Page 32 of #Resort Love (Lakeview Harbor #1)

“But it’s my island, Harlow!” he said with exasperation. “This place belongs to my family! My grandparents are still the majority owners! Shouldn’t that count for something?”

“Have you talked to them about it?”

“No.”

“Why not?”

“Because they specifically said that all the work and changes and updates and whatnot were up to us. They were simply maintaining their share of the ownership.”

“Oh.”

“And I really wanted to turn the campgrounds into glamping pods! Do you know how popular those are right now?”

“Um…”

“They’re so cool. Here. Look.” He pulled out his phone and showed her a video from some resort in Tennessee. As much as she hated to admit it, they looked amazing.

“They’re huge,” she commented. “You couldn’t have them and regular campgrounds.”

“Exactly.”

“Damn.”

“I know,” he murmured. “This whole thing just…it sucks. I feel completely defeated and I don’t know how to move forward when…my passion is gone.”

Resting her head on his shoulder, she nodded. “And I know that feeling pretty darn well. That’s how I felt about selling this place. Once that option was gone, it was hard to be excited about just selling houses.”

He shifted slightly. “Oh, yeah. How’d your showings go yesterday?”

Looking up at him, she smiled. “They made an offer on one of the houses and the seller accepted.”

“Congratulations! That’s awesome!” He kissed her softly and she loved how he could even think about her when he was so miserable. “Good for you.”

“Thanks. I knew they were motivated, but I didn’t think they’d be making an offer so soon. Although, I’m really glad they did. And they have relatives that want to move to the area, so hopefully I’ll be selling them houses too!”

“That’s really great, Harlow,” he said, and she knew he was being sincere. But then he grew quiet again.

“Can I ask you something?”

“Um…maybe?” And yeah, he followed that with a nervous laugh.

“I get that you’re in this project deep. You guys have things budgeted and you are having to potentially shift gears, right?”

“Right…”

“So, there would be no way you could maybe…expand?”

His dark brows furrowed. “Expand? We’re pretty much all investing our life savings and then some into this. And if everyone is still not on board with what I envisioned, what good would an expansion do?”

“Well…it would mean keeping the resort in its classic state,” she reasoned.

“And then you would have this newer bougie section. Tons of resorts do that and it’s in line with what you’ve been planning, but without…

like…endangering—is that the right word?

—the integrity of the Lakeview Harbor Resort. Does that make sense?”

Walker raked a hand through his hair before shaking his head. “Not really. It sounds like what I’m already trying to do. I’m not seeing the difference.”

“Think of it like this—you have 1,500 acres here of established resort property. You and your team are going to go over every inch and return it to its former glory.”

“O-kay…” he said slowly.

“But then, you purchase, say, an additional…twenty-five acres. Nothing major, but not too small, that is possibly connected to the existing resort property. It’s like a new, snooty or bougie addition where you can cater to the crowd you—Walker Bradshaw—want to cater to.

If it’s successful, down the road you can then present it to your investors and perhaps grow and take over some of what’s here, whether it’s existing cabins or the campgrounds.

By doing it that way, you’re not sacrificing what’s here and proven to work, but you’re also going to have real life stats on whether the new stuff works. ”

“And if it doesn’t?”

“That depends. If you do those glamping pods, you just find another way to market them—maybe as a special event space. You know, advertise it as a place for girls’ trips or bridal parties.

Birthday parties. Bachelorette weekends.

Book clubs. I think really leaning into the female market would be great.

Make themed weekends and have your event coordinator come up with things like…

oh, I don’t know…maybe a pajama party theme.

Enjoy a cozy night in with friends, complete with pajamas and movie night.

You could rent one of those giant inflatable outdoor screens and have a rom-com marathon. ”

All he did was nod thoughtfully.

“Or maybe something like a bohemian theme and use dreamcatchers, macramé, and colorful fabrics for a relaxing vibe. You could have soft music and yummy food. That could be fun, right?”

