Page 38 of #Resort Love (Lakeview Harbor #1)

“Tried. I have tried, but they don’t seem interested.

There’s no way I want to reach out to them about the property they own.

It feels wrong and…I don’t know…it feels a bit desperate on my part.

Plus, they’re clearly not good people. I was a kid—well, a teenager—when my father went to prison.

My mom thought she was protecting me. I didn’t have a say in who I saw or didn’t see!

So…” She shook her head again. “I just don’t want to deal with them, okay? Maybe it’s stupid, but…I can’t.”

“Does Walker know about all the plots?” Charlene asked.

“No. I didn’t give him all the information. He knows about all except…you know…the last one.”

Saying it all out loud made her feel like that teenage girl who was tormented back in high school because of her father’s crime.

It was a part of her life she hated to think about, and this situation with her grandparents made her feel even more unloved than she already did.

So basically, she didn’t want to engage on any level with them.

It was pointless to keep pursuing a relationship with them because they’d made it clear that she wasn’t worth it.

The logical side of her brain told her she was being crazy, that she was potentially missing out on a deal because of personal reasons and she needed to keep personal feelings out of business.

But she couldn’t.

Not with this.

Walker didn’t need to know.

Charlene rested her hand on Harlow’s shoulder and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “Okay, then. That’s your decision and I think we need to just move on and maybe…go celebrate? What do you say? Should we go and get drinks at the pub? Are you feeling up to it? My treat!”

Did she really want to sit here and continue to pout?

She had kicked ass on these deals and the money was going to change her life right now! So, she knew what she had to do, and would deal with breaking the news to Walker later.

Like after she had a few cocktails, perhaps.

“Let’s go celebrate!”

She didn’t tell Walker after a few cocktails.

Or even after a few days.

It seemed like the guys were on a roll doing demo on the lodge, and she was busy completing contracts on her property deals.

By the time they were actually going to see each other, almost an entire week had passed.

Now he was on his way to pick her up at the office so they could go to dinner together.

Ironically, he chose The Artisan Grill because he said he needed to make up for the way things went the last time he took her there.

After her conversation with Swati and Charlene last week, Harlow was a little twitchy about returning to the scene of the crime—metaphorically speaking—but she pushed that thought aside and focused on having a nice date night.

It had been a long time since they had anywhere other than either of their places with takeout, or the Harbor Pub.

“Harlow,” Charlene called out from her office. “I just printed out a list of the remaining properties in the area. I thought it could be good for reference. It has the map, the property lines, acreage, and owners’ names. Can you grab it for me?”

“Sure!” Walking over to the printer, she grabbed it and nodded at how thorough it was.

Glancing at the names, she really wished Charlene had left her grandparents’ names and property off of it.

She didn’t want them to profit from any of the upgrades coming to town.

Sighing, she was about to walk into her boss’s office when her phone rang.

Sitting down, she got caught up in a conversation with a woman whose family was going to be relocating to the area and who wanted to discuss several houses that were currently for sale. The call went on and on and on, and by the time she hung up, Charlene’s printout was completely forgotten.

However, that didn’t stop her from going into her office and discussing several listings that came up on the phone call—most of which were Charlene’s.

In the distance, she heard someone come in and peeked out to see it was Walker. Waving, she smiled. “Hey, I’m just finishing up something. You can have a seat at my desk. I won’t be long.”

He gave her a thumbs-up and Harlow went back to talking with her boss.

“They sound super motivated,” she said. “And I think all the houses would work for them. They’re coming to town this weekend, and I hate to ask this, but…”

“But you’d like me to do the showing because you have plans with Walker?” Charlene lightly asked.

“Well, nothing’s really set yet. But I was going to suggest him taking a day off while we were at dinner.

He’s been working so hard and I thought I’d see if he was interested in maybe driving down to Manhattan for the weekend.

” She grinned. “I haven’t been in years, and I thought it might be a pleasant distraction. ”

“Plus, you deserve a little time away too, Harlow. You’ve earned it. You’ve been working so hard lately!”

Oh, she was fully aware of it.

“It’s just crazy, you know?”

“What is?” Charlene asked.

