Page 14 of #Resort Love (Lakeview Harbor #1)

Chapter Five

The look on Harlow’s face was priceless.

And while Walker thought he’d feel smug dropping that bombshell on her, right now it just felt a little mean.

Shit.

He took another sip of his wine, but his eyes never left her face. When he put his glass down, he couldn’t take the silence any longer. “Say something,” he quietly urged.

She looked around almost frantically for a moment before placing her napkin on the table. “I need to go,” she softly murmured as she got to her feet.

“Go? Harlow, come on. Wait a minute…” Now he was tossing his napkin on the table and standing, but she was halfway across the restaurant by that time. He hated making a scene, but desperate times and all that. He caught up to her in the lobby and reached out to snag her arm and stop her. “Harlow…”

“What?” she snapped, turning to him, her dark eyes shooting daggers at him.

“I…I just…you can’t leave,” he stated, but that just seemed to annoy her.

“Yes, I can. And I am.” Yanking her arm free, she took a full step back.

“You know, if you had just told me the truth when I first showed up at the resort, I would have moved on. But no. You wanted to be evasive and cruel. So…fine. Good for you. Mission accomplished. I hope you feel good about yourself.”

Walker watched her storm out the door and was too stunned to speak.

Temporarily.

Then it was his turn to get annoyed as he shoved the door open and went after her.

“I didn’t want to be cruel, Harlow,” he stated when he found her standing on the side of the building.

Her phone was in her hand, and she was furiously tapping something out.

“For years I’ve been hearing nothing but how all the local realtors were acting like vultures to my grandparents.

And your name just recently came up as the biggest vulture of them all!

So yeah, maybe when you showed up the other day, I was majorly irked.

And yeah, I probably should have just told you then, but… you also never asked.”

Harlow slowly turned her head to look at him and Walker seriously felt a moment of panic because she looked ready to throttle him. It didn’t matter that she was petite and realistically couldn’t hurt him, but the way her anger was simmering just beneath the surface was palpable.

“I never asked ?” she said, taking a step toward him.

“That’s your excuse? Because I didn’t specifically ask you?

What is wrong with you? That was the sole reason I was there, Walker!

And for the record, I did ask! I asked you what was going to happen to all of the property since your family has no interest in selling it!

And I pointed out how you’re here doing some kind of evaluation and moving into one of the cabins!

And your response was to tell me it was… ”

“None of your business,” he murmured.

“When you could have simply saved us both a lot of time and told me the truth.” Arms crossed over her chest, she shook her head.

“You have no idea how much time I invested in this proposal. Time I could have put toward something useful. Instead, you wanted to play games. Well, bravo. You win.” She clapped her hands briefly before looking at her phone again.

“Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to confirm my ride. ”

She walked away from him and even though he shouldn’t feel guilty, he did.

Dammit.

“You don’t need to confirm a ride,” he said wearily as he trailed after her. “Please come back inside and eat. Buying you dinner is the least I can do.”

Her back stayed to him.

Okay, so she wants me to beg a little. Fine.

But he needed a minute to think of what exactly he needed to say, because he still felt like she was overreacting. He’d told her no multiple times regarding the sale of the property; the fact that she persisted was on her.

Yeah, probably not something I should say right now.

He could also point out how he was fairly certain she knew who he was the other night when they slept together, and this was probably some sort of elaborate scheme to get her foot in the door with his family, but…that seemed a little far-fetched.

And paranoid.

She surprised him by turning around, looking sassy with a hint of lingering fury.

And not the least bit forgiving.

“You’re right,” he forced himself to say. “I should have said something to you and shouldn’t have waited until we were here to do it. So…I’m sorry.”

Nothing.

“I wasn’t deliberately trying to be cruel. My grandparents warned me about the locals—and you specifically—and I made a decision based on that information. That was wrong, and…I’m sorry.”

Still nothing.

What he wanted was to demand that she take some responsibility for the entire thing, but that would only convince her to leave, and he really wanted her to stay.

So that’s what he said.

“I’d really like you to stay, Harlow. Please.”