Another nod.

“If you worked with a book club, you could theme it on whatever book they read. If it’s a fantasy book, then you could decorate with fairy lights, fairy wings, and whimsical decorations.

If it’s romance, you could do soft music, lots of twinkly lights and flowers and wine, and…

” Pausing, she laughed softly. “I don’t know.

I’d have to think about it. This sort of thing really isn’t my strong suit. ”

“You could have fooled me. That sounded amazing,” he said earnestly. “Do you think it’s possible? Is there any land available near here that borders the resort but isn’t lakefront? I’m guessing lakefront would make the price go up.”

“Oh, it would. That’s why this property is worth so much. The buildings weren’t worth a whole lot; it’s the land people were interested in.”

“I’m sure. So, do you know of any property for sale?”

“Offhand, I don’t. But I can do some research tomorrow when I’m in the office. Is that okay? If you want, I can skip dinner and go back into town and start looking.”

“No, absolutely not. I want you here with me tonight.” He leaned in close and kissed her, and Harlow melted against him. Walker was a great kisser, and it was crazy how much she’d missed him these last few days.

“I would do it,” she whispered when they broke apart. “I’d go and dive in and see what I could find if it would put your mind at ease.”

“To be honest, I’m not sure my mind can be put at ease right now. I’m completely tense after being blindsided by everyone’s sudden change of heart in the direction of the resort. And as we both know, I don’t handle opposition well.”

She knew he was trying to poke fun at himself, and that just made her heart ache for him a little bit.

“I would have too,” she assured him. “If I went into anything where I thought my friends and I were on the same page and then out of nowhere, they all changed their minds, I’d freak out. Remember the night we met?”

“At the festival?”

She nodded. “We were all going to eat at the pub. That was the plan. Then, suddenly, everyone changed their minds. It pissed me off!”

“Harlow, you were cool as a cucumber. You told them all to do whatever they wanted to do and you were going to eat at the pub.”

“On the outside! Inside I was pissed off because I hate when we deviate from the plan! Gah! You have no idea how much that bugs me!”

“I’ll keep that in mind.” He kissed her again. “Now come on. I guess we should head inside.” Walker stood and held out his hand to her. “Just…promise me something.”

“Of course.”

“Even if you agree with them, could you just…not say it out loud?” Pausing, he shook his head. “God, I’m sorry. What am I even saying? I shouldn’t be asking you to be fake. That was wrong. Forget I even said it.”

“Walker…”

“No, I’m serious.” With her hand in his, he led them away from their little hiding spot and toward the lodge. She was going to argue with him, but figured that might just aggravate the situation. The best she could do was see how things went once she was inside and talking to everyone.

“Oh, wait! I brought dessert,” she told him. “I left it in the car. When you greeted me and we started walking, I forgot about it.”

“What did you bring?”

“Oh, just an assortment of stuff—brownies, cookies, and an apple cobbler. I made the cobbler myself, but picked up the rest from the bakery.”

“You didn’t have to do that.”

“I know,” she said, handing him the cobbler from the back seat and then picking up the bakery box for herself. “Good manners dictate that when you’re invited to dinner, you should bring either a hostess gift or dessert. There isn’t a hostess, so I opted for dessert.”

He kissed her. “You’re amazing.”

“Thanks.” She kissed him too. “You’re not so bad yourself.”

They walked up the path and then up the stairs, where Walker held the door open for her. She could hear conversation and laughter and for a moment felt a brief wave of uncertainty—a feeling of “I don’t belong here”—but quickly pushed it away.

These people were important to Walker.

Walker was important to her.

Therefore, these people were important to her.

“You can leave if you want,” he whispered to her. “I wouldn’t blame you. I have a feeling this is going to be awkward.”

Stepping in close, she kissed him soundly. “I think you’re forgetting something. I don’t cave easily. I’m tenacious, remember? I’ve got this.” And after another kiss, she stepped inside, all the while reminding herself whose side she needed to be on.