“Like…the way it all played out with those properties. The timing. I mean…the fact that I had casually mentioned the idea to Walker and then a bunch of people start reaching out and now…they’re all under contract and…” She paused and lowered her voice. “And Walker isn’t.”

“Have you told him yet?”

She shook her head. “And I don’t want to bring it up tonight and risk ruining our evening, but I’m sure he’s going to ask.”

“Just break it to him gently. No need to do it smugly like he did to you,” she said with a bit of side-eye to the outer office.

“I really wish I hadn’t shared that with everyone.”

“I’m sure everything’s going to be fine. Go and have a nice evening, and remember, you don’t need to feel bad. You were doing your job, and you were killing it!”

Yeah, she was really proud of herself. Their little celebration last week helped her see that.

“Okay, I’m out of here and I’ll see you tomorrow!” With a wave and a smile, she walked out to join Walker. He was sitting behind her desk, scrolling on his phone, and looking like he didn’t have a care in the world. He stood when he spotted her and met her halfway and kissed her.

“There’s my girl.”

“Hey there, handsome,” she said with a blissful sigh, smoothing her hand over his chest. “Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“No worries,” he assured her. “Are you ready? Do we need to stop by your place and drop off your car?”

“Ooh, I hadn’t thought of that. Do we have time?”

“Sure. You’re not far from here.” He kissed her lightly. “But let’s hurry, just in case.”

Grabbing her things, they walked out the door and Harlow hated having even a few minutes apart now that they were finally together again.

They had talked on the phone almost every day, but they were both distracted.

She’d missed him and was really looking forward to their date—even with the possibility of breaking bad news.

Luckily, the drive to her place was quick, and she hopped out of her car and quickly climbed into his truck. Smoothing a hand over her skirt, she smiled at him as she bucked her seatbelt. “I’m glad I freshened up at work and we didn’t need to waste more time.”

“You look beautiful,” he said, reaching for her hand.

Aww…

“Thank you,” she said serenely. “Can I just say that I’m so happy we both finally had some free time?”

“You and me both. We have been going nonstop with demo—taking down wallpaper, ripping up carpets, removing sinks and toilets and showers…” He groaned. “I know it’s saving us a ton of money to do this stuff ourselves, but it’s brutal. And way more physical work than I had planned.”

“I can’t believe you’re all being so hands-on. I get the cost savings, but it’s a lot. Especially when it’s not what you’re used to doing. Axel’s the only one in construction, right?”

He nodded. For the rest of the drive, he updated her on all the work and what was coming next.

She hated the thought of so much destruction happening at the beloved resort, but she knew it was necessary to do things the right way and make sure everything was safe and up to code.

“When we get to the restaurant, I’ll show you some pictures,” he promised.

“Have you found anything really bad? Like leaks or anything that will cause more construction work to repair? With a building that old, it wouldn’t surprise me.”

“Not in the main building. I think that was some solid construction all those years ago. It’s the cabins that have the most damage.

Some of them will have to be completely demolished, unfortunately, and some will have to be taken down to the studs.

I considered just taking them all out and starting over, but it wouldn’t save us any money. If anything, it would cost a lot more.”

That made sense.

He talked about the cabins, the property, the lodge, Connor’s menu ideas, Slater’s activity plans, and how at night it sometimes feels like they’re at sleepaway camp.

Someone’s extra chatty tonight, she thought.

Before she knew it, they were pulling up to the restaurant.

Walker took her hand in his as they walked inside and to their table.

Harlow let him pick their wine, and she went and ordered the oysters again, just like he went with the escargot.

Actually, they both ordered everything the same as they had the last time, and once they were done ordering, she felt like they were both completely relaxed.

“Let me see some pictures!” she said excitedly. “After listening to you talk all about it, I’m dying to see how it all looks.

He laughed softly. “It mostly looks like a big mess, but…” Shrugging, he tapped and swiped at his phone screen. “I’d love to get your input on something.”

She sat up a little straighter. “Of course! What’s up?”

When he turned his phone around and held it up for her, she wasn’t sure what she was looking at. But when she figured it out, it was like a punch to the gut.

“When were you going to tell me you sold all the properties out from under me?”