Page 16 of You, Me, and Forever

“Born and raised.” He scratched the back of his neck as he stared at the screen, and his eyes widened. “This is going to be a big one.”

“Yeah, and now this guy wants to go even bigger, and add another wing on the west side.”

“Damn. You don’t mess around.”

“Is this something you feel comfortable taking on?” I asked. “I told you I’ve got a crew we can bring out and house here for a few months, as we want to get things going right away.”

“Yeah, I’ve got this. And we’re going to need the extra crew to get this done in the timeline that you want. I’ve got some guys in Anchorage that’ll be happy to work on this, and my crew of eight to ten guys here, but this is a lot. Especially if you’re set on opening by next season.”

“I’ve opened hotels that were four times this size in the same amount of time, so I think it’s doable,” I said.

“It’s doable, assuming we have what we need regarding the crew and we can get all the supplies here in time. Those are the holdupsthat kill a project timeline. But if you’re on top of that side of things, and supplies aren’t an issue, I can manage the guys and stay on track. I thought doing the forty-five rooms was going to be a lot, but now we’re increasing this to a sixty-room hotel.” He shook his head. “It’s a lot larger than anything we’ve had here. I mean, the current inn is the largest accommodation that Blushing has to offer at the moment.”

“I think it’s necessary,” I said as he studied the drawing on my computer screen, and Jackson pointed out where we’d add the fifteen-room wing on the west side.

“Hey, Myles. That couple I told you about is here, and I’d love you to come meet them.”

For fuck’s sake.

“Yep. I’ll be right there, Howard,” I said, trying to hide my irritation.

Once he walked away, both Charlie and Jackson chuckled.

“He’s probably the nicest man you’ll ever meet,” Charlie said. “But the dude can talk. And he wants everyone in town to be best friends. I tend to keep to myself, but Howard and Lydia won’t stand for it.”

I pushed to my feet. “All right. Let me get this over with. You two can work out the logistics.”

I walked toward the entrance, where Howard was waving me over.

I startled when I saw the woman standing next to the man that Howard was speaking to.

I knew “Dominique Venezuela” was a bullshit name, but was she seriously here to get married?

Had I completely misread this woman?

And why was I so pissed off about that?

Chapter FiveMontana

“I thought Dad said that the new owners weren’t coming here until after you moved out?” I said to Howard. My father worked at the inn as the head chef, and this place was like a second home to both of us.

“He surprised me yesterday and decided to come check the place out. And he’s here with his architect to meet with Charlie to go over their plans.” Howard beamed at me and Jesse Barker, the groom-to-be.

Did he seriously think that I would want to meet this guy? The man who was literally going to devastate the business I’d spent the last five years trying to build? The man who planned on bulldozing the place where my father had worked my entire life?

“Great,” I said. I was sleep deprived, and now I was meeting the asshole who had bought the inn. The man had only given us four weeks to use the space, even though we’d booked weddings here for the next twelve months.

Thanks for nothing, Moneybags.

Could this day get any worse?

“Here he is. This is the infamous Mr. St. James. Myles, this is Montana Kingsley and Jesse Barker.”

Myles?

Myles St. James?

Apparently, this day can get worse.

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