The bored look and the long sigh weren’t promising, but when she stepped around him and headed back to the door, he figured he’d made his point. But then she added, “Fine. My ride wasn’t going to be here for at least an hour. And I’m hungry.”

Laughing softly, he followed her back inside, impressed with her…well…everything. He couldn’t remember the last time anyone made him squirm the way she just did, and he kind of liked it.

Their server was nervously waiting for them by their table, and Walker thanked him as he held out the chair for Harlow. “Sorry for stepping away so abruptly,” he said.

“No worries, sir. Your appetizers will be out in a minute.”

Walker sat down and tried to get a read on Harlow.

Now that they were seated and their meals on the way, he wasn’t sure what they were supposed to talk about.

Rehashing everything about the property was pointless, but he wasn’t sure she felt the same way.

The only thing to do was to start a conversation about something else.

“So,” he began, “What made you go into real estate?”

It wasn’t a complete change of subject, but he literally knew nothing else about her.

“I worked as a receptionist for the agency when I was in high school. I didn’t have a car, so I couldn’t get a job at the mall or any place too far away.

I could walk to the office after school, and Charlene—she owns the agency—would drive me home every night.

We’d have these talks about what I was going to do after graduation, and I honestly had no clue.

She offered to help me get my real estate license if I was interested and I figured… why not?”

“Do you ever think about what you would have done if she didn’t make you that offer?”

Their appetizers came out, and Harlow’s attention was fully on the food.

“Oh my goodness, this looks amazing! I’ve only ever had oysters Rockefeller once before.

My friends and I had gone down to Manhattan for a weekend and I splurged.

None of the restaurants in Harbortown serve them, but I swore if I ever found them on a menu again, I’d order them. ”

He sat back and watched her taste the first one, and the look of pure delight on her face was enchanting.

It was also very telling.

First, Harlow was a passionate woman, although he already knew that.

But this differed from the sexual passion.

What he was learning was how she was passionate about her job and her food.

Second, she was very open about her feelings.

There was nothing passive about her. She let her feelings be known no matter what the situation.

And last, he was quickly becoming more and more fascinated by her.

And even though his grandmother’s warning played in his head, he quickly pushed it aside.

“What’s your favorite meal?” he asked before taking the first bite of his escargot.

“Hmm…I don’t think I have just one. I mean, I enjoy a good burger, obviously.

I’m obsessed with Chinese food and I love warm and gooey chocolate chip cookies, but I’m also a big fan of the half-moon cookies.

” She paused for a moment. “I’ll eat my weight in wings, but only after I’ve had a few beers.

I don’t know why. But whenever anyone asks what I want to eat—like if it’s a special occasion or something—I tend to go for Italian.

Dominic’s is a restaurant in town, and they make the best lasagna.

It’s definitely comfort food to me. I’m sure there are places that make it better, but it’s my go-to dish when I’m there. What about you?”

“I’m almost afraid to tell you.”

Her fork was halfway to her mouth when she hesitated. “Why?”

“Because you’re going to think I’m a snob,” he admitted.

“Only one way to find out,” she said with a wink before taking a forkful of oyster.

“You know I run a chain of luxury resorts, right?”

She nodded.

“We have some of the best chefs in the world, and I’ve just grown accustomed to things like Wagyu beef and fine wines. I love a good steak and when it’s paired with the right wine, it’s almost a religious experience for me.”

“You’re right. I do think you’re a snob.”

He didn’t take offense.

“Our Orlando resort does the most incredible oysters Rockefeller.”

“I’ll have to take your word for it, but these are pretty damn amazing.”

“Our Galveston resort has the best steaks, hands down. It doesn’t matter that we’re a chain; each resort has their own restaurants with their own unique menus, and I have a favorite dish at each one.”

“Are you planning on turning the Lakeview Harbor Resort into one of your luxury ones?”

“Not exactly,” he replied honestly. “We are going to essentially keep the resort the same as it’s always been, but with some modern updates and upgrades, and definitely making it all a little more luxurious.

I think what they started with was fine for a time, but it’s not what people are looking for now in a vacation. ”

“I disagree, but…go on.”