“You want to confront Damaris Bailey?” Zoe pats my shoulder. “I’ll give you a really nice eulogy.”
“She won’t dare,” I say, newfound confidence surging through me. “It would be a diplomatic disaster.” Plus, I’m not above using blackmail if I have to. Damaris owes me for keepingher secret, and I’m sure Garrett and the others have made sure she knows that.
If they haven’t, I will.
“Even if we can face down Damaris, the second we do,they’llfind out about it,” Garrett says grimly, nodding toward the kitchen. “If we’re going to do this, we’re better off telling them first and having them with us.”
Hearing that “we” warms my heart.
“Damaris might already have given Zac a reason,” Cam points out reasonably. “If she has, we can find a solution, then go around her and present the idea to the whole council at once.”
“I like that idea,” I murmur. But… “It means we have to tell them what we did.” Tell Zac that I lied to and stole from him. “He might refuse to talk about it after that.”
Garrett looks thoughtful. “Asher and Micah will want answers. If Zac really, truly wants us to leave the project on the shelf, they’ll back him, but I think once we tell them everything we know, they’ll want to at least know what Damaris said to him. He might not say it in front of us, but I bet they’ll get it out of him.”
“And if it’s stupid, they’ll tell him and find out if he wants their support.” Cam nods. “That’s the thing about these guys. They’re always on the same side. If Zac wants the resort and it’s doable, they’ll back him on that too.”
“I’m in,” Zoe declares. “But I probably have the least to lose.”
“Oh, I’m in.” I surprise myself, but it’s true. I want to make Zac happy again. I got a glimpse of smiley him the day I arrived—just for a second, when he wasn’t being an ass to me—and people always talk about him being the fun one.
I want to give that back to him. I want him to smile at me.
Cam shrugs. “Micah will forgive me. So will Zac—we’re friends. Friends sometimes do what’s good for you whether you like it or not.”
Garrett squints at him. “Have you been spending time with my cousin Alistair?” He shakes his head. “Never mind. Let’s do this.”
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Zac
“We did something,”Garrett announces. The four of them marched back into the kitchen a moment ago and are now standing in a line, their faces determined. “You need to hear us out before you get mad.”
“Well, that’s reassuring,” I murmur. Micah and Asher exchange glances. Truthfully, I’m kind of looking forward to this. Part of me has seen how happy my cousins are with their men and been a little envious, but at moments like this, I get to point and laugh while they deal with the fallout.
“What did you do?” Micah asks.
Cam lifts his chin. “I willnotbe treated as anything but an equal partner, Micah. You don’t get to declare that something isn’t up for discussion if I want to discuss it.”
Micah blinks, then his jaw drops. “This is about—that?”
“I had questions. They were valid. It’s a subject that affects us and our life here. Right, Garrett?”
Whoa. So thisisn’tabout Cam and Micah?
Garrett nods. “Exactly. I also had questions about something that affected not only my marriage and home, but the job I was hired to do here. I don’t appreciate being brushed off.”
Asher darts a glance at me. “There wasn’t anything more to be said.”
Folding his arms, Garrett lifts his chin. “We disagree. We discussed it,” he gestures to the other three, “and decided we needed more information.”
I still don’t know what they’re talking about, but it sounds like we’re getting to the good bit.
“Which is why we broke into Zac’s room and stole the plans for the ski resort.”
Shock hits me like a freight train, and all enjoyment drops away. “You did what?” My gaze goes to Ronan, to the guilt plastered on his face.
“It was my idea,” he blurts. “I planned it all and then I lied to you. You were so kind, and I deceived you. I’m sorry. But Cam and Garrett said you’d been excited about the ski resort, and I wanted to give you something that would make you happy. I want you to like me.” The last words are wobbly, but he squares his shoulders. “We stole the plans from your room. The business idea is viable, and Zoe and Garrett both think it’s what the village needs. I asked a friend to look at the rest of it, and he said it looked feasible but depended on the results of a site survey.” He points at the papers on the table. “That site survey says it would be fine. So the only reason we can think of that you would have shelved this project that made you happy before is that you talked to Damaris about it, and she said no. But she’s wrong.”