24. Chapter Twenty-Four
Chapter Twenty-Four
D eclan
"Are you sure renovating the hotel is a good idea, son?" My father asks. I have him on speakerphone as I slowly pace my makeshift office while I jot last-minute notes in my head. The construction company should be here any moment now, and I want to ensure that I give them all the information so I don’t have to repeat myself.
"You’re the one who initially pushed for renovation, Dad," I remind him.
"Yes, and you made a pretty reasonable argument about why that would be a bad idea. Now, you’ve done a complete 180, so excuse me if I’m a little perplexed."
"Mmm." I pick up my pressure ball from my desk and twirl it in my hand. "Perhaps I wrote this place off too quickly."
"Is that your way of saying you were wrong?"
"No," I respond a tad defensively. "I was right about everything I said, and I was also right to have reservations about renovating it."
"So why are you doing it anyway?"
"Because you had a point too, about preserving history," I say. "And maybe that's worth the extra cost."
There’s a second of silence before he says, "So you changed your mind because of something I said?"
"Is that so hard to believe?"
"A little. You haven’t listened to me worth a damn since you could barely talk. And even then, you only obeyed some of the time."
I grin. "Well since I’m getting as old as you, maybe I’m starting to see the sense in your decisions now."
"And now you’re cracking a joke and complimenting me at the same time? Are you sure you’re feeling okay? That small-town water isn’t doing something to your mind is it?"
"Maybe. Is that why I’m actually still on the phone listening to this bullshit?"
My dad chuckles but our conversation is quickly interrupted by the pattering of feet along with a loud cry.
"Declan! Declan! I found something!"
"Who is that?" my father asks, curiosity lining every note in his voice. "Is that Amelia? Doesn’t sound like her."
"It’s not Amelia."’
"Oh." The word seems to have several steps and syllables, as renewed interest hits his tone. "Is she the reason you’re renovating?"
I want to say no but my dad might sense the lie in my voice. "I’ll talk to you later, Dad."
"Wait, Declan-"
I hang up just as Emma bursts in through the doorway, her face flushed and eyes wide with excitement.
"You’ll never believe what I found." She stalks toward me.
"The pot of gold at the end of the rainbow?"
"Even better." She holds out a filthy pouch to my face, and I recoil a little. The pouch is damp, with mud all over it and I cock an eyebrow at her.
"You found a dirty sack?"
She rolls her eyes. "Just look inside it."
I tentatively pluck it from her hand and open up the drawstring. And then my jaw nearly falls clean open. I understand her excitement now. Because the filthy sack is filled to the brim with glittering colorful orbs that even without direct sunlight I can tell change color.
"What the fuck?"
"Right?" She’s basically bouncing on the balls of her feet as she speaks. "Can you believe it?"
"No. Where did you find all of these?"
"Right here in your hotel. In the basement."
I raise an eyebrow. "There’s a basement?"
"Yeah. You didn’t know?"
I shake my head.
"It’s in the kitchen, right by the oven. It looks like a pantry door but it’s not really a pantry. It's a basement where the staff used to sometimes keep all the extra food and groceries for when there was going to be a big party and stuff."
"And you went down there? That's dangerous Emma. The flooring could have given way."
"Yes, but I was careful. Besides, someone seemed to have fixed up the loose panels and there was even a ladder there."
I frown. "Why would anyone get a new ladder for an old basement?"
"Who knows? But focus on this." She points to the orbs in my hand. "Do you know how incredible it is to find so many of them all at once? Almost like someone was collecting them. But where would they even find them? The Rainbow Pearls are just about extinct; they're so rare. I searched for years and only found one. I don’t know how anyone managed to collect so many."
She finally stops to take a breath, shaking her head.
"Boy, you must have a good luck charm or something." Her eyes suddenly pop open dramatically.
"Or maybe, it isn’t you. Maybe this is just the universe resetting itself, as my friend Poppy would say. The beginning of a new cycle. What if the abundance of Rainbow Pearls means they’re no longer extinct? And maybe just maybe, we may find a Pink Pearl for the first time in decades! Imagine if it happened as we were reopening the hotel. That would be amazing."
