And if you look at some of the research Paulina has done, you'll see that most of the other guest ranches in the US offer some sort of gym or fitness equipment."

"The costs on the cabins look good," his Dad said.

JT tried not to let the jolt of excitement show on his face. "Liam's willing to give us a friends-and-family discount on labor."

"Still," his dad continued, "I just don't know that this is the time to invest in this right now."

"It's the best time," JT argued. "We've been up in guest revenues the last three years, and this year we're projected to make ten percent more profit over last year. This way we can build the new cabins and make the improvements with the cash we have, rather than have to go for a loan or a line of credit."

Uncle Jack murmured something about the investment cutting into this year's bonus.

"If you look at the summary on the last page," JT forced his jaw to unclench, "you'll see that being able to accommodate more guests during our peaks in June and August, will mean an increase in revenue that will result in bigger bonuses going forward."

Uncle Mike questioned the need to upgrade the pool, but conceded that a hot tub might be nice for the guests who were sore after horseback riding.

"It's clear that you've put a lot of thought into this, son, but I'm not convinced it's the best way to spend our money right now."

JT felt his stomach twist in disappointment, even though he could see this coming.

"Do you mind if I run it by your brother? I'd like to get his take on it before we decide."

"Sure Dad, no problem," JT said tightly.

Paulina slipped in right after the three men left. "So, did they go for it?"

"Of course not."