Page 73 of Meet Me at the Grand

“Oh, it’s more than mutual, buddy.” Because the idea of him staying—whether long enough to figure out what this was between them, or maybe even longer…“Do you really think you could stay?”

“If we get the council to approve our proposal and move forward with the project, yeah, I think so.” He paused. “For a few weeks at least. And maybe…yeah, maybe more.”

“Seriously?” She grasped his hand tight. “How? I thought you’d committed to helping Travis with the Bertram project long-term.”

“I could still help him from afar if Dad lets us move forward with it.”

“Wait. You’d do that? Stay for the length of the project?”

“Maybe. If we thought this had the potential to be something more between us.” He paused. “To be what I think it can be.”

“I think it can be something great too.” A thrill ran through her. “But I thought the rebuild was supposed to take two or three years.”

“Well, I think we can have some parts done by Christmas like you wanted. Not all of it, of course, but maybe the first phase. I could commit to that, and we could see how things go from there?”

“That would be amazing. But are you really willing to stay that long? To be away from your dad? I thought he was getting ready to retire and you had to be in Los Angeles. That you didn’t want him to be alone anymore.”

He played with a strand of her hair, rubbing it between his thumb and forefinger. “Honestly, he’s not thrilled by the idea of retiring. And as for being alone, I have a sneaking suspicion that things might change in that area.”

Dani laughed. “Well, if you did stay, I happen to know of several homes available for cheap rent at the moment.”

She didn’t expect her words to have such an effect on him. He actually stilled, then swallowed. “A real home?”

“A real home.”

“I wouldn’t hate that,” he said softly. His gaze roamed her face.

“Me either,” she said, taking a breath.

Like Mia had said, it was time for Dani to take a leap. And she might fall on her face or end up with a broken heart. Or she could fly.

Either one was possible. And wasn’t the beauty of life in the surprises, anyway?

“Okay, for any of this to happen, though, we need to finish up our presentation.” Liam gave her another soft kiss before standing and holding out his hand. “Which means you need to stop distracting me.”

“But I like distracting you.” Dani hopped up and smiled up at him.

“And you’re really good at it too.” He pulled her into his arms. She hadn’t realized how well she fit there until now. Leaning his head down so his lips touched the shell of her ear, Dani shivered. “You’re also providing me with some fabulous motivation to get this job done, and done well.”

“Happy to be of service.” She pulled back and tapped her forefinger against her mouth.

“Good,” he said as he leaned down and kissed her again. Too soon it ended. “Then let’s get to work.”

“Lead the way, Mr. Charming.”

* * *

This had to work.

But if the looks on Martha, Tara, Janine, Patrick, and Seb’s faces were any indication, he and Dani had their work cut out for them.

“And as you can see here”—Liam pointed to the projector screen in the conference room—“we plan to keep the current pool but add a poolside restaurant that will allow for convenient drinks and lunches.”

“But”—Dani interjected from her spot beside him, every bit his equal in this project—“it will be as small as possible, tucked away so it doesn’t ruin the view that is the main draw of the porch and pool area.” She flashed a grin his way, because that had been a point he’d conceded, and she’d won.

Her confidence and beauty took his breath away. It wasn’t as if she’d dressed much differently—maybe a little fancier because her blue, long-sleeved blouse had a ruffle around the collar. But there was something different in her shoulders, pushed back but also relaxed, as if she wasn’t worried or trying to prove something.

Her eyes radiated her passion for this project. It was something he’d seen over the weeks but especially over the last few days as they’d worked tirelessly together on the last piece of the puzzle. Their grand finale. The thing they were both sure would tip the scales in their favor. Liam really hoped it would, anyway.

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