Page 20 of Make-Believe Match

“I’m going to get it,” she said confidently.

“From where?” I’d seen the numbers—there was little chance a bank was going to give her the kind of money needed to turn this place before it went completely bankrupt. “And by when?”

“You don’t need to know that,” she said, and I knew right then and there she had not secured any kind of loan.

“Do you have a business plan?”

“You don’t need to know that either.” Her neck and face were growing mottled with blotchy pink spots. “All you need to know is that we won’t be selling to you—not today and not ever!” She elbowed me aside and marched off. As she reached the end of the bar, she tossed a furious look over her shoulder. “Now I’mgladI dumped a margarita on you!”

I would have laughed if the situation hadn’t been so dire.

When she was gone, I rubbed the back of my neck, cursing softly. Black Diamond Resorts was getting antsy, and my boss was breathing down my neck. I’d basically guaranteed I could get this deal done by the end of the summer, which was why I’d been assigned to this account. Now it would look like I’d written a check I couldn’t cash, or I’d botched it somehow.

Maybe I had, however inadvertently. I’d have to work extra hard to turn this ship around. But how?

Lexi clearly had her grandmother’s ear. I’d have to win her over somehow. I’d done it once, right? I could do it again. In fact, I’d enjoy the challenge. Straightening my tie, I left the bar and walked back to the table.

But to my surprise and disappointment, Lexi wasn’t there. Only Martha sat with a cup of tea, looking out the window, her expression forlorn.

I took my seat again. “I’m sorry about that,” I said, replacing my napkin on my lap.

“I’m sorry too.” Martha aimed worried eyes toward Lexi’s vacant chair. “My granddaughter apparently isn’t feeling well. She won’t be joining us for lunch.”

“I hope it’s nothing serious.” Wondering exactly what Lexi had told her grandmother, I looked at the cup of coffee she left behind and noticed the two empty half-and-half pods. One torn-open sugar packet.

“I’m not sure what it is. She was so determined to be at this meeting, and then all of a sudden, she wanted nothing to do with it.” The old woman studied me with shrewd eyes. “She seems to have something against you.”

“We met recently,” I conceded, deciding to be truthful in a limited capacity. “And I’m afraid we didn’t realize who the other was at the time. I think Lexi feels I withheld that information.”

“And did you?”

“No. I did not. We simply didn’t discuss our jobs.”We were too busy fucking,I thought, picking up the menu and looking over its traditional but uninspired fare.

“Well, I suppose that would explain why she just snatched up her purse and left.” Sighing, she set down her teacup. “She gets moods, you know.”

I smiled. “Don’t we all?”

“I suppose so, but Lexi has always been so stubbornly governed by her emotions. She lacks the logic to temper the feelings. My husband was just the same way—so was her father. Theyfeelthings so deeply, it clouds the judgment.”

“You just described my younger brother and sister to a T,” I said.

“You’re the oldest of three siblings?” She regarded me with interest.

“Actually, I’m the middle of five. I have two older brothers as well.”

“What a coincidence!” Her face brightened. “I was the middle child of five siblings too!”

I felt the tide turning in my favor. People generally responded better to people they thought were like them. Common ground was a good thing. So after the server came by and took our orders, I immediately returned to the topic of family. “Did you grow up around here, Mrs. McIntyre?”

“Chicago,” she said. “And it’s Martha, please. I was a city girl. But we used to vacation up this way in the summer and winter. I met my husband at Snowberry when I was just seventeen.”

“You must have a lot of memories here.”

“I do,” she said wistfully. “What about you? Where did you grow up?”

“Not too far from here. Cherry Tree Harbor.”

Her eyes lit up. “Oh, I just adore Cherry Tree Harbor. I used to take my sons there during the summer. They loved to ride the ferry boat.”