"Yeah. But someone must have left this in the basement then," I say, my mind turning. The pleasure at the discovery is dissipating, and somehow I don't feel so lucky anymore. "Which means that someone was here."
The leather is still damp. It hasn't even been a day or two since the sack was left there.
I see the light die in her eyes when she realizes what I’m implying. "Oh."
"Yeah." I press my lips together, annoyance tearing at me. Even though I’m willing to meet the townspeople halfway and not completely tear down the hotel like I initially wanted to, I despise the idea of someone sneaking on my property and doing whatever the fuck they want. That ends today.
"But why would they go down to the basement and leave that behind?"
"Who knows," I say. "But you know who might be able to figure it out?"
"Who?"
"The cops."
She eyes the orbs and then back to me. "You're going to give it all to them?"
"Yup. Why? Are they expensive?"
She shrugs. "I don't think so. Then again, I've never had it valued before. I don't think they're worth more than other pearls I suppose. Or maybe they are because they’re rarer. Who knows?"
"I need to get to the bottom of who's been trespassing on my property, and why the fuck they would leave this here."
"Yeah. No one should be doing that, especially after you've been nice enough. That's messed up."
It's a pleasant surprise that she has my back on this. For a second, I didn’t expect her to be, especially since I know how much she loves the people in this town.
I decide to table the trespassing for later. The contractors from Atlas soon arrive on the property and the first thing I do is gather them all in my office and introduce them to Emma, who stands beside me.
"Gentlemen," I say to the five men standing across from my desk. "I’ve chosen you for this renovation project because I’m told that you’re the best in town. Now normally that isn't exactly a ringing endorsement…" Emma elbows me in the side and shoots me a look so I amend my statement. "But your portfolio looks good and that’s all that matters to me."
"We won’t let you down, sir," one of them, a stooped-over older man, says, and the rest of them murmur agreement. I notice that their gazes are a lot less antagonistic than before. But I don’t know if it’s my imagination or if they simply changed their minds about me when they learned I was renovating the hotel rather than destroying it.
I don't care either way.
"This is Emma," I continue my speech. "I’m sure most of you already know her but I just wanted to reintroduce her, just in case. She’ll be helping you through this renovation and she'll be pointing out things that you might want to pay particular attention to. Treat her like you would any lead design consultant. Her grandfather used to work here, and she is our liaison, to ensure we’re keeping with the true spirit of the hotel. Any disrespectful behavior toward her will not be tolerated. In addition, I’ll be flying in members of my team from New York to oversee the finer details and I hope you work well with them."
"Yes, sir," they parrot and I nod.
"Alright, let’s get to work."
After they file out, I complete phone calls and arrange details to get my team into town. In the meantime, Emma shows the men around the hotel.
After about an hour, I’m on my way to the main building. I’m barely inside when I hear laughter coming from a hallway on the first floor.
My stomach tenses and I follow the sound, which leads me to Emma, standing with one of the contractors, and laughing at something he said.
It's a man with broad shoulders and floppy brown hair. Straight white teeth when he grins back at Emma. Good-looking, I suppose. Instant hostility fills me at the sight of him.
Before I can control myself, I stalk up to them.
Emma pivots to me when I reach, but I take her by hand subtly pulling her closer while I stare him down. "Shouldn't you be working?"
The smile vanishes off the man's lips. Apprehension enters his gaze. "Yes, I was just asking Emma some questions."
"You have a question then you can ask me," I say without thinking about how unreasonable I sound. "Got it?"
His lips press together, but he nods and continues off without Emma.
With his departure, some sanity returns, just in time for Emma to ask, "What the heck was that about?"
I sigh. "Nothing."
"What do you mean nothing? You just went off on him for no reason." She pauses, and then she grins. "Wait, were you by any chance jealous?"
"No. I don’t get jealous."
Her eyes widen. "Ever?"
"Ever." It was one of the things that drove Rachel crazy, the fact that I didn't have a jealous bone in my body. She could flirt with as many guys as she wanted at a party, even dirty dance with a few of them, and all I could muster up was mild annoyance.
I thought at the time, I didn't have the jealousy gene.
Now I'm wondering if that changed or if I don't know myself as well as I thought.
