Page 43 of Sunset Tides
Rob could feel the weakness growing now as he argued with himself, debating if Claire would really miss the hotel, telling himself she’d get a fair price and be able to build something else.
It wasn’t working.
He paced the patio as sweat dripped down his back. He couldn’t go back in there and talk to Lucy. It was the first time she’d been civil to him, and it made him wonder if she somehow knew what he was doing.
Maybe she was plotting to have him killed? Arrested? Shipped off the island?
That was impossible. The letters couldn’t have gone out yet. Maybe it wasn’t too late to stop it. Rob pulled out his phone and called his boss.
Despite the late hour, he answered. “What’s the news, Rob?”
That was how Rick answered the phone when he was in a bad – but not livid – mood. Rob spoke quickly. “I was hoping you could tell me. Did the letters go out yet?”
“No.” A sigh. “We’ve run into some issues with zoning. We might have a problem.”
“What kind of problem?” Rob’s pulse quickened. It could fall apart, just like that, through no fault of his own. It was an out.
“I thought that was why you’re calling. You haven’t heard anything?”
“No, not yet.” Rob cleared his throat. “What should I be doing?”
“Nothing for now. This is out of your depth. Hang tight and I’ll let you know what EDT figures out.”
EDT – the eminent domain team. That wasn’t a good sign. They normally saved them for high-profile cases. “Got it.”
“I’m busy. Anything else?”
“Nope. Thanks.”
The call ended and Rob stared out over the water. It wasn’t as hot outside as he’d thought. He wasn’t sweating anymore.
The guilt, however, did not fade. The truth was, he hadn’t known this was Claire’s hotel. If he’d had known, he would’ve walked away. Now what was he going to do?
There was a chance Rick had brought in the EDT because things were so hopeless. Rob had come up with a good plan, but alas, if zoning was impossible, it was going to fall apart.
That would be the best of all possible outcomes. The deal would fizzle out and Lucy would never know what he’d done. Maybe his dad would call it weakness, but Rob was desperate for the deal to fall through and for Lucy to never find out about it.
“Rob?”
He spun around to see Lucy standing behind him. He forced a smile. “Hey.”
“I wanted to make sure you weren’t suffocating to death.”
That was nice of her. Maybe she wasn’t planning to have him killed. Not yet, at least. “I’m fine.”
“Do you think it was the oyster?”
He laughed. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure it was. Thanks for checking on me.”
“Your meal just arrived,” she said. “Should we go back inside?”
He took a deep breath. It would all work out in the end. Lucy wouldn’t go back to despising him. She might even grow to like him a little. He might even get to see that pretty smile again…
He cleared his throat. “Sure. Let’s head back.”
Chapter Twenty
It turned out to be a good thing Rob hadn’t choked to death on an oyster the night of the farm auction. He seemed to loosen up after that, even going so far as to dress himself in regular clothes – jeans, chinos, and T-shirts.
