Page 19 of So Close

“Hero or villain?” Deja asked.

“Hero. Only in my book he’ll have a heart of gold.”

“Maybe he does,” said the fourth romance writer, Lindsey, a fair-skinned redhead and jewelry fiend. “He offered to help Auburn’s family.”

They all glared at her.

“Okay, okay,” she said, hands up. “It doesn’tseemlikely, I’ll admit it.”

“He’s preying on the soft spot I have for my family,” Auburn said. “There’s no heart of gold in that; he just sees the gold.”

She quickly outlined the situation for them—Carl’s heart attack, the meeting in the hospital room, the confrontation in the hallway. The legal realities.

“Is he right?” Deja asked suddenly. “Are you going to lose if it gets hashed out in court?”

Auburn sighed. “Probably.”

Deja touched her fingers to her lips and eyed Auburn speculatively. “You should do it.”

“Dowhat?” Chiara squealed. “You don’t mean she should let him buy her off?”

“No.” Deja shook her head. “She should ask for something.” She shot a look in Lindsey’s direction. “Apart from your impossibly optimistic view of human nature, do youactuallythink there’s a chance that guy has a heart of gold?”

“No?” Lindsey hazarded. “But … anything’s possible?”

“Right.” Deja’s voice was beautiful, musical, like rough handmade paper. “So, what I’m thinking is, your only chance, literally your only chance of success here, is if you can get him to be sympathetic with your point of view. Make him see how much Beachcrest matters to you. Make him fall in love with Beachcrest itself.”

Auburn barked a laugh. “Him?”

The women exchanged another round of glances. “It’s not theworstidea you’ve ever had,” Aria said slowly.

“He wants to get this thing done quickly, or he wouldn’t have offered to buy you off tonight.” Deja cocked her head. “He’s got a deadline, and a lawsuit screws with that. You got that, right?”

“You think?”

“Iknow,” Deja said. “He’s freaked out. So give him what he wants. Tell him you’ll back off, butonlyif he agrees to spend one week with you at Beachcrest. He has to stay here, eat breakfast here, shadow you, do all the Beachcrest activities you ask him to, and stick around for Beachcrest’s 4th of July festivities. He should appreciate the full value of the asset he’s proposing to sell. And then, if that doesn’t convince him and he still thinks the sale is the right thing to do, you step away.”

“Wouldn’t it be better for her to just ask for money?” Priya said. “That’s at least a sure thing. This is pure gamble.”

Deja shook her head. “Money guarantees she loses Beachcrest. This way—well, she at least has a chance.

“I—I don’t think it’s a good idea.” Auburn’s stomach knotted tight at the thought of Trey Xavier following her around for a week. She cast a quick glance in Chiara’s direction, and found her sister eyeing her with sympathy—and open curiosity. A look that said, plainly:Do you not think it’s a good idea because you don’t think it’ll work? Or because you’re afraid of yourself?

Auburn bit her lip.

“I think Deja’s onto something,” Chiara said gently. “And Auburn—you won’t be alone. We’ll all help you figure out how to make this place irresistible to him.”

“That’s right,” Deja said, nodding. “We’ve all fallen in love with Beachcrest, right, ladies?” She collected a round of nods from her friends. “And we’re all experts at getting hard men to fall in love.”

Auburn couldn’t imagine Trey Xavier, hard man extraordinaire, falling in love with anything. Least of all an inn at the beach. But on the other hand, she’d seen how much fire his eyes could bank. He wasn’t entirely cold, not by a long shot.

Something moved in her chest at the thought.

Chiara was watching her again.

I’m not afraid of him, she silently broadcast back at her sister.Or myself.

Chiara’s eyebrow rose, just a flicker—a challenge.Prove it.

---