"Ah," Emma nods sagely. "Got it. But if you did get jealous—I mean if you had the capacity for it—you should know that there was no chance of anything with Robbie over there. We went to preschool together and he used to put boogers in my hair. Also, I've watched him eat cereal with his mouth open. Not a chance."
"Oh." I still won't admit that I'm jealous, but the news does make me significantly happier.
Emma smirks and extends up on her tippy toes to brush her lips against my cheek. Then she winks at me silently before sauntering away.
As I watch her retreat, I lift my hand and touch the spot where her lips just were. An inexplicable emotion unfurls inside me, one I don’t recognize.
But rather than investigate, I shove it aside. I can’t dwell on feelings when there’s work to be done.
Later I stop by the police station to give them a rundown. It's in a small building, sandwiched between a fire station and a coffee shop of all things. As I walk in, I note the popcorn paint job, dim lighting, and the smell of coffee and funnel cakes.
The sole officer in the room peers at me from behind wire-rimmed glasses as I hand him the sack.
He picks one of the pearls out and holds them up to the fluorescent lighting.
"Are these fake?" he asks.
"No idea," I tell him. "I guess that's your job to find out. And also find out who broke into my hotel and left them there."
"Oh. You're the new owner of the Pink Hotel, right?"
"Right." I think back to the other incidents and sounds I heard. I wonder if the bastard has been snooping around for longer than I thought. "And you better find him quick. Because the next time he does it, I won't be so forgiving."
Alarm sets in his face. "You're not going to shoot him, are you?"
I shrug. I've never shot anyone before but there's a first time for everything. And considering how the people in this town apparently feel about me, a gun might not be a good idea
"Probably," I answer and then I get up and head out. I think I hear him mutter behind me, "Just what we need. Another psycho who likes shooting things."
I head back to the Pink Hotel, where Emma is hanging outside with the contractors, pointing at the roof. I approach them and pull her away for lunch.
"Any spots you know?" I ask as we head to the car.
"Depends. What are you in the mood for?"
"Seriously. A nice bass."
"Oooh." She purses her lips. "You know what we could do?"
"What?"
"Catch our own fish," she grins widely at me.
I smirk at her and she says, "Come on. I'll even show you my grandpa's super secret favorite spot."
The spot turns out to be a nice little cove we float onto after only ten minutes of boating on the lake by Emma's cottage. Emma gets us onto her grandfather’s boat, starting up the engine. As we leave the shore, the floating sensation underneath my feet is unsettling.
I’ve been on boats before, but usually they’re much bigger and much more stable, and I can barely feel the water. But Emma’s grandpa’s boat is small, and it feels like it might capsize at any moment.
Emma, on the other hand, doesn’t seem worried at all. She masterfully pushes us onto the lake standing straight without favoring one leg over another.
"Your ankle?" I inquire as she steers us toward the cave in the distance.
"It’s fine," she says. "We’re heading to Litchie’s Cave right now. Grandpa used to sit here for hours at a time." A gust of wind whips through her hair, making her seem like she’s a sailor from legend.
Eventually, her confidence relaxes me and I sit at her side, even taking off my suit jacket and loosening my tie. I toe off my shoes and socks, and even though I’m usually not the barefoot type, it feels surprisingly good to let loose a little.
Must really be the small-town water getting to me like my father said.
"Grandpa swears he nearly caught a sixty-pound pike here," Emma continues as we enter the cave, "but it escaped him. He's been coming back ever since to try his luck again."
Her face glitters from stray sunbeams poking through the rocks. She steers the boat to a stop with surprisingly expert ease and the cool cover shields us from outside view, lending a cozy ambiance to the ride.
Emma reaches for one of the fishing lines in the boat and smiles at me. "Ready?"
I am, but not for what she's talking about.
I decide I can’t stand not kissing her anymore
So, I quickly rectify that by leaning forward and capturing the back of her head in my hand, halting her words with a kiss.
She utters a tiny squeak of surprise right before she moans into my mouth.
And pretty soon a kiss isn’t enough.
I drag her against my body, devouring her lips, the need to go slow and tender, battling with the urge to swallow her whole. I want to touch her, feel her soft skin, kiss her everywhere all at once.
Eventually, we pull away to breathe and I watch her darkened eyes blink slowly.
"What is this?" she asks suddenly. "What's going on between us?"