Page 83 of Can't Fight the Moonlight

"They're having tea in some Victorian house downtown. I'm going to meet them at the beach barbecue, so I'm free now, and I want to help."

"You're just going to tell me what I already know, that I should sell."

"Maybe it's not as bad as you think. You might just need to get creative."

She gave him a look of disbelief. "I thought I was the optimistic one."

"You are. So, let's get back to your let's make lemonade out of lemons attitude. Come on, babe. Snap out of it."

"Snap out of it?" she echoed.

"That's not going to work?" he teased.

"I don't think so," she said, but a reluctant smile parted her lips.

"Then let's work through all your options together. Maybe I can be the one to make lemonade this time."

"Are you sure you want to do this?"

"Positive. But I might need to get a sandwich first. I haven't eaten all day."

"I can take care of that." She got to her feet. "I know you hate the word, but you are nice, Justin."

"So are you. And, for the record, I think you're one of the smartest people I've ever met."

Her eyes watered. "And just for that, I'm going to bring you some cookies, too."

He laughed. "Good. Now get out of here and let me get started squeezing those lemons."

Chapter Seventeen

Justin's optimismfaded as he studied Lizzie's financials. The inn was bleeding money, and even though bookings were up, it would take her a while to dig out of the hole she was in. He could see that the bulk of the money had gone into repairs. He wondered how many of those problems had been or should have been disclosed at the time of purchase, but that was in the past. He needed to figure out how she could move forward from where she was.

The first thing she needed to do was stop comping people for minor complaints. But beyond that, she might need to take a hard look at breakfast. It wasn't just the food, but also the chef's salary that was putting a dent in the profit margin.

He sat back in the office chair, taking a moment to think. After making him lunch and watching him work for a half hour, Lizzie had disappeared, asking him to let her know when he was ready to chat, but until then she couldn't handle watching him go through her books. He didn't blame her. He probably hadn't been hiding his emotions very well.

His gaze drifted to the offer from Falcon Properties. He'd also taken a good look at their proposal. It was generous. It would allow Lizzie to pay back her investors with a small percentage return on their investments. She would also bank some cash and receive a good salary that would be over and above what she was taking home now, which was next to nothing. But then, everything she had was invested in the inn.

However, what the offer didn't spell out was exactly how much autonomy she would have in decision making.Would she truly be running the inn or just be another employee, a cog in the wheel of a huge corporation?

The office door opened as he was pondering that question, and Lizzie entered with a look of trepidation in her beautiful eyes. He hated seeing the worry. He much preferred her laughing eyes or the delighted look that entered her gaze when he was touching her in just the right spot. He'd learned a lot of her favorite spots last night, and his body hardened at the thought of making love to her again. In fact, he couldn't really understand why they were doing this instead of that…

"Well?" she asked.

It took a minute to realize she was referring to her financial statements and nothing else.

He cleared his throat. "You have a complicated situation."

"Please don't sugarcoat it. I need to hear from the ruthlessly honest Justin Blackwood."

"Okay. You're hemorrhaging money and you'll have to make some big changes if you want to survive."

His words took the energy right out of her, and she sank onto the hard-back chair in front of the desk.

"I knew you were going to say that," she said heavily. "But bookings are up starting in June. The summer looks good."

"That is a bright spot," he agreed. "But the rest of April and May will be rough. You need to rethink breakfast and your chef."

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