Page 28 of The Billionaire Land Baron

“Glad to hear it. Just don’t get too close.”

“I never do,” Jake said. The words felt false right now though, the last thing he wanted to say, especially about Shelby. He closed his eyes and leaned against the side of the building as Xan talked.

“Anyway, I called to let you know that we got the final property secured today. I just got the call.”

“Thank God,” Jake said. “That was the final big piece, right?”

“It’s very good. The board is happy. Unfortunately, we’ve still got a few things slowing us down, so I’m actually hoping you can handle some tomorrow. I can do the rest by phone. The mayor’s being a little tricky. I get the sense that he’s one of those too-big-for-his-britches kind of guys. He needs a little schmoozing. Someone to tell him that he’s amazing. Butter him up a bit. Make him feel important and part of the plan.”

“That’s usually your job,” Jake said. “You know I suck at schmooze.”

“But you’re there and I’m here. He said he’d love to have you out tomorrow night. Swimming and drinks. He’s got a nice pool, apparently, and I told him you’re a swimmer. Five o’clock. I’ll text you the address. Okay?”

Xander ended with a question, but Jake knew it was a formality. Though he and Xan generally played to their strengths, Xan also quietly and firmly pushed Jake whenever he could. He said that it was his way of stretching Jake, helping him build up the tools at his disposal. Usually the things Xan pushed him into made him wholly uncomfortable, but it had overall been a good thing. It helped him get out of his shell and grow in his confidence. But it didn’t mean he always liked it.

Honestly, Jake didn’t love the business world, other than the rush that came from seeing something he’d envisioned come to life. The money was great, though he hardly spent any of it and certainly didn’t need what he had. This past year he had the realization that he didn’t want to stay forever. He just hadn’t told Xan yet. In the back of his mind, Jake had been dreaming up exit strategies.

Jake sighed. “Sure. I can do that. Just send me an email with whatever I need to know about him and whatever questions and concerns I need to touch on.”

“Already sent. Call me after. Let me know how it goes. I have complete faith in you. After this, the only other thing we’re waiting on is city planning and zoning for the bridge.”

“Texas side or Louisiana side?”

“Both.”

“That doesn’t sound promising. I really thought we were further along on all these fronts.” Anxiety tightened a fist around Jake’s stomach. He hated this part. Every time they had a project, waiting for these little pieces to fall into place and everything to line up from all the different agencies sent him into a stressful tailspin. Usually his worries amounted to nothing, but this deal felt bigger, like more was riding on it. Xan still kept his cool, but Jake could tell that he was worried too. He just didn’t want Jake to know.

“It’s fine,” Xander said. “Let me worry about that. You be a good boy and fatten up the mayor. Oh, and expect that he’ll be trying to set you up with his daughter. He mentioned her no less than fifteen times. Of course, now I don’t remember her name. But she knows yours. You’re welcome.”

“Thanks,” Jake said drily. “Just what I need.”

Xan chuckled. “Couldn’t hurt. You’re out of there in a few days anyway. The mayor’s daughter could be a lot of fun. Fun with an expiration date—my favorite kind. Whatever you do, don’t tick off Daddy’s little girl.”

Now his anxiety clawed its way out of his stomach and tore at his throat like a rabid dog. Not because he had to sweet-talk the mayor or fend off his daughter. But because when Xander talked about the mayor’s daughter, Jake was thinking of Shelby. He didn’t want to talk to another girl and he didn’t want an expiration date with Shelby. But it was coming. Soon.

Xander kept going. “Not every girl is a Hannah, Jake.”

“I’ve got to go,” Jake said. The last thing he wanted was the memory of Hannah coloring his mood. Xan was right though—not every girl was after his money. Just most of the ones he’d met.

Hannah had hidden it so well that he had been at the point of proposing when she slipped up. Always sweet and demure, it was a tiny thing that made her crack. They’d been eating at the soft opening of a new restaurant with a five-star Michelin chef when he came back from the bathroom to find Hannah red-faced and screaming about a spilled glass of wine. It was white, not red, but got on her dress.

She hadn’t seen Jake at first, so she continued to berate the young waiter as well as the chef, hurling insults and making threats. “I will own you! My fiancé has more money than God and you better believe that he won’t stand for me to be treated this way!”

Then she saw Jake. He remembered his horrified fascination as her mask slipped back into place. She smoothed down her dress, smiled apologetically and gave the waiter—who was crying—a pat on the back. “I don’t know what came over me,” she’d said, looking up at Jake with big eyes.

But Jake knew that he was seeing the real Hannah for the first time: that fiery temper, the sense of entitlement, and the desire for money and power. The hardest part was that he’d planned on proposing and had been carrying around the ring for just the right moment. How could he have been so wrong?

That had been a year ago. After that, he’d been even more guarded than before, avoiding more events than before and not looking at another woman. He hadn’t been prepared for Shelby. Probably because he hadn’t expected to stay in Lucky, much less meet a beautiful, unique woman.

When he got back inside, Matt still sat stone-faced at the table, staring out at the floor. “Sorry,” Jake said. “Business.”

Matt nodded. Jake followed his gaze to Shelby and felt a golf-ball-sized lump in his throat.

“Your business have anything to do with why Shelby found out today that the city is annexing her land for some super-secret project?”

It took a moment for each of the words in the sentence to form something that made sense to Jake. The loudness of the room seemed to increase until it was nothing but a shrill scream in his ears. Jake knew his mouth was hanging open. His gaze shot immediately to Shelby. She and Gracie were dancing. Shelby threw her head back and laughed, Jake’s heart picking up at the sight of her long neck and her hair lighting around her shoulders. He wanted nothing more than to kiss her from collarbone to cheek. And then some.

But what had Matt just